Gurria re-elected OECD chief

The 34 member states of the OECD unanimously re-elected Gurria to a third term on Tuesday. Founded in 1961, the OECD is an international economic organization, which regularly publishes reports analyzing and comparing economic policies of its member nations.

Gurria was initially elected to the post of secretary general in 2006, and he has since then pursued his objective of transforming the once somnolent, deeply wonkish OECD into an agenda-setting source of research closer to the lives of real people and fast-moving societies.

"I am honored and humbled by the trust and confidence the members have bestowed upon me, and look forward to continuing to transform the OECD into a cutting-edge international organization to promote better policies for better lives," said Gurria in a statement after his re-election.

During his stint as head of the Paris-based OECD so far, Gurria has widened the organization's focus from traditional macro-economic indicators to a more diverse range of factors affecting economies and societies.

Those have included impact studies and policy proposals on youth alcoholism, education, taxation, the environment and reversing the growing wealth gap.

Prior to heading the OECD, Gurria served from 1998 to 2000 as Mexico's finance minister, where he helped tackle the country's deep economic crisis, and was instrumental in renegