New Appointments at the IAEA

The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, has announced the following appointments:

Mr. Piet De Klerk, from the Netherlands, as Director of the Division of External Relations, Department of Administration.

Mr. De Klerk studied Atomic Physics and Solid State Physics, Mathematics and Philosophy at the Universities of Amsterdam and Utrecht in the Netherlands as well as at the Milan Polytechnic in Italy. After scientific assignments in the Physics Department of the University of Amsterdam he joined in 1980 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. From 1987 to 1991 he was Counsellor in the Permanent Mission of the Netherlands to the UN organizations in Vienna specializing in IAEA matters. From 1991 to 1996 he was head of the Arms Control Section in the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then Deputy Head of the Political Department in the Netherlands Embassy in Bonn, Germany. Mr. De Klerk has assumed the post of Director, ADEX since 1 July 1998.

Mr. Din Dayal Sood, from India, as Director of the Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences, Department of Research and Isotopes.

Mr. Sood studied Chemistry, Mathematics, Nuclear Science and Nuclear Metallurgy at the Panjab University at Chandigarh, India, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre at Mumbai, India, and Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, UK. He graduated with a PhD. in Chemistry of Molten Salt Reactors from the Bombay (Mumbai)University. Between 1960 and 1993 he was a Scientific Officer and later the Head of the Fuel Chemistry Division at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai. From 1993 to the present he held there the post of Director of the Radiochemistry and Isotope Group.

Mr. Nikolai Khlebnikov, from the Russian Federation, as Director of the Division of Technical Services, Department of Safeguards.

After studies of Chemical Technology and Engineering at the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys Mr. Khlebnikov graduated with a PhD. in Chemical Technology of Rare and Radioactive Materials from the State Research Institute of Rare Metals in Moscow where he held research posts from 1970 to 1978. He then joined the Central Research Institute of Atomic Information in Moscow where he was Laboratory Head from 1984 to 1986. He was subsequently Section Head in several Sections in the IAEA Department of Safeguards. From 1994 to the present he was Division Head in the Ministry of the Russian Federation of Atomic Energy in Moscow.

Ms. Jill Cooley, from the USA, as Director of the Division of Concepts and Planning, Department of Safeguards.

Ms. Cooley studied Mathematics and Physics at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, USA and graduated with an M.Sc. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA. From 1977 to 1992 she was employed in the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant where she ultimately held the post of Department Head of Safeguards Studies. In 1992/ 1993 she was technical advisor in the Office of Nuclear Technology and Safeguards of the US Department of State in Washington D.C. In 1993/94 she was Department Head for the Safeguards Programme of Martin Marietta Energy Systems Inc., at Oak Ridge. In 1995 she joined the IAEA as Section Head in the Department of Safeguards.

Ms. Alexandra Volkoff, from Canada, as Director of the Division of Planning, Co-ordination and Evaluation, Department of Technical Co-operation.

After studies of English Literature, Philosophy and History at the University of British Columbia, Canada, and the Universities of Beijing and Nanjing, China, Ms. Volkoff graduated with a M.Phil in Development Studies from the University of Sussex, UK. From 1981 she worked in different positions in the Canadian International Development Agency, Hull, Canada and held posts in Beijing, China, and in Jakarta, Indonesia. In 1992 she became the Canadian International Development Agency Director for UN Programmes, in 1995 its Acting Director General for Multilateral Technical Co-operation and in 1996 its Director of the Central and Northern Europe Division. Ms. Volkoff has assumed the post of Director, TCPC since June 1998.

Mr. Adnan Shihab - Eldin, from Kuwait, as Director of the Division for Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Department of Technical Co-operation.

Mr. Shihab - Eldin studied Electrical Engineering and Nuclear Engineering at the University of California in Berkeley, USA, where he took his Ph.D. From 1970 to 1976 he was Advisor for Nuclear Energy to the Office of the Prime Minister of Kuwait. From then to 1991 he was Director General and Principal Research Scientist of the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research and held various posts in scientific research and development fields in Kuwait. Since 1991 Mr. Shihab - Eldin has been Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for Science and Technology for the Arab States.

Mr. Verasak Liengsririwat, from Thailand, as Director of the Office of Internal Audit and Evaluation Support, Office of the Director General.

After studies of Accountancy, Finance and Investment at the St. Francis College and Baruch College of the City University of New York, USA, Mr. Liengsririwat received his M.B.A. In 1974 he joined the Internal Audit Division of the United Nations in New York, where he held the post of Internal Auditor from 1986 to 1991. He then became Senior Internal Auditor of UNICEF in New York and was from 1997 to the present Chief of UNICEF's Supply Division in Copenhagen, Denmark.