Abstract
It was in Volume 73, Issue 1, of IRAS, back in March 2007, that I published my first Chronicle as the new Director General of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences. At the time of drafting these few words, I note that I am writing my last comments as Director General, to be published in Volume 83, Number 2, in June 2017. For a little over ten years, I have had the pleasure of reporting on the highlights and developments of the IIAS and its entities.
These 10 years represent many events coordinated and co-organised by the General Directorate of the Institute: seven international congresses of IIAS, seven annual conferences of IASIA, four joint congresses of IIAS and IASIA and 11 annual conferences of EGPA. We should add to this the African Forums and the EGPA dialogues (TAD, TED and Euro-MENA). These events were co-organised with our institutional or occasional partners, be they national or international.
Ten years ago, I perceived the mission I was assigned to as ‘relatively complex’, involving long-term efforts on the part of employees of the IIAS Directorate General. Today, while the outlines of the IIAS strategy have evolved considerably, and activities have developed in different parts of the world, we can be pleased at this progress, which I have reported to you in the course of my Chronicles. However, if we have taken important steps in the direction of improving the governance of our institution, many challenges remain. As you know from the various messages conveyed, the seat of our Institute moved to the very heart of Brussels.
Today, the Belgian Federal Public Service, more precisely the Finances FPS, located at Rue du Commerce 96, welcomes us. This move, made necessary by the sale of the building we occupied, forced us to sort out our archives. They were witnesses of our efforts and of a consolidated past. It also enabled us to clarify priorities and retain the necessary and useful documents to build a promising and documented future.
This relocation also represents a change in our daily environment that is beneficial for opening new perspectives and new source of motivation. Moreover, as you will probably have guessed by the first lines of this message, I leave the Directorate General of IISA in good hands, those of my successor Dr Sofiane Sahraoui. Dr Sahraoui is already well-known to our networks for his expertise in the fields of public administration and governance. He has been involved for a long time in the various activities of our Institute, IASIA and the Euro-MENA dialogues, as well as in the development of networks in the MENA region.
Before I deliver the last few words about the end of my term, allow me one last time, to recount the most significant events in the life of our Institute over the past six months.
During the statutory meetings that took place on the side of the IIAS-IASIA 2016 Joint Congress in Chengdu (Sichuan, China), the governing bodies of IIAS, IASIA and AGPA were renewed. The detailed results of these elections can be found on the respective websites of the various entities. However, we would like to highlight the re-election of Professor Geert Bouckaert as President of IIAS and of Professor Jiang Wu as President of the Asian Group for Public Administration (AGPA). We will also highlight the election of Professor Bianor Cavalcanti as new President of IASIA replacing Professor Michiel de Vries. A month later, in Cali (Colombia), it was the Latin American group for Public Administration’s (LAGPA) turn to renew its governing bodies. Edgar Varela was elected president, succeeding Professor Bianor Cavalcanti.
As a reminder, Professor Edoardo Ongaro, was re-elected as EGPA President at the EGPA 2016 Annual Conference in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Other important events that have taken place in the meantime are described below.The 2016 Public policies and Economic Models in Latin America New Public Management, State Corporatism and Government Effectiveness Centralism and Territorial Governance.
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Moreover, let us note an important institutional development for the entire IIAS family. The Conference of Presidents of the various entities of IIAS adopted on 15 February 2017 a draft code of ethics presented by the Directorate General. It is a code laying down the basic general rules governing the conduct of people involved with the IIAS and its various entities as well as that of the participants and organisers of the various events implemented by the IIAS in Belgium or abroad.
As you have read in my various Chronicles, the activities and challenges have been numerous and diverse. The IIAS and its entities would not have been able to carry them out and face them without the dedication, loyalty and commitment of my entire team. I would like to congratulate them, but also to thank them from the bottom of my heart. The representatives of our member states, national sections, international organisations and collective members, the ‘leadership’ of the various entities as well as all the members of our networks, our partners and the participants to our various events also contributed decisively to this dynamic.
Finally, during my term I always kept in mind a principle that I had been taught as a colonel of the Swiss Armed Forces, namely the rule of the 3 C’s: command, control, correct! A spirit that I tried to convey to my team as well.
I thank you all for the trust you have placed in me throughout these years. I am convinced of the future of our Institute and wish success to my successor, Dr Sofiane Sahraoui. I entrust him with a team that he will motivate, I am sure.
Rolet Loretan is IIAS Director General. Email: