Juan Somavía (1941- ), director-general of the ILO since 1999, launched the concept of decent work in a fair globalization. Involved in the GATT Kennedy Round in 1966 and a lecturer on trade policy, he was ambassador and advisor to the Chilean foreign minister on regional and multilateral issues (1968-73) and permanent representative to the UN (1990-99), during which time he proposed the 1995 World Summit for Social Development and chaired its preparatory committee, and was twice president of ECOSOC (1998-99, 1993-94) and the Security Council (1996 and 1997). He chaired the board of UNRISD (1996-99) and was founder executive-director and president of the Latin American Institute for Transnational Studies (1976-1990) and the South American Peace Commission (1985- ). A staunch opponent of the Pinochet dictatorship, he was actively involved in the restoration of democracy. A national of Chile, he was educated at the Catholic University of Chile and the University of Paris.

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