The World Trade Organisation has been run mostly by white males from rich countries. Will this year's vote herald a change?
Nine candidates are vying to become the next head of the World Trade Organisation in a selection process that began in December and is expected to last several months. Six of the nominees hail from countries outside the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and three are women.
With one exception, the Geneva-based WTO and its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Gatt), have been run exclusively by white males from rich nations since the Gatt was founded in 1948.
In December, WTO member states submitted their nominations for the director general post, which has been held by Pascal Lamy, from France, since 2005. The first nomination, from Ghana, was announced on 17 December, while the last, from Brazil, came in just three days before the 31 December deadline.
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