Qu Dongyu

In this Chinese name, the family name is Qu (屈).
Qu Dongyu
屈冬玉
Dongyu in 2023
Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 August 2019
Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres
Preceded byJosé Graziano da Silva
Vice Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs
In office
2015–2019
MinisterHan Changfu
Vice-Chair of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region
In office
2011–2015
ChairpersonWang Zhengwei
Liu Hui
Personal details
Born (1963-10-29) October 29, 1963 (age 61)
Yongzhou, Hunan, China[1]
Nationality Chinese
Political partyChinese Communist Party
Alma materHunan Agricultural University
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
University of Wageningen
ProfessionBiologist
Chinese name
Chinese屈冬玉
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinQū Dōngyù
Wade–GilesChʻü Tung-yü
IPA[tɕʰý tʊ́ŋŷ]
Xiang
IPATʼy1 Dong1y4

Qu Dongyu (Chinese: 屈冬玉; pinyin: Qū Dōngyù; born October 29, 1963) is a Chinese diplomat who took up office as the ninth Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations on 1 August 2019. He is the first Chinese national to head the Organization. Qu won the nomination on the first round of voting at the 41st FAO Conference on 23 June 2019, obtaining 108 of the 191 votes cast by the 194 member countries.[2] He is married and has one daughter.[3][4]

Early life and education

Qu was born in Yongzhou, Hunan, China in October 1963. He trained to become a biologist, gaining a bachelor's degree from Hunan Agricultural University, a Master's in plant breeding and genetics from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and a Doctorate in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences from the University of Wageningen, Netherlands in 1986. He joined the Chinese Communist Party the same year.[5]

Career

From 2001 to 2011 he was vice president of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Between 2011 and 2015 he served as vice-chair of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in China and in 2015 he became vice-minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, where he was involved in promoting international collaboration with organizations such as FAO and Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International.[6]

Food and Agriculture Organization

Qu was supported by China in the 2018 election for Director-General of the FAO.[2] The United States Department of State was concerned about Qu's potential victory, and Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Kevin Moley moved to support Georgian politician David Kirvalidze, though many other American officials, including those at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Embassy in Rome preferred Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle, the French agricultural engineer backed by the European Union.[2]

Qu won the election in June 2019 with 108 votes over Geslain-Lanéelle's 71 and Kirvalidze's 12.[7] Allegations of bribery and coercion by China to secure the votes of other FAO delegates featured prominently in the election.[2][8] After Qu's election, Chinese nationals were appointed to central departments and approvals for pesticides containing ingredients banned in the EU were granted for use in Asia and Africa.[9]

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, diplomats have criticized Qu for failing to address the 2022–2023 food crises. According to a former UN official interviewed by Politico Europe, "Nobody actually takes him seriously: It's not him; it's China," and "I'm not convinced he would make a single decision without first checking it with the capital."[10] According to The Economist, "Many governments privately accuse the Chinese head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (sic), Qu Dongyu, of downplaying the impact on food security of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a huge grain producer. They presume the aim was to spare China's ally, Mr Putin, from criticism."[11]

In 2023, a joint study by German public broadcasters found that Qu "instrumentalized" the FAO "to serve Beijing's interests."[12] Under Qu's tenure, the FAO has supported Belt and Road Initiative projects and inked its first agreement with a pesticide company, Syngenta, which is a subsidiary of state-owned ChemChina.[12]

References

  1. ^ "ChinaVitae profile – Qu Dongyu". Archived from the original on 2020-05-07. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  2. ^ a b c d Lynch, Colum; Gramer, Robbie (October 23, 2019). "Outfoxed and Outgunned: How China Routed the U.S. in a U.N. Agency". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on October 25, 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
  3. ^ "Qu Dongyu becomes first Chinese to head UN food agency FAO". France 24. 2019-06-23. Archived from the original on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  4. ^ "FAO, il cinese Qu Dongyu assume l'incarico di Direttore Generale: "Saremo più dinamici, trasparenti e inclusivi"". La Repubblica. 2019-08-05. Archived from the original on 2020-08-06. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  5. ^ "屈冬玉 简历 - 人民网 地方领导资料库". People's Daily (in Chinese). July 2015. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  6. ^ "Newly appointed FAO Director General, Dr Qu Dongyu, plays important role in building China-CABI partnership". Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International. Archived from the original on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  7. ^ Elmer, Keegan (24 June 2019). "UN food agency FAO may face more US scrutiny with Chinese national Qu Dongyu at the helm". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 20 December 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  8. ^ Fortuna, Gerardo (2019-06-24). "China's Qu Dongyu beats EU candidate for FAO leadership". EURACTIV. Archived from the original on 2019-11-08. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  9. ^ "China. Power. Food". Deutsche Welle. January 24, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  10. ^ Wax, Eddy (23 December 2022). "Chairman FAO: Western powers pressure China's UN food boss to grip global hunger crisis". Politico Europe. Archived from the original on 23 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  11. ^ "China seeks a world order that defers to states and their rulers". The Economist. 10 October 2022. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  12. ^ a b "Exerting Influence: How China Is Instrumentalizing the FAO". Tagesschau. 30 June 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-06-30. Retrieved 2023-07-02.