Leadership
The Organization is led by the Director-General, which is directly appointed by the Conference. An overview of Directors-general is shown below
| Country | Name | Start of Term |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | José Bustani | 13 May 1997 |
| Argentina | Rogelio Pfirter | 25 July 2002 |
| Turkey | Ahmet Üzümcü | 25 July 2010 |
The second term of the first Director-general only served for about one year, after which he was removed from office on grounds of financial mismanagement. There is much controversy surrounding the reasons behind Bustani's removal. Bustani had been negotiating with the Iraqi regime, and was hoping to persuade them to sign up to the OPCW, thus granting OPCW inspectors full access to Iraq's purported chemical weapons arsenal. If Bustani had succeeded, this would have placed a formidable obstacle in the path of the Bush administration's war plans, by removing their ostensible motive. Bustani's supporters insist this was the reason why the US forced him out. The Bush administration claimed that Bustani's position was no longer tenable, stating three main reasons: "polarizing and confrontational conduct", "mismanagement issues" and "advocacy of inappropriate roles for the OPCW". Bustani's supporters also claim that the U.S. ambassador issued threats against OPCW members in order to coerce them to support the U.S. initiative against Bustani, including the withdrawal of U.S. support for the organization. It has been said that Bustani was bullied out from the OPCW by John Bolton — something that appears consistent with what was said about Bolton's practices during the U.S. Senate hearings prior to his appointment as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. This decision was highly controversial and deemed improper by the International Labour Organization.
Read more about this topic: Organisation For The Prohibition Of Chemical Weapons
Famous quotes containing the word leadership:
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