Qu Dongyu

Qu Dongyu (Chinese: 屈冬玉; pinyin: Qū Dōngyù; born October 1963) took up office as the ninth Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations on 1 August 2019. He is the first Chinese national to head the Organization. Qu won the nomination on the first round of voting at the 41st FAO Conference on 23 June 2019, obtaining 108 of the 191 votes cast by the 194 member countries.[2] He is married, with one daughter.[3][4][5]

In this Chinese name, the family name is Qu (屈)'.
Qu Dongyu
Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Assumed office
1 August 2019
Preceded byJosé Graziano da Silva
Personal details
BornOctober 1963
Yongzhou, Hunan, China[1]
Alma materHunan Agricultural University; Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences; University of Wageningen
ProfessionBiologist

Early life and education

Qu was born in Yongzhou, Hunan, China in October 1963. He trained to become a biologist, gaining a bachelor's degree from Hunan Agricultural University, a Master's in plant breeding and genetics from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and a Doctorate in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences from the University of Wageningen, Netherlands.

Career

From 2001 to 2011 he was Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Between 2011 and 2015 he served as Vice-Chair of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in China and in 2015 he became Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, where he was involved in promoting international collaboration with organizations such as FAO and Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International.[6][7][8]

Qu was supported by China in the 2018 election for Director-General of the FAO.[2] The Department of State was concerned with Qu's potential victory, and Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Kevin Moley moved to support Georgian politician Davit Kirvalidze, though many other American officials, including those at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Embassy in Rome preferred Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle, the French agricultural engineer backed by the European Union.[2] Qu won the election in June 2019 with 108 votes over Geslain-Lanéelle's 71 and Kirvalidze's 12.[9] Allegations of bribery and coercion by China to secure the votes of other FAO delegates featured prominently in the election.[2][10]

References
  1. ChinaVitae profile – Qu Dongyu
  2. Lynch, Colum; Gramer, Robbie (October 23, 2019). "Outfoxed and Outgunned: How China Routed the U.S. in a U.N. Agency". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on October 25, 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
  3. "Qu Dongyu becomes first Chinese to head UN food agency FAO". France 24. 2019-06-23. Archived from the original on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  4. "FAO, il cinese Qu Dongyu assume l'incarico di Direttore Generale: "Saremo più dinamici, trasparenti e inclusivi"". La Repubblica. 2019-08-05. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  5. "Qu Dongyu of China elected FAO Director-General". FAO. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  6. "Profile: Qu Dongyu -- New Director-General of UN food agency FAO". XINHUANET. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  7. "Qu Dongyu". China Vitae. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  8. "Newly appointed FAO Director General, Dr Qu Dongyu, plays important role in building China-CABI partnership". CABI. Archived from the original on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  9. Elmer, Keegan (24 June 2019). "UN food agency FAO may face more US scrutiny with Chinese national Qu Dongyu at the helm". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 20 December 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  10. Fortuna, Gerardo (2019-06-24). "China's Qu Dongyu beats EU candidate for FAO leadership". EURACTIV. Archived from the original on 2019-11-08. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
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