Mr. Gilbert F. Houngbo

Mr. Gilbert F. Houngbo became the sixth President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on 1 April 2017. He was reappointed for a second term in February 2021.

Mr. Gilbert F. Houngbo is also Chair of UN-Water, which coordinates the efforts of over 30 UN entities and international organizations working on water and sanitation issues.

He has more than 30 years of experience in the public, multilateral and private sectors, including as Deputy Director General of the International Labour Organization; Prime Minister of the Togolese Republic, and a number of executive-level positions at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), including Director of Finances, Chief of Staff, and Assistant Secretary-General. He spent a decade in the private sector, including at Price Waterhouse, Canada.

In 2021, Mr. Gilbert F. Houngbo was invited to become a board member of the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), and was also recently invited to chair the Board of the Natural Resource Governance Institute.

Mr. Gilbert F. Houngbo earned a Maîtrise en gestion des entreprises from the University of Lomé, Togo, and a Diplôme d’Etudes Supérieures Spécialisées in Specialized Accounting from the University of Quebec, Canada. He is a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants.