The UN Migration Agency’s member nations have chosen Amy Pope of the United States as its new director general.
To become the first woman to lead the Geneva-based organization that was established in 1951, Ms. Pope elbowed aside her supervisor, Antonio Vitorino of Portugal, for the position of director general of the International Organization for Migration.
Ms. Pope, who is currently Mr. Vitorino’s deputy, ran against him for the position. The IOM announced in a statement that she will begin her five-year tenure on October 1.
The face-off was unusual in that Ms. Pope was looking to unseat her boss in a contest between allies: The United States and Portugal are fellow Nato members.
The US government, which backed Ms. Pope’s campaign vigorously, was pleased with the information.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated in a statement that “Ms. Pope’s election reflects a broad endorsement by member states of her vision to keep people at the center of IOM’s mission while implementing key governance and budget reforms to ensure IOM is prepared to meet the challenges it faces.”
Since the IOM was established 72 years ago, eight of its ten directors general have been Americans.
After IOM member countries rejected his appointment in 2018, Mr. Vitorino, a former minister of the Portuguese government, quickly took over.
Mr. Vitorino, a former minister in the Portuguese government, was appointed to the position in 2018 after IOM member nations rejected a candidate put forth by the Trump administration, which had expelled the US from the UN’s main human rights body, shunned globalism, and advocated an “America First” policy that many found offensive.
IOM reacts to huge migration crises in locations as diverse as the US-Mexico border, the central Mediterranean, Bangladesh, Ukraine, and Sudan. IOM has approximately 19,000 staff members in 171 countries who offer migrants food, drink, shelter, and assistance with documentation.
