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 Member States 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.
Note: The FAO Council elected rotational seat is occupied by a country of: List C, Fourth Term for 2021/2022/2023, currently Argentina.
Gabon and Tchad reached an agreement to share an FAO Council-elected seat, with Gabon serving from 1 January 2023 until 30 June 2024 and Chad occupying the seat from 1 July 2024 until 31 December 2025.
Bangladesh, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Kuwait have reached an agreement to share seats: Bangladesh (1 January 2022 – 31 December 2023 – 2 years); Islamic Republic of Iran (1 January 2022 – 31 December 2022 and 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2024 – 2 years); and Kuwait (1 January 2023 – 31 December 2024 – 2 years).
Bangladesh, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Kuwait have reached an agreement to share seats: Bangladesh (1 January 2022 – 31 December 2023 – 2 years); Islamic Republic of Iran (1 January 2022 – 31 December 2022 and 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2024 – 2 years); and Kuwait (1 January 2023 – 31 December 2024 – 2 years).
The rotating seat is to be occupied by a country of: List C Fourth Term 2021/2022/2023, List B Fifth Term 2024/2025/2026, and List A Sixth Term 2027/2028/2029. Guatemala and Argentina reached an agreement to share an FAO Council-elected seat, with Guatemala serving in 2021 and Argentina serving in 2022 and 2023.
Brazil and Guatemala reached an agreement to share an FAO Council-elected seat, with Brazil serving in 2021 and 2022 and Guatemala serving in 2023.
Denmark and Norway respectively reached an agreement with Ireland and Italy to share an FAO Council-elected seat, with Ireland and Italy serving in 2023.
Denmark and Norway respectively reached an agreement with Ireland and Italy to share an FAO Council-elected seat, with Ireland and Italy serving in 2023.