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Politics

UN Body Elects First African Head Since Founding a Century Ago

  • Former Togolese Prime Minister Gilbert Houngbo to lead ILO
  • Director-general’s five-year term will begin on Oct. 1
Gilbert Houngbo 

Gilbert Houngbo 

Photographer: Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images

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The International Labor Organization elected former Togolese Prime Minister Gilbert Houngbo as its director-general, the first African to hold the top post since the body was founded in 1919.

The appointment of Houngbo, 61, was announced in a statement published Friday.