The excitement over who will be the next director of the International Atomic Energy Agency has got me thinking: Who runs the world? Or, more accurately, who runs organizations designed to add order and structure to international cooperation?
Here is a back-of-the envelope roundup of all the international organizations of which I could think. Have I missed any? Would you have counted FIFA? A prize goes to the reader who can correctly pick the nationality of the person who runs the Universal Postal Union. No cheating!
United Nations: Ban Ki Moon, South Korea
International Criminal Court : Chief Prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocamo, Argentina; President, Judge Sang-Hyun Song, South Korea
NATO: Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Denmark
World Bank: Robert Zoellick, United States
International Monetary Fund: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, France
International Court of Justice: Judge Hisashi Owada, Japan
World Food Program: Josette Sheeran, United States
International Atomic Energy Agency: Mohammed el Baradei, Egypt
Unicef: Ann M. Venemen, United States
World Health Organization: Dr. Margaret Chan, China/Hong Kong/Canada
Interpol: Ronald K Noble, United States
International Civil Aviation Organization: Dr. Taieb Cherif, Algeria
International Maritime Organization: Efthimios E. Mitropoulos, Greece
Universal Postal Union: Edouard Dayan, France
International Labor Organization: Juan Somavia, Chile
International Organization for Migration: William Lacy Swig, United States
