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Juan Somavia
Juan Somavia was elected to serve as the ninth Director-General of the ILO by the Governing Body in March 1998, the first representative from the Southern hemisphere to head the organization. In March 2003, he was re-elected for a second five-year term.An attorney by profession, Mr. Somavia has had a long and distinguished career in civil and international affairs. His wide experience in all areas of public life - as a diplomat and academic - and his involvement in social development, business and civil organizations have helped shape his vision of the need to secure decent work for people all over the world.
Since taking office in 1999, Mr. Somavia has taken up the challenge that the rapidly changing economy presents to the ILO. In 1999, he submitted his Decent Work Agenda to the International Labour Conference, which was subsequently endorsed by the Governing Body and the Conference. The work of the Office has been reorganized around four strategic objectives that make it possible to establish targets and indicators to measure progress and provide the basis of accountability.
Born in 1941 in Chile, Mr. Somavia's early schooling took place in Chile, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United States and Ecuador. In 1958, he returned to his country to read law at the Catholic University of Chile. After graduating in 1962, he continued higher studies in economic development at the School of Law and Economics at the University of Paris. Mr. Somavia was made Laurea Honoris Causa in political sciences by the University of Turin in November 2001 and awarded a Doctorate Honoris Causa by the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne in May 2003.
Press releases
BT and Infosys Technologies Awarded National Outsourcing Association's Innovative Outsourcing Project of the Year
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Blogs
AMR Research wrote about Indian companies setting up numerous near-shore delivery centers in US time-zones. There you have it - India is outsourcing outsourcing. Discuss
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