The Board of Governors is composed of 35 Member States, as designated and elected by the General Conference.
The Board of Governors generally meets five times per year - in March and June, twice in September (before and after the General Conference) and in December.
At its meetings, the Board examines and makes recommendations to the General Conference on the IAEA´s accounts, programme, and budget and considers applications for membership. It also approves safeguards agreements and the publication of the IAEA´s safety standards and has the responsibility for appointing the Director General of the IAEA with the approval of the General Conference.
For the 2009-2010 period, the new composition of the 35-member IAEA Board is: Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, China, Cuba, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Japan, Kenya, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Romania, Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, the UK, and the USA, Uruguay, and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
The Chair of the Board of Governors for 2009-2010 is the Ambassador and Resident Representative of Malaysia,
Mr. M. H. Arshad. . He succeeds the Ambassador and Resident Representative of Algeria, Mrs. Taous Feroukhi.
The Ambassadors and Resident Representatives of Romania and Germany were also elected as Vice-Chairmen. They are Mr. Cornel Ferută, Governor for Romania, and Mr. Rudiger Ludeking, Governor for Germany.