Geneva,
December 6, 2013
PR/2013/751
Four candidatures for the post of Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) were received by 5 p.m. (Geneva time) on December 6, 2013, the deadline fixed for the submission of names.
The candidates are (in alphabetical order of names of candidates): Mr. Francis Gurry (Australia), Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama (Nigeria), Mr. Jüri Seilenthal (Estonia), and Mr. Alfredo Suescum (Panama).
The WIPO Coordination Committee, which is composed of 83 member states, will meet on March 6 and 7, 2014 to nominate a candidate for appointment to this position by the WIPO General Assembly, which is scheduled on May 8 and 9, 2014.
The process of selecting a Director General is governed by the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization and “The Procedures for the Nomination and Appointment of Directors General of WIPO,” adopted by the General Assembly of WIPO in September 1998.