NEWS RELEASES
APPOINTMENTS TO IDRC BOARD OF GOVERNORS
February 5, 1999 (12:15 p.m. EST) No. 20
APPOINTMENTS TO IDRC BOARD OF GOVERNORS
Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy today announced the appointments of Tom McKay and Francisco Sagasti
and the reappointments of Dr. Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri and Dr. Vulimiri Ramalingaswami to the Board of Governors
of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
IDRC is a public corporation created by the Parliament of Canada in 1970 to help developing-country scientists
and communities find solutions to social, economic and environmental problems through research. By bringing
together people, institutions and ideas, IDRC seeks to ensure that the benefits of this research will be shared
equitably among all its partners in both the northern and the southern hemispheres.
IDRC is directed by a 21-member Board of Governors comprising 11 Canadian members and 10 non-Canadian
members.
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Biographical notes on the appointees are attached.
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Debora Brown
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851
Media Relations Office
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(613) 995-1874
This document is also available on the Department's Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
Tom McKay became a Certified Management Accountant in 1971 (Canadian Silver Medalist) and received his
Associated Municipal Clerks and Treasurers Designation (AMCT) in 1973. He has attended Harvard University's
John F. Kennedy School of Government and the School of Municipal Management at Queen's University. He was
the Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Kitchener, Ontario, from 1987 to 1996 and is currently a management
consultant. Mr. McKay has worked internationally on management projects in Tianjin, China, as a sub-consultant to
Reid Crowther, Calgary; in Namibia, on behalf of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities; and in Uganda, on
behalf of the Institute of Public Administrators of Canada.
Francisco Sagasti, a Peruvian, is currently the President of FORO Nacional/Internacional, an institution that aims
at promoting dialogue, debate and consensus on critical development issues. He is also director of FORO's
Agenda: Peru program of studies on development strategies. Previously he was senior researcher and program
director at the Grupo de Análisis para el Desarrollo (GRADE), a Peruvian policy-oriented research institution. He
was Chief of Strategic Planning at the World Bank from 1987 to 1990 and was Chairman of the United Nations
Advisory Committee on Science and Technology for Development from 1988 to 1989. Dr. Sagasti was also
advisor to the Peruvian Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Planning. He has been on numerous boards and
committees including member of the Rector's Advisory Committee of the United Nations University, member of the
UNESCO science policy advisory committee and member of the Board of the Peruvian National Council for
Science and Technology. Dr. Sagasti obtained his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1980, he received the
United Nations Peace Medal and the Paul Hoffman Award of the Society for International Development for his
"outstanding contributions to national and international development." He has published numerous papers and
books on science and technology policy, systems analysis, management sciences, futures research and
development strategies.
Dr. Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, researcher, writer, educator and gender and development specialist, holds a
doctorate in Sociology. She currently serves as Premier of the Free State Province, South Africa. She is the
founding member of the Board of Women's Development Foundation; Patron of the Maokeng Community
Development Trust in the Free State; Patron of Escom/Sowetan Woman of the Year Award; and Patron of Shoprite
Checkers/SABC Woman of the Year Award. She is the former Chair of the South African Broadcasting
Corporation (SABC); the former Chair of the Board of SENTEC Limited (Signal Distribution Company, the national
carrier); and a former Board member of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
Dr. Vulimiri Ramalingaswami is an Oxford-educated medical pathologist with extensive experience as a medical
researcher and educator. He has been a professor of pathology and is the former Director of both the All India
Institute of Medical Sciences and the Indian Council of Medical Research. He has also served as Chair of the
International Task Force on Health Research for Development in Geneva (1990-93). Dr. Ramalingaswami was
Secretary-General of the International Conference on Nutrition, in Rome in December 1992, which was held under
the auspices of the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He
is presently National Research Professor and Professor Emeritus at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences; and
President of the National Institute of Immunology.
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