Houlin Zhao

Houlin Zhao was elected as International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Secretary-General at the 2014 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference.

From 1986 to 1992, Mr Zhao was a senior staff member in what was then the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee (known under its French acronym CCITT), and from 1993 to 1998 in ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, TSB.

Prior to joining ITU, Mr Zhao served as an engineer in the Design Institute of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of China, taking an active role in his country's expert meetings on telecommunication standards and national plans, as well as participating in ITU’s technical Study Group meetings as a Chinese delegate. He contributed seminal articles to a number of prestigious Chinese technical publications, and in 1985 was awarded a prize for his achievements in science and technology with the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.

Mr Zhao was elected Director of ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau in Minneapolis, USA in 1998 and re-elected for a second term in Marrakech, Morocco in 2002. During this period, he led consensus based discussions between ITU, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on developing and publishing ‘common terms’ on ‘technically aligned texts’ of standards of these organizations, harmonizing policy approaches to intellectual property rights. This led to the adoption of a Common Patent Policy for ITU/ISO/IEC still in use today.

During his term of office, he also spearheaded the introduction of new efficiency measures to improve ITU's standards-making environment and strengthen its promotion.

He enhanced the strategic partnership between Member States and Sector Members, while initiating and maintaining good relationships with industry members. Under his leadership, ITU enhanced its level of international cooperation with other standards development organizations, and was instrumental in helping bridge the standardization gap between developing and developed countries.

Houlin Zhao was elected ITU Deputy Secretary-General at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya, Turkey, in 2006, and was re-elected for a second four-year term at the Plenipotentiary Conference in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2010.

As Deputy Secretary General, he assisted the Secretary General, Dr. Hamadoun I. Touré, and coordinated with the other elected officials in successfully managing ITU’s activities and strategies, and maintaining good contacts with members, both national delegations and industry members.

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