The Chair of the Board of Governors for 2012-2013 is the Governor of Canada, Ambassador John Barrett. He replaces the Governor of Italy, Ambassador Filippo Formica.
Ambassador Barrett took up his current assignment as Ambassador to Austria and Resident Representative of Canada to the International Organizations, including Governor on the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors, in 2009.
Mr. Barrett has extensive experience in multilateral diplomacy, international security, arms control and disarmament, and non-proliferation.
During his distinguished career, Ambassador Barrett has served as the Director of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Division (2005-2006), and as the Director General of the Strategic Planning, Resources and Coordination Bureau, both in the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (2006-2009). In 2011, he chaired the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Vienna.
Mr. Barrett has worked as the Director of Communications Services in the Communications and Consultations Secretariat of the Government of Canada's Privy Council Office; as a Senior Advisor and Chief Speechwriter for the Governor General of Canada; as Acting Director of the Division of Public Policy in the Department of National Defense; as well as Deputy Executive Director at the Canadian Centre for Arms Control and Disarmament in Ottawa, Canada.
He served as the Director for Policy Planning and Speechwriting at NATO's Political Affairs Division in Brussels, Belgium (1994 -1999) and chaired the UN Group of Governmental Experts on Verification (2006-2007).
Mr. Barrett holds an MA from the University of Toronto and a PhD degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics.