The Secretary General of INTERPOL is the Organization’s chief official and is appointed for a five-year term in office, which can be renewed once for a second five-year term by the General Assembly.
The role and selection process of the Secretary General is determined by INTERPOL’s legal texts, including the Organization’s Constitution, the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly, the Rules of Procedure of the Executive Committee, the Organization’s General Regulations and its Staff Manual.
The second term of the current INTERPOL Secretary General, Jürgen Stock, will finish at the 92nd General Assembly in Glasgow, United Kingdom in November 2024. The process of selecting the next Secretary General officially began in July 2023 with a call for candidates sent to all INTERPOL member countries.
Selected by the Executive Committee, appointed by the General Assembly
Following the application deadline (31 January 2024), the selection process will be conducted in two phases:
- During the first phase, the Executive Committee will review all applications and draw up a shortlist of candidates;
- During the second phase, taking place during the second quarter of 2024, the Executive Committee will interview shortlisted candidates.
After the interviews, the Executive Committee will select a candidate to propose to INTERPOL’s General Assembly for appointment as Secretary General. The Committee will also submit a report to the General Assembly that attests to the integrity of the selection process and describes the successive stages that led to the Committee’s final choice, as well as the background of the proposed candidate.
The General Assembly will then vote by secret ballot on whether to appoint the proposed candidate as Secretary General.
The vote is determined by simple majority of the member countries present and casting an affirmative or negative vote.
A detailed explanatory note on the appointment of the INTERPOL Secretary General, along with the applicable legal provisions of INTERPOL’s legal texts, can be downloaded below.
Candidates for the post of Secretary General
Listed in alphabetical order:
- Mr Stephen KAVANAGH
Country: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Current functions: INTERPOL Executive Director of Police Services
- Mr Mubita NAWA
Country: Republic of Zambia
Current functions: Director - Administration, Zambia Police Service
- Mr Faisal SHAHKAR
Country: Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Current functions: United Nations Police Advisor & Head of UN Police Division
- Mr Valdecy URQUIZA
Country: Federative Republic of Brazil
Current functions: Director for International Cooperation, Brazilian Federal Police / INTERPOL Vice-President for the Americas
