Guy Ryder Becomes 10th ILO Director-General

Outgoing International Labor Organization (ILO) head, Juan Somavia, has handed over his job to Guy Ryder, who took office as the Geneva-based United Nations agency’s director-general on 1 October 2012.

Guy Ryder speaking at the 101st International Labor Conference, Geneva, 30 May 2012. Juan Somavia, at right, looking on. (ILO photo)

Ryder received three keys symbolizing the ILO’s structure, from outgoing ILO head, Juan Somavia.

“You are now the guardian of our values and our traditions,” Somavia said, handing over the three keys to the gates of the original ILO building.

The keys symbolize the United Nations agency’s unique tripartite composition, which brings together representatives of governments, workers and employers.

“They are in good hands, in very good hands,” Somavia said.

“When these three keys turn together, when governments, employers and workers are able to come together, doors open and social justice advances,” Ryder said

He said that despite the fact that social justice still remains a distant prospect for millions of people, “the world is a better, fairer, safer place for what the ILO has achieved.”

10th ILO Director-General

Ryder – who is the 10th ILO director-general – has 30 years of experience in international work policy. His career began at the International Department of the Trade Union Congress in London.

Handing over the ILO golden keys. (ILO photo)

Ryder joined the ILO in Geneva in 1998 as director of the Bureau for Workers’ Activities. He was named executive director for International Labor Standards and Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work in 2010.

Born in Liverpool, UK, in 1956, Ryder was educated at the universities of Cambridge and Liverpool.

Somavia, 71, had headed the ILO since 1999. An attorney by profession and a Chilean national, Somavia has had a long and distinguished career in civil and international affairs.