Director-General of the World Trade Organization
The Director-General of the World Trade Organization is responsible for supervising the administrative functions of the WTO. Because World Trade Organizations' decisions are made by member states (through either a Ministerial Conference or through the General Council), the Director-General has little power over matters of policy - the role is primarily advisory and managerial. Director-General supervises the WTO secretariat of about 700 staff. WTO Director-General is appointed by WTO members for term of four years.
The current Director-General (since September 2005) is Pascal Lamy of France.
Past Directors-General
This is a list of former holders of the office of director-general. The post was created in 1995, although the earlier office of Executive Secretary is often seen as a direct equivalent.
| Name | Took office | Left office | Country | |
| 1 | Eric Wyndham White | 23 March 1965 | 6 May 1968 | United Kingdom |
| 2 | Olivier Long | 6 May 1968 | 1 October 1980 | Switzerland |
| 3 | Arthur Dunkel | 1 October 1980 | 1 July 1993 | Switzerland |
| 4 | Peter Sutherland | 1 July 1993 | 1 May 1995 | Ireland |
| 5 | Renato Ruggiero | 1 May 1995 | 1 September 1999 | Italy |
| 6 | Mike Moore | 1 September 1999 | 1 September 2002 | |
| 7 | Supachai Panitchpakdi | 1 September 2002 | 1 September 2005 | Thailand |
| 8 | Pascal Lamy | 1 September 2005 | --- | France |
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