As instructed by the General Council, Mr. Moore also consulted with his designated
successor, Supachai Panitchpakdi of Thailand, before making his selection."This
decision was an extremely tough call, given all the very good people who were nominated by
their governments. I have selected a broad mix of people with the wide range of skills we
need to ensure smooth and efficient management of the WTO Secretariat. I want these men in
place as soon as possible and certainly by the Seattle Ministerial Conference (30 November
to 3 December). Precisely when they can take up their duties is up to their
governments and employers," Mr. Moore said.
Mr.
Moore and Dr. Supachai agreed that the four Deputies would serve for a month after
Mr. Moore's term expires on 31 August 2002 so as to allow for a smooth transition
when Dr. Supachai comes to office to begin his three-year term.
Ablassé Ouedraogo
Biographical Note
Ablassé Ouedraogo has been the Special Advisor to the President of Burkina Faso
since February 1999, having served for the previous five years as Minister of Foreign
Affairs.
During
the last decade, he has represented Burkina Faso at senior level in various international
inter-governmental forums, including as Deputy Resident Representative of the United
Nations Development Programme in Kinshasa, Zaire (1991-1993), Head of the Regional Office
for East Africa of the United Nations Sudano-Sahélienne Office covering, at the same
time, the IGADD, the SADCC, the OAU, the ECA and the UNEP (1993-1994).
More
recently, in October 1998, Mr Ouedraogo led the Delegation of Burkina Faso at the
Ministerial Meeting of ECOWAS and was a Member of the Presidential Delegation at the 21st
Regular Summit of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS in Abuja, Nigeria.
In
November 1998, he was the Head of the Delegation of Burkina Faso at the Meeting of
Ministers of Foreign Affairs and was a Member of the Presidential Delegation at the 20th
Summit of Heads of State of France and Africa in Paris, France. In the following month, he
participated in the OECD Forum of development partners.
Among
his publications are "Réflexions sur la crise industrielle en France"
(Reflections on the Industrial Crisis in France), University of Nice, 1979; and "Les
firmes multinationales et l’industrialisation des pays en voie de
développement" (Multinational Companies and the Industrialization of the Developing
Countries), University of Nice, 1981.
In
December 1997, he was awarded the honorary distinction of Officer of the National Order of
Burkina Faso.
Paul-Henri Ravier
Biographical note
Paul-Henri Ravier has served for more than twenty years in various positions in
the French Department of Trade, within the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry.
Since 1991, he has been Deputy-Secretary of this Department, which represents France in
the relevant committees in the EU, and in the multilateral trade negotiations, formerly in
the GATT, and subsequently in the WTO.
After
a Master's degree in Law, Paul-Henri Ravier spent two years in the post graduation course
at the Ecole Nationale d'Administration (1973-1975), during which he was posted to
Washington. He then joined the civil service in the Trade Department, in charge of the
bilateral trade relations with South-East Asia, and then, for another two years, was
responsible for the relations with the Middle-East.
In
1980, he was appointed as advisor for international economic issues to the Prime Minister
(and former EU Commissioner) Raymond Barre.
On
his return to the Trade Department, Paul-Henri Ravier was promoted for three years as Head
of the unit in charge of the Trade Finance Policy, and participated in the OECD
negotiations on disciplines on aid and export credits.
For
five years (1985-1990), he was appointed Assistant Director, responsible for the
management of bilateral trade relations with Eastern Europe, Asia, the Pacific and the
Middle-East.
During
the period 1975-1990, the various positions held by Paul-Henri Ravier have led him to
establish close contacts with many officials in the field of international trade, either
with his counterparts in foreign Administrations, or with the business communities
involved in bilateral and multilateral issues.
In
his current position as Deputy-Secretary of the Trade Department since 1991, Mr. Ravier
has participated in, and managed, negotiating teams in a number of trade negotiations
dealing with settlement of trade disputes, definition and conduct of export promotion
strategies, and management of trade finance schemes.
He
has led the French delegation in the East-West "MUNSTER" process for five years,
in several negotiations on international aid issues in the OECD and, more recently, in
various negotiations in the framework of ASEM meetings.
