China's Zhao Houlin elected as secretary-general of ITU

Zhao Houlin (left) is elected as secretary-general of International Telecommunication Union during the 2014 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference held in Busan, South Korea, Oct 23, 2014. [Photo/IC]

BUSAN -- Incumbent Deputy Secretary-General of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Zhao Houlin Thursday was elected to head the organization Thursday for the next four years during the 2014 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference held in South Korea's port city Busan.

After winning 152 ballots from of 156 membership nations, Zhao was elected as the first Chinese secretary-general in the 150-year history of ITU. He will take office in January, 2015.

"As the newly elected secretary-general, I would like to assure you that I will do my best to fulfill ITU's mission, and through our close cooperation, to make ITU in delivering services to the global telecommunication and information society at the level of excellence," said Zhao.

Zhao added that the fast development of China's information and communication technology is a solid base for his election. He also thanked for supports from Chinese government and relevant industries.

Zhao was the third Chinese who elected as the head of UN organizations. The other two are Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Li Yong, director general of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

Born in 1950 in Jiangsu, China, Zhao graduated from Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and earned a Master's in Telematics from the University of Essex in the UK.

From 1999 to 2006, Zhao served as director of ITU's Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB). Then he was elected ITU Deputy Secretary-General in 2006 and re-elected for a second four-year term in 2010.

ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies. ITU membership includes 193 Member States, ICT regulators, leading academic institutions and some 700 private companies.

The Plenipotentiary Conference is the key event at which ITU Member States decide on the future role of the organization, thereby determining the organization's ability to influence and affect the development of information and communication technologies (ICTs) worldwide.

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