UN migration agency IOM picks Portuguese leader, rejects US proposed candidate

The UN’s migration agency has elected Portuguese Socialist Antonio Vitorino as its new leader after rejecting the Trump administration’s proposed candidate to head the body, AP said. The International Organization for Migration said on Friday that its next director-general edged out both a top IOM official and US candidate Ken Isaacs. Vitorino, 61, will become only the second IOM director-general not from the US since the intergovernmental organization was founded in 1951. He was chosen over Isaacs, who was eliminated in early voting rounds, and over the runner-up, Laura Thompson of Costa Rica - currently a deputy director-general of IOM. Vitorino is a former EU commissioner for Home and Justice Affairs and has been president of the “Notre Europe” think tank for the last seven years. IOM has over 10,000 staffers in more than 150 countries, and its work has been pivotal in providing humanitarian aid to migrants.