Qu Dongyu (; born October 29, 1963) is a Chinese diplomat who took up office as the ninth Director-General of the
Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
(FAO) of the United Nations on 1 August 2019. He is the first Chinese national to head the Organization. Qu won the nomination on the first round of voting at the 41st FAO Conference on 23 June 2019, obtaining 108 of the 191 votes cast by the 194 member countries.
He is married, with one daughter.
Early life and education
Qu was born in
Yongzhou
Yongzhou, formerly known as Lingling, is a prefecture-level city in the south of Hunan province, People's Republic of China, located on the southern bank of the Xiang River, which is formed by the confluence of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers, and b ...
,
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
, China in October 1963. He trained to become a
biologist
A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...
, gaining a bachelor's degree from
Hunan Agricultural University
Hunan Agricultural University (, commonly referred to as HAU or Nongda) is a public research university located in Changsha, Hunan, China.
Founded in 1951, the university was incorporated by two independent colleges under the name Hunan Agricult ...
, a Master's in
plant breeding
Plant breeding is the science of changing the traits of plants in order to produce desired characteristics. It has been used to improve the quality of nutrition in products for humans and animals. The goals of plant breeding are to produce cro ...
and
genetics
Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...
from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and a Doctorate in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences from the
University of Wageningen
Wageningen University & Research (also known as Wageningen UR; abbreviation: WUR) is a public university in Wageningen, Netherlands, specializing in life sciences with a focus on agriculture, technical and engineering subjects. It is a globally ...
, Netherlands.
Career
From 2001 to 2011 he was Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Between 2011 and 2015 he served as Vice-Chair of the
Ningxia
Ningxia (,; , ; alternately romanized as Ninghsia), officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), is an autonomous region in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in ...
Hui Autonomous Region in China and in 2015 he became Vice-Minister of the
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People's Republic of China () is the cabinet-level executive department of the State Council which is responsible for agriculture and rural affairs in the country. The ministry is headqua ...
, where he was involved in promoting international collaboration with organizations such as FAO and
Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International
CABI (legally CAB International, formerly Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux) is a nonprofit intergovernmental development and information organisation focusing primarily on agricultural and environmental issues in the developing world, and th ...
.
Food and Agriculture Organization
Qu was supported by China in the 2018 election for Director-General of the FAO.
The
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
was concerned about Qu's potential victory, and
Kevin Moley
Kevin E. Moley is an American businessman and government official. He served in several government positions, including Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services from 1992 to 1993 and Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization ...
moved to support Georgian politician David Kirvalidze, though many other American officials, including those at the
U.S. Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...
and
U.S. Embassy in Rome preferred
Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle
Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle (born in 1963) is a French agricultural engineer. Ministerial Delegate to the Minister of Agriculture and Food since July 2018. Between 2013 and 2018 she was Under Secretary of State for the French Ministry of Agricult ...
, the French agricultural engineer backed by the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
.
Qu won the election in June 2019 with 108 votes over Geslain-Lanéelle's 71 and Kirvalidze's 12. Allegations of
bribery
Bribery is the Offer and acceptance, offering, Gift, giving, Offer and acceptance, receiving, or Solicitation, soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With reg ...
and coercion by China to secure the votes of other FAO delegates featured prominently in the election.
Following the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, diplomats have criticized Qu for failing to address the
2022 food crises
2022 saw a rapid increase in food prices and shortages of food supplies around the world. The compounding crises in distinct parts of the world were caused by compounding geopolitical and economic crisis. The crises followed food security a ...
. According to a former UN official interviewed by ''
Politico Europe
''Politico Europe'' (stylized as ''POLITICO Europe'') is the European edition of the German-owned news organization ''Politico'' reporting on political affairs of the European Union. Its headquarters are located in Brussels with additional offices ...
'', "Nobody actually takes him seriously: It’s not him; it’s China," and "I’m not convinced he would make a single decision without first checking it with the capital." According to ''
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'', "Many governments privately accuse the Chinese head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, Qu Dongyu, of downplaying the impact on food security of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a huge grain producer. They presume the aim was to spare China’s ally, Mr Putin, from criticism."
References
External links
FAO profileChinaVitae profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qu, Dongyu
1963 births
Living people
Food and Agriculture Organization officials
Chinese officials of the United Nations
People's Republic of China politicians from Hunan
Politicians from Yongzhou