H.E. Mr. Juan Somavía
UN Secretary-General Special Adviser on Interregional Policy Cooperation and Director of the Diplomatic Academy of Chile
Juan Somavia (Chile) was Director-General of the ILO from March 1999 to September 2012. He has had a long and distinguished career in civil, political and international affairs. His wide experience in all areas of public life – as Ambassador, CEO, policy-maker, and his involvement in social development, business, civil and academic organizations have all helped shape his vision of the need to secure decent work for women and men through productive investments in the real economy. He believes that in many ways the quality of a society is defined by the quality of work available. He has been particularly active in addressing the social dimension of the present financial and economic crisis.