Better Governance for a World at Peace
Better Governance for a World at Peace
Press release, 15 June 2022
Ángel Gurría to succeed Pascal Lamy as President of the Paris Peace Forum
Paris, 15 June, 2022
Starting March 2023, former Secretary-General of the OECD José Ángel Gurría will take on the role of President of the Paris Peace Forum following a unanimous vote by the Executive Committee of the Forum on June 14, a body elected by its General Assembly for a three-year term, currently made up of 11 organizations from North and South: Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI), the French Republic, the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), Institut Montaigne, Körber-Stiftung, México Evalúa, Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), and Sciences Po.
Following a distinguished career in public service in his native Mexico, including positions as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance and Public Credit in the 1990s, Mr. Ángel Gurría served as Secretary-General of the OECD from 2006 through 2021. Under his leadership, the organization established itself as a pillar of the global economic governance architecture and advanced its active engagement with the G20, G7, APEC and other international fora. During this time, Mr. Gurría’s efforts to make the OECD more inclusive through new memberships strengthened the link with key emerging economies.
“During my long political career as well as my time as the OECD’s Secretary-General, said Ángel Gurría, I have committed to strengthening multilateralism and improving global governance. Given the changing international context and increasing geopolitical polarization, I believe the mandate of the Paris Peace Forum has never been more relevant and urgent.”
Ángel Gurría succeeds Pascal Lamy, former Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) from 2005 to 2013, EU Trade Commissioner (1999-2004) and a close adviser to President of the European Commission Jacques Delors (1985-1994), among other functions. By chairing the Steering Committee of the Forum in 2018 and then assuming the presidency in the name of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation starting in 2019, he gave a decisive push to establish the Forum as a world-class event and organization.
Pascal Lamy declared: “I am confident that under Angel’s guidance, the formidable team that succeeded in making a newborn Paris Peace Forum a major international place to be in just a few years’ time will keep building it as an innovative platform for solutions. Not just ideas for solutions to our more and more pressing global challenges. Concrete steps that do change reality.”
Since 2018, the Forum has included 40 000 participants from more than 175 countries, 131 heads of state and government, 48 leaders of international organizations, and over 500 companies. It has showcased 400+ projects from civil society, international organizations, and the private sector responding to today’s greatest challenges. The Forum has featured 1 211 speakers from around the globe and 293 debate sessions focused on solutions for tomorrow. It has launched 20+ global governance initiatives.
This transition in leadership will arrive as the Paris Peace Forum is undergoing a transformative phase. The Forum is expanding beyond an annual event to a permanent platform launching and incubating multi-actor initiatives and supporting innovative global governance projects selected since 2018.
“Under Pascal’s leadership, we pioneered new ways of solving international problems by associating civil society and private actors to governments and international organizations. With Angel’s help, the Forum will push this new method even further in a menacing geopolitical situation. His expertise at the helm of the OECD will be a great asset” said Justin Vaïsse, Founder and Director General of the Paris Peace Forum.
