The new management team of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), led by Secretary-General Houlin Zhao, will be formally inaugurated on Thursday, January 15, at ITU Headquarters in Geneva. Representatives of member states to the United Nations Office in Geneva and the heads of UN agencies will be in attendance, and the ceremony will be webcast. Zhao, of the People’s Republic of China, was elected Secretary-General at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference last October in South Korea. He previously served as ITU Deputy Secretary-General and as director of the ITU Standardization Bureau. 2015 marks the 150th anniversary of the International Telecommunication Union.

“The remarkable history of ITU exemplifies its stellar role in connecting the world to the most advanced and innovative means of communication, from the days of the telegraph to the telephone, television, Internet and mobile broadband, which now allows us to be in touch anytime, anywhere with friends, family, colleagues and even things,” Zhao said. “ITU has reaffirmed its reputation worldwide as one of the most resilient and relevant organizations and continues its work as the specialized agency of the United Nations, and its oldest member, dealing with state-of-the-art telecommunications and information and communication technologies.”

The incoming Deputy Secretary-General is Malcolm Johnson of the United Kingdom. He served previously as director of the ITU Standardization Bureau. François Rancy and Brahima Sanou were re-elected as directors of the Radiocommunication Bureau and Telecommunication Development Bureau, respectively, while Chaesub Lee of South Korea was elected director of the ITU Standardization Bureau.

Zhao also paid tribute to the founding members of the Union and to the communications experts who have dedicated their lives to connecting the world ever since the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention in Paris on May 17, 1865, which led to the creation of the ITU.