Kunio Mikuriya of Japan is the New Secy General of WCO
173 Members of the World Customs Organization elected their new Secretary General, Kunio Mikuriya, on Saturday 28 June. The elections which saw 9 candidates vying for the top position took place during the WCO's annual Council Sessions in Brussels from 26 to 28 June 2008. DDT 883 on 10.6.2008 had brought you profiles of the nine candidates in the fray.
54 year old English and French speaking Kunio Mikuriya had been a Deputy Secretary General of the WCO, since 2002.
Legal Corner Icon — the image was hosted by the publisher and was not captured. Kunio who will take over in January 2009, said, “I intend to lead the Organization by example, vigorously enhancing good governance by strengthening Member participation in decision-making, guaranteeing transparency, and ensuring accountability”.
Before being elected Deputy Secretary General by the WCO Council in June 2001 Kunio Mikuriya spent 25 years with Japan's Ministry of Finance. During his career with the Ministry of Finance, Kunio occupied a variety of senior posts, which have given him broad experience in Customs, trade development, budget, and financial policies. He served as Director of International Negotiations, Director of the Enforcement Division, and Director of the Research and International Affairs Division in the Tariff and Customs Bureau. He also served as Director of the Salaries and Allowances Control Division and as budget controller in the Budget Bureau. He was a Counsellor at the Japanese Mission in Geneva and participated in the Uruguay Round negotiations. This experience enabled him to acquire an excellent knowledge of trade-related issues. Since January 2002, he has been leading an effort to co-ordinate the work of the WCO Secretariat with other international organizations such as the WTO, with financing bodies such as the World Bank, IMF, etc., and the private sector.
Kunio is said to be a friend of India and it seems India had supported him in the elections. We hear that he had called up the Indian Customs gratefully after his victory. Last year, exactly around this time, he was in India and visited the DG, Valuation on 4th July 2007 and suggested that India should offer technical assistance to developing countries in building up their valuationdatabases.
TIOL wishes Mr. Mikuriya all the very best in his years as the leader of World Customs.