General Secretariat
Located in Lyon, France, the General Secretariat operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Officials from more than 80 countries work side-by-side in any of the organization’s four official languages: Arabic, English, French and Spanish.
The Secretariat has seven regional offices; in Argentina, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, El Salvador, Kenya, Thailand and Zimbabwe, and a liaison office at the United Nations in New York.
The current Secretary General is Ronald K. Noble, serving a second term from 2005-2010.
Read more about the role of the Secretary General
Read the profile of Ronald K. Noble
Structure of the General Secretariat