GENEVA (ILO News) – Two candidatures were submitted for election to the post of Director-General of the International Labour Office as nominations to the ILO top job officially closed today.

The two candidates are Ms María Nieves Roldan-Confesor of the Philippines and Mr. Juan Somavia of Chile. Ms Confesor's candidacy was presented by the Government of the Philippines. Mr. Somavia's was presented by the Government of Chile. Both candidacies have been received by the Secretariat of the International Labour Office and members of the ILO Governing Body have been duly informed.

Under the rules governing the election of the Director-General, today is the final day for submission of candidatures prior to the election, which will be held on Monday, 23 March during the 271 ^st session of the Governing Body. All 56 titular members of the Governing Body are eligible to vote.

Ms Confesor is currently a Presidential Adviser for Human Resource Development and International Labour Affairs, Office of the President of the Government of the Philippines. She has the rank of Cabinet Minister and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. She has had a long career in the fields of labour administration and social policy making and has served, inter alia, as Secretary of Labour and Employment of the Philippines (from 1993 to 1995) and as Chairperson of the ILO Governing Body (1994-95).

A graduate of Maryknoll College (USA), Ms Confesor holds a Master of Business Administration from Manila University and a Master in Public Policy Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Mr. Somavia is currently Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations in New York, a position he has held since 1990, and between 1996-97 served as Representative of Chile in the Security Council. Mr. Somavia has served as Ambassador of Chile and as an Adviser to the Foreign Minister of Chile on Economic and Social Affairs. He has had a long career in civil and international affairs, serving, inter alia, as Chairman of the preparatory Council of the World Summit for Social Development (held in Copenhagen in 1995) and President of the UN Economic and Social Council (from 1993 to 1994).

An attorney by profession, Mr. Somavia is a graduate of the Catholic University of Chile. He was a member of the faculty of the School of Law and Economics, University of Paris, where he undertook advanced studies in economic development.

The Director-General is elected for a five-year term. The current term of Director-General, held by Mr. Michel Hansenne of Belgium, expires in March 1999.

The Governing Body – composed of 28 government members ^(Note) , 14 employer members and 14 worker members – convenes three times annually. It serves as the executive council of the ILO and takes decisions on ILO policy. Ten of the government seats are permanently held by major industrialized countries. The remaining seats are filled on a rotating basis, taking account of geographical distribution, for three-year terms. The employers and workers elect their own representatives. The ILO has 174 member States.

The Chairman of the Governing Body is Mr. Ahmed Ahmed El Amawy, Minister of Manpower and Immigration of Egypt. Mr. Jean-Jacques Oechslin (France) is the employer Vice-Chairman and Mr. William Brett (United Kingdom) the worker Vice-Chairman.

Note:

Bangladesh, Brazil*, Canada, Chile, China*, Colombia, Congo, Egypt, France*, Germany*, Guinea, Hungary, India*, Italy*, Japan*, Republic of Korea, Mauritius, Nigeria, Panama, Poland, Russian Federation*, Saudi Arabia, Suriname, Swaziland, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom*, United States*.
(* = members holding non-elective seats as States of chief industrial importance).