SINGAPORE – Singapore’s Daren Tang was on Feb 12 nominated for a second term as the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) director-general, said the coordination committee of the United Nations body.
He was first appointed to the role in October 2020, when he began a six-year mandate that will end in September 2026, and became the first Singaporean to lead a major UN agency.
The WIPO Coordination Committee, which comprises 83 member states, met on Feb 12, and held one round of voting from a list of two candidates. The second candidate was Mr Johanny Stanley Joseph from Haiti.
Mr Tang prevailed in the first round of voting with 81 votes as Mr Joseph received two votes.
The WIPO General Assembly, the Paris Union Assembly and the Berne Union Assembly will meet in an extraordinary session on April 21 to confirm the WIPO Coordination Committee’s nomination.
If confirmed, Mr Tang’s second term as WIPO chief will span from Oct 1, 2026, to Sept 30, 2032.
His nomination for a second term was previously supported by Singapore’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Law in July 2025.
Then, Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan and Law Minister Edwin Tong both offered their support for Mr Tang’s second term, noting the strides WIPO had made under his leadership.
Before his appointment as WIPO chief, Mr Tang, an NUS and Georgetown University graduate, served the Singapore government as a trade lawyer, specialising in international economic law and resolving international disputes. He was also formerly chief executive of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore.
The Geneva-based WIPO is responsible for shaping global rules for IP and oversees trademarks, designs and patents.
Mr Tang, WIPO’s fifth director-general, had taken over from Mr Francis Gurry from Australia, who held the post from 2008 to 2020. Before Mr Gurry, Mr Kamil Idris from Sudan held the post from 1997 to 2008.