Iran to introduce nominee for GECF’s top post

Iran will introduce a nominee for the post of the secretary general of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) within one week, Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said. Speaking to Shana, Zanganeh said "we will propose our candidate for the post to the GECF’s executive committee which is to hold a meeting in Doha on October 9." The Executive Committee will also set the agenda for the 15th ministerial meeting of GECF which will be held in Tehran in November and according to Zanganeh, Seyed Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh, former minister of petroleum, will be in charge of holding the meeting in Tehran. The GECF secretary general is elected for a two year period and his/her term could be extended for another two years. Leonid Bokhanovskiy is the first Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum who was appointed in this position by the 9th Ministerial Meeting (Doha, Qatar, 9th December 2009) for the period of 2010-2011. Furthermore Bokhanovskiy was re-elected in 2011 for another two year term. The Ministerial Meeting appoints the Secretary General for a period of two years, whose contract may be renewed once for the same period of time. This appointment takes place upon nomination by Member Countries. The Secretary General is the chief officer in the Secretariat and is the legally authorized representative of the Forum. In this capacity, he has the authority to administer the affairs of the Forum in accordance with directions of the Executive Board and the GECF Statute, and is liable and accountable to the Executive Board and the Ministerial Meeting. The Secretary General ensures that the Budget and the Programs of Work of the Forum are complied with; organizes and administers the work of the Forum; prepares reports for submission to Executive Board meetings. The Secretary General is assisted in the discharge of his duties by a team of officers and staff including three Department Heads, Head of the Office of the Secretary General, the Legal Officer, the Public Relations Officer and the Internal Auditor.