ILO leadership showdown: Spain's Yolanda Díaz versus incumbent Gilbert Houngbo, with US support at stake

Spain’s deputy prime minister Yolanda Díaz and ILO chief Gilbert Houngbo are the sole contenders for the agency’s top job, and Houngbo is courting U.S. backing by promising a vacant deputy director-general seat if Washington clears its CHF 257 million arrears.

Gilbert F. Houngbo, the Togolese director-general of the International Labour Organization, is running for a second term and will be challenged by Spain’s deputy prime minister and labour minister Yolanda Díaz, the only other nominee. A diplomatic report from a Geneva meeting on August 11, attended by EU ambassadors and disarmament envoys, disclosed Houngbo’s strategy to secure U.S. support by appointing an American to the vacant deputy director-general position, provided Washington settles its CHF 257 million debt—roughly 70 % of the ILO’s unpaid dues.

The United States, which supplies 22 % of the agency’s budget, has been delinquent, leading Houngbo to adopt a cautious budget that anticipates possible non-payment. Earlier attempts to place Trump-era advisers such as Nels Nordquist and Sheng Li in senior roles were blocked or withdrawn after criticism and payment delays. The report also notes a planned discussion between Houngbo and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio about America’s role in multilateral institutions.

The ILO’s governing body, comprising government, trade-union and employer representatives, will decide in November whether Houngbo retains the helm or yields to Díaz, with candidacy filings closing on August 31. Díaz has pledged to draft a universal catalogue of minimum labour rights for all 187 member states.