CNS Congratulates Ambassador Amano as New IAEA Director General

Monterey, California—On July 2, 2009, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors selected Ambassador Yukiya Amano to be the fifth director general of the Agency. He will succeed Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, whose current term ends in December 2009.

Ambassador Amano, the Permanent Representative of Japan to International Organizations in Vienna, and Japan's representative on the IAEA Board of Governors, has extensive experience and expertise in disarmament, nonproliferation, and nuclear energy policy. Before assuming his post in Vienna, he was Director-General for Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Science in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also has long been involved in major international nonproliferation and disarmament negotiations, including the 2007 session of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) 2010 Review Conference, over which he presided (see "Making the Agenda Stick: Lessons Learned from the 2007 NPT PrepCom," in the March 2009 issue of the center's journal, the Nonproliferation Review, for an interview with Ambassador Amano about that meeting).

The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) has had the privilege to work closely with Ambassador Amano for many years. He was a visiting scholar at CNS, in both the Washington, D.C. and the Monterey offices from fall 2001 to spring 2002. While in residence at CNS, he published an article, "A Japanese View on Nuclear Disarmament," in the Nonproliferation Review, which carefully analyzed Tokyo's nuclear disarmament policy. He also was actively engaged in educational and research activities.

Before assuming his ambassadorial position, Mr. Amano represented Japan as a member of the Group of Governmental Experts for the United Nations Study on Disarmament and Nonproliferation Education. He contributed significantly to the successful conclusion of the UN Study on Disarmament and Nonproliferation Education that was unanimously adopted at the 2002 UN General Assembly. The study contained 34 practical recommendations to promote disarmament and nonproliferation education. In the process of drafting this study, Ambassador Amano worked closely with CNS director Dr. William Potter, who served as an advisor to the Group of Governmental Experts. As a member of the Japanese delegation to the 2002 NPT PrepCom, Ambassador Amano underscored the importance of disarmament and nonproliferation education and was influential in leading the PrepCom chairman to incorporate the concept in his factual summary.

Although the challenges facing the IAEA are formidable, Ambassador Amano has demonstrated the knowledge and fortitude to address them on an impartial and sustained basis. In his speech at the Board of Governors meeting after he was formally appointed as director general, he stated that: "The tasks awaiting us will be tremendous, but I am confident that a Director General who is trusted fully and actively supported by all Member States will not fail to achieve the goals enshrined in the [IAEA] Statute."

Ambassador Amano has long endeavored to achieve a safer and more peaceful world through disarmament and nonproliferation, and has emphasized the important role that education and training can play in this process. We look forward to his tenure at the IAEA and to working with him and the IAEA in pursuit of mutual objectives, including strengthening the NPT and promoting disarmament and nonproliferation education.

The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies strives to combat the spread of weapons of mass destruction by training the next generation of nonproliferation specialists and disseminating timely information and analysis. Based at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, CNS is the largest nongovernmental organization in the United States devoted exclusively to research and training on nonproliferation issues.