Renato Ruggiero was born on 9 April 1930 in Naples and graduated in law from the University of Naples in 1953. Since then, much of his career has been as a professional diplomat, with postings in Sao Paulo, Moscow, Washington, Belgrade and Brussels. From 1969 to 1978, Mr. Ruggiero worked at the European Commission in Brussels, serving as the Chef de Cabinet of the President until 1973 and participating in the negotiations for the United Kingdom's accession to the European Community and for the European Economic and Monetary Union. He became Director-General for Regional Policies from 1973-1977, and Spokesman for the President of the European Commission, Mr. Roy (now Lord) Jenkins, in 1977.

  From 1978 to 1987, he was appointed to a series of senior positions in the Italian diplomatic service. He negotiated Italy's entry into the European Monetary System and served as Diplomatic Adviser to the Prime Minister and as Chef de Cabinet of two successive Foreign Ministers. In 1980 he was appointed Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Italy to the EEC in Brussels. Returning to Rome four years later, he served first as Director-General for Economic Affairs (1984-85) and then as Secretary General (1985-87) at the Foreign Ministry. During this period he also served as the Personal Representative of the Prime Minister at seven G-7 Economic Summits, and as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the OECD.

  In 1987, he was appointed Foreign Trade Minister and served in that post until 1991. During this period he launched and implemented the programme for the liberalization of Italian foreign trade and capital movements. On leaving government service in 1991, he served on the Boards of various Italian, European and American companies either as director or as an international adviser.

  In 1995, Mr. Ruggiero was appointed Director-General of the World Trade Organization in Geneva and took office on 1 May 1995.

  Mr. Ruggiero is married, and has two sons and one daughter.

ANWARUL HODA - WTO DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL:

  Born in 1938, Mr. Anwarul Hoda was the principal officer dealing with GATT affairs at the Ministry of Commerce of India from 1985 until his appointment to GATT in July 1993. Before joining the Ministry of Commerce, Mr. Hoda served as International Trade Adviser to the Government of Gambia under the Commonwealth Secretariat. From 1974 to 1981, he served first in 1976 as a member of the Indian delegation to the Conference on International Economic Cooperation and, a year later, as the Resident Representative of India to the GATT and to UNCTAD. Mr. Hoda has written a book, Developing Countries in the International Trading System, which was published in 1987.

CHULSU KIM - WTO DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL:

Dr. Chulsu Kim was born in January 1941. His career in the Korean government centred on trade policy making and international trade negotiations. He was appointed Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy for the Government of Korea in February 1993. In December 1994, he was appointed Ambassador for International Trade. In his capacity as Assistant Minister, from 1984 to 1990, Dr. Kim served as the chief international trade negotiator for Korea. From 1987 to 1990, he chaired the Uruguay Round's Negotiating Group on MTN Agreements. In 1991, he was appointed president of the Korea Trade Promotion Corporation. He took on the post of WTO Deputy Director-General on 3 July 1995.

  Mr. Kim received a degree in political science from Tufts University in 1964. He pursued graduate studies at the University of Massachusetts where he earned a doctorate in political science. He subsequently taught at Smith College and St. Lawrence University.

WARREN LAVOREL - WTO DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL:

  Prior to his appointment in July 1993 to GATT and the WTO, Mr.Lavorel served as the United States Coordinator for the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations from October 1987 through mid-1993. His position in the Office of the United States Trade Representative, Executive Office of the President, carried Ambassadorial rank and the responsibility for oversight of all United States Government activities relating to the Uruguay Round.

  Warren Lavorel was Deputy Chief of Mission, Office of the United States Trade Representative in Geneva from 1981 to 1987.

  Ambassador Lavorel has been involved in international trade policy and the multilateral system of the GATT for over 20 years. During this period, which included the Punta del Este Ministerial, he was instrumental in the launching of the Uruguay Round and the difficult negotiations which established the early structure and modalities of the talks. In addition to his Geneva and Washington GATT-related assignments, Mr. Lavorel has served in Manila, Paris, Luxembourg and Brussels.

JESÚS SEADE - WTO DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL:

  Dr. Jesús Seade served as Ambassador of Mexico and Permanent Representative to the GATT from 1986 until his appointment to GATT in July 1993. He was Chairman of the GATT Committee on Trade and Development from 1991 to 1992 and earned a B. Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering from UNAM in Mexico and a Ph. D. in Economics from Oxford University.

  Dr. Seade has held various academic posts, including Professor and Director of the Economics Department at El Colegio de México (1980-83); and Professor of Public Economics and Director of the Development Economics Research Centre at the University of Warwick in England (1984-86).

  Over the years, he has served as an advisor to various bodies of the Mexican Government, including the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Trade and Industry. He subsequently worked at the World Bank, first as Senior Economist in the Public Finance Division (1986-87) then as the Principal Economist at the Bank's Brazil Department (1987-89).

  From 1989 until his July 1993 appointment to his current position as a Deputy Director-General of the WTO, he served as Mexico's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the GATT and Chief Negotiator to the Uruguay Round Negotiations. He played an active part in the preparation of his country's membership to the OECD.

  Jesús Seade has written articles on micro-economic theory and policy for leading economic publications, particularly in the areas of taxation and competition theory and on policy, pricing and incentives and international trade. He has been elected to the boards of many professional journals and associations and is an Honorary Professor at the United Kingdom's University of Warwick.