Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency
The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency is one of the two policy making bodies of the IAEA, along with the annual General Conference of IAEA members.
The Board, in its five yearly meetings, is responsible for making most of the policy of the IAEA. The Board makes recommendations to the General Conference on IAEA activities and budget, is responsible for publishing IAEA standards and appoints the Director General subject to General Conference approval.
Membership
The Board currently consists of 35 IAEA Member States, each with a single vote. Thirteen were designated by the previous Board as either one of the ten countries that are the most advanced in atomic energy technology plus the most advanced from any of the eight regional groups not represented by the first ten.Twenty-two Board Members are elected by the IAEA General Conference to two-year terms, eleven each year. 20 member states elected to the Board by the General Conference are apportioned geographically as follows:
Regional group | Members |
Latin America | 5 |
Western Europe | 4 |
Eastern Europe | 3 |
Africa | 4 |
Middle East & South Asia | 2 |
Southeast Asia & Pacific | 1 |
Far East | 1 |
Total | 20 |
Two additional members are elected, one from each of the following sets of areas:
- rotating among Africa, Middle East and South Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific
- rotating among Middle East and South Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific, Far East
Regional group | Designated | Elected | Elected | Total |
North America | Canada, United States | 2 | ||
Latin America | Argentina | Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay | Panama, Paraguay | 6 |
Western Europe | Belgium, France, Germany, United Kingdom | Italy, Sweden | Greece, Norway | 8 |
Eastern Europe | Russian Federation | Azerbaijan | Estonia, Hungary | 4 |
Africa | South Africa | Egypt, Niger, Morocco | Ghana, Nigeria | 6 |
Middle East & South Asia | India | Pakistan | Kuwait, Saudi Arabia | 4 |
Southeast Asia & Pacific | Australia | Thailand | 2 | |
Far East | China, Japan | Mongolia | 3 | |
Total | 13 | 11 | 11 | 35 |
The Chair of the Board of Governors for 2019-2020 is the Governor from Sweden, Ambassador Mikaela Kumlin Granit. She succeeded Ambassador Leena Al-Hadid of Jordan.
The Vice Chairs are Ambassador Galib Israfilov of Azerbaijan and Ambassador Omar Amer Youssef of Egypt.
Previous compositions of the Board
The following countries have been elected to the Board:Year | Ten Most Advanced | Three Additional | Continuing members | Elected by the General Conference |
1957 | - | - | - | Argentina Australia Brazil Canada Czechoslovakia France Guatemala India Indonesia Italy Japan South Korea Pakistan Peru Portugal Romania Sweden Turkey South Africa USSR United Arab Republic United Kingdom United States |
1958 | Australia Brazil Canada France India Japan South Africa USSR United Kingdom United States | Belgium Denmark Poland | Argentina South Korea Pakistan Romania Turkey | Netherlands United Arab Republic Indonesia Venezuela Peru |
1959 | as above | Czechoslovakia Norway Portugal | Netherlands United Arab Republic Indonesia Venezuela Peru | Bulgaria Ceylon Philippines Mexico Spain |
1960 | as above | Belgium Finland Poland | Bulgaria Ceylon Philippines Mexico Spain | Iraq Thailand Argentina El Salvador West Germany |
1961 | as above | Czechoslovakia Portugal Sweden | Iraq Thailand Argentina El Salvador West Germany | Hungary Pakistan Viet Nam Colombia Greece |