Vladimír Dlouhý – Picture through Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
The Czech Republic has one candidate for the position of Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), namely Eng. Vladimír Dlouhý.
A novel OECD Secretary General ought to replace Mexican national José Ángel Gurría, who has headed the Organization for three consecutive terms since 2006. The selection process should be finalised by March 2021, and the winner will take over the OSCE’s reins as of June of the same year.
Eng. Vladimír Dlouhý (born 31 July 1953) is a respected economist who served as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Minister of Industry and Trade. He was a member of the core team responsible for fundamental social and economic reforms that transformed the Czech Republic from a centrally planned to a developed market economy.
Currently he serves as President of the Czech Chamber of Commerce and Deputy President of EUROCHAMBRES, Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry, representing over 20 million businesses in 44 countries. Throughout his rich career, he likewise occupied high-level advisory and supervisory positions in major international companies such as Goldman Sachs, Rolls-Royce, Telefonica O2 or ABB.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is an international organisation based in Paris, gathering 37 countries from North and South America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. It works on establishing evidence-based international standards and on finding solutions to social, economic and environmental challenges. It provides a unique forum and knowledge hub for data and analysis, exchange of experiences, best-practice sharing, and advice on public policies and international standard-setting. The latter role is even more prominent in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic as state must find solutions to common challenges, including a green transition and a sustainable and inclusive economic recovery.
Drouhý’s candidature comes as the OECD marks sixty years as reformed organisation, in fact on 14 December 2020 in Paris a ceremony to commemorate its 60th birthday and relevance for economic policy was held in the presence of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel; the French President; Emmanuel Macron; Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez as well as the digital participation of Colombia’s President, Iván Duque, New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
Vladimír Dlouhý is the only candidate with the experience of bringing an economy in shambles from a Communist regime, to a competitive market economy, which makes him particularly suitable to lead the OECD as more countries are eager to join.
For further information:
Czech Foreign Ministry:
OECD: http://www.oecd.org
Personal website of Vladimír Dlouhý: https://www.vladimirdlouhy.cz/?lang=en
