Of the Executive Board's 36 States Members, 18 are elected by the Economic and Social Council and 18 by the FAO Council. Each State Member serves a three-year term and is eligible for re-election; within electoral Lists and among States Members, agreements could be reached whereby the three-year term is split between more than one State Member. Elections by the Economic and Social Council are normally held in April and those by the FAO Council in December.
The broader WFP membership including both Board members and observers, and a description of the distribution of seats may also be found in Appendixes A and B of the General Regulations and Rules.
Any Member of the United Nations or any Member or Associate Member of FAO or of any other specialized agency or of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that is not a member of the WFP Board may participate on request in the deliberations of the WFP Board without the right to vote.
The United Nations and FAO are invited to participate in the deliberations of the Board, without the right to vote.
Specialized agencies of the United Nations, IAEA, international organizations, inter-governmental organizations (IGOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) cooperating with WFP may be invited by the WFP Executive Director, subject to the direction of the Board, to attend Board sessions without the right to vote.
Term of office relates to the standard three-year periods for which State Members are elected by ECOSOC (□) or FAO Council (●), respectively. State Members may stand down for one or two years within this period, offering their seat to another State Member.
The rotating seat is to be occupied by a country of: List C Fourth Term 2021/2022/2023, List A Fifth Term 2024/2025/2026, and List B Sixth Term 2027/2028/2029.
At its 4th plenary meeting on 5 December 2023, the Economic and Social Council elected Algeria, by acclamation, to complete the term of office of Mauritania beginning on 1 January 2024 and expiring on 31 December 2025.
Gabon and Chad reached an agreement to share a FAO Council-elected seat, with Gabon serving from 1 January 2023 to 30 June 2024 and Chad occupying the seat from 1 July 2024 to 31 December 2025.
Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria reached an agreement to share a FAO Council-elected seat, with Côte d’Ivoire serving from 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2026 and Nigeria occupying the seat from 1 July 2026 to 31 December 2027.
Gabon and Chad reached an agreement to share a FAO Council-elected seat, with Gabon serving from 1 January 2023 to 30 June 2024 and Chad occupying the seat from 1 July 2024 to 31 December 2025. Gabon and Zimbabwe reached an agreement to share a FAO Council-elected seat, with Zimbabwe serving from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 and Gabon occupying the seat from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2026.
Egypt and Morocco reached an agreement to share a FAO Council-elected seat, with Morocco serving from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2025 and Egypt occupying the seat from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026.
Bangladesh, Kuwait and Qatar reached an agreement to share a FAO Council-elected seat, with Bangladesh serving from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027, Kuwait occupying the seat from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 and again from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2027, Qatar occupying the seat from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2026.
Bangladesh, Kuwait and Qatar reached an agreement to share a FAO Council-elected seat, with Bangladesh serving from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027, Kuwait occupying the seat from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 and again from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2027, Qatar occupying the seat from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2026.
Colombia and El Salvador reached an agreement to share an FAO Council elected seat, with Colombia serving from 1 January 2025 until 31 December 2025, El Salvador occupying the seat from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027.
Argentina, Mexico and Chile reached an agreement to share an FAO Council elected seat, with Argentina serving from 1 January 2024 until 31 December 2024, Mexico occupying the seat from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 and Chile occupying the seat from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026.
Luxembourg and Finland reached an agreement to share a FAO Council-elected seat, with Luxembourg serving from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 and Finland occupying the seat from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027.