IUCN President and Council

About IUCN's Council and President

Elected by our Members at the IUCN Congress, the IUCN Council is our principal governing body. The IUCN President chairs the Council.

Upcoming meetings

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IUCN President

iucn-president

Razan Al Mubarak

President of IUCN
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Former IUCN Presidents

Bio

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This is the decade for our planet. The decade for action.

IUCN Council

The IUCN Council is IUCN’s principal governing body in between sessions of the World Conservation Congress - the general assembly of the Union's members. 

Official correspondence to the IUCN President and/or Council should be addressed to president(at)iucn.org. 

Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund

Valuable guidance 

Subject to the authority, direction and policy of the IUCN World Conservation Congress, the role of the IUCN Council is to set strategic direction and policy guidance for the work of the Union; provide oversight and guidance on the performance of the components of the Union as a whole and of the Director General in particular; fulfill its fiduciary responsibilities to the Members of the Union and render account to them.

IUCN Council Members

The elected members of Council hold office from the close of the World Conservation Congress (11 September 2021) to the close of the next ordinary session of the Congress.

 

President

Ms Razan Al Mubarak, United Arab Emirates *

Treasurer

Mr Nihal Welikala, Sri Lanka and United Kingdom *

Councillors elected from the regions

Africa
Mr Brian Child, Zimbabwe
Mr Ali Kaka, Kenya
Ms Imèn Meliane, Tunisia (Vice President) *
Ms Gloria Ujor, Nigeria

Meso and South America
Mr Marco Vinicio Cerezo Blandón, Guatemala
Ms Ana Di Pangracio, Argentina
Mr Ramon Perezgil Salcido, Mexico
Ms Bibiana Sucre, Venezuela 

North America and the Caribbean
Mr Rick Bates, Canada *
Mr Sixto J. Incháustegui, Dominican Republic
Ms Susan Lieberman, USA *

South and East Asia
Mr Kazuaki Hoshino, Japan
Mr Ma Keping, China
Mr Vivek Menon, India *
Ms Hasna Jasimuddin Moudud, Bangladesh
Mr Jong Soo Yoon, Republic of Korea *

West Asia
Ms Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, United Arab Emirates
Mr Said Ahmad Damhoureyeh, Jordan 
Mr Ayman Rabi, Palestine 

Oceania
Ms Lolita Gibbons, Palau
Mr Peter Michael Cochrane, Australia (Vice President) 
Ms Catherine Iorns, New Zealand

East Europe, North and Central Asia
Mr Carl Amirgulashvili, Georgia
Mr Vilmos Kiszel, Hungary
Mr Samad-John Smaranda, Romania *

West Europe
Ms Sonia Castañeda Rial, Spain
Ms Hilde Eggermont, Belgium (Vice President) 
Ms Maud Lelievre, France

Councillor from the State in which IUCN has its seat

Mr Norbert Baerlocher, Switzerland

Additional appointed Councillor 

Mr Ramiro Batzin Chojoj, Guatemala (Vice President) *

Commission chairs

World Commission on Environmental Law
Ms Christina Voigt, Germany

World Commission on Protected Areas
Ms Madhu Rao, India and United Kingdom

Species Survival Commission
Mr Jon Paul Rodriguez, Venezuela *

Climate Crisis Commission
Mr Manuel Pulgar Vidal, Peru 

Commission on Ecosystem Management
Ms Angela Andrade, Colombia

Commission on Education and Communication
Mr Sean Southey, Canada/South Africa

Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy
Ms Kristen Walker Painemilla, USA

Director General (non-voting)

Dr. Grethel Aguilar, Costa Rica*

* Member of the Bureau of the IUCN Council