Miguel Rodríguez Mendoza
Biographical note
Miguel Rodríguez Mendoza is a specialist on trade policy issues. Since mid-1998
he has been a Visiting Scholar at Georgetown University, Washington, DC, and has worked as
a consultant for a number of international organizations, such as Andean Community, UNCTAD
and the IDB. He has also advised several Venezuelan private companies on trade matters. He
was, until March 1998, Chief Trade Advisor at the Organization of American States (OAS),
where he established that organization's Trade United, which has played an important role
in the preparatory process as well as the negotiations of the Free-Trade Area of the
Americas (FTAA).
Between
1991 and 1994, he was Minister of State, President of the Institute of Foreign Trade,
Venezuela's governmental body responsible for the country's trade policies. During this
period he led Venezuela's trade negotiations and concluded trade and integration
agreements with Colombia, Mexico, Chile and the countries of Central America and the
Caribbean. He became President of the Commission of the Cartagena Agreement, the policy
decision body of the Andean Community, in 1993.
Between
1989 and 1991, he was Special Advisor to the President on International Economic Affairs,
and was appointed as chief negotiator for Venezuela's accession to the GATT, which was
completed in 1990. From 1982 to 1988, Mr. Rodríguez Mendoza was Director for Consultation
and Coordination at the Latin American Economic System (SELA), where he was responsible
for assisting Latin America and the Caribbean countries in international economic
negotiations. He has also been a member of Venezuela's Foreign Service, and served as
first secretary at the Venezuelan Mission to the United Nations (1978-81).
In
1973, Mr. Rodríguez Mendoza obtained a law degree at the Central University of Venezuela.
In 1975 he completed a Postgraduate Course in Economic Development at the University of
Manchester (England), and subsequently attended the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences
Sociales (Paris, 1975-77), where he prepared a Doctorat de 3eme Cycle in the field of
political sociology.
He
has edited Trade Rules in the Making: Challenges in regional and multilateral
negotiations (Washington, DC: OAS/Brookings Institution, 1999); The
Andean Community and the United States: Trade and Investment Relations in the 1990s (OAS,
1998); Growth or Recession: The IMF and the World Bank in Latin America (Paz
e Terra Economía, Rio de Janeiro, 1987); and A Difficult Co-Existence: Latin
America and U.S. Economic Policies (Nueva Sociedad, Caracas, 1987). He has also
published several articles in different books and specialized journals.
Andrew L. Stoler
Biographical note
Andrew L. Stoler has been Deputy Chief of Mission at the Geneva, Switzerland,
office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), Executive Office of the
President, since September 1989. In this capacity, he serves as the Deputy Permanent
Representative of the United States to the World Trade Organization (WTO) where, with the
Ambassador, he is charged with the local day-to-day coordination and execution of the
multilateral trade policies of the United States. During the Uruguay Round of Multilateral
Trade Negotiations, Andrew Stoler was principal U.S. negotiator for the Agreement
Establishing the WTO. Mr. Stoler is Chairman of the Working Party on the Accession to the
WTO of Ukraine and currently serves as a Deputy Chairman of the WTO Committee on Regional
Trade Agreements.
From
January 1988 through August 1989, Mr. Stoler served as Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade
Representative for Europe and the Mediterranean in the Washington office of USTR. In that
position, he was charged with bilateral trade relations with the European Union, non-EU
Europe and countries in the Near East and North Africa. During this period, Mr. Stoler
organized and chaired the U.S. Government's Inter-agency Task Force on the EC's
"Internal Market" programme.
Mr. Stoler
served as MTN Codes Coordinator in the Geneva USTR office from January 1982 through
December 1987. In this capacity, he represented the United States in the Committees and
Councils established for the Non-tariff Measure "Codes" negotiated during the
Tokyo Round of multilateral trade negotiations.
Joining USTR
in early 1980, Andrew Stoler's first assignment in the office was as Director for Canada,
Australia and New Zealand – a position he occupied until his departure for Geneva.
Prior to working at USTR, Mr. Stoler served in the Office of International Trade Policy at
the U.S. Department of Commerce from 1975 through 1979, during which time he served as a
member of the U.S. Delegation to the Tokyo Round.
Mr. Stoler
holds an M.B.A. in International Business from George Washington University and a B.S. in
International Economic Affairs from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. |
