On October 14, 2008, Ambassador Bruce Gosper, the chair of the WTO General Council, announced the procedures that would be used to select the Director-General after Pascal Lamy’s term expires. Many observers think that Lamy will agree to serve again, and I hope that proves right as Lamy has done a good job in a difficult task.
Under the procedures, nominations by WTO member governments will be accepted during the month of December after which candidates will be invited to Geneva to meet with the selection committee.
In my view, the ability to nominate should not be limited to governments. I am sure that the WTO’s 153 member governments would have some good ideas for who should lead the WTO, but I don’t think that governments have a monopoly on wisdom in that regard. Moreover, there is a danger when nominations are vested exclusively in governments, that many qualified individuals will not be nominated because of nationalism. Given that the real stakeholders at the WTO are economic and social actors, I would like to see groups like the International Chamber of Commerce, WWF, and CUTS be able to submit nominations too.
Another problem in allowing nominations only from sitting governments is that incoming governments do not get an opportunity to nominate. In the United States, for instance, the Bush Administration’s mandate will expire on January 20, 2009 and yet that Administration will be the sole voice from the United States in making the nomination. Isn’t it obvious that the WTO would make greater progress toward liberalizing trade if it recognized that the most vibrant and progressive ideas are likely to emerge from actors outside of governments?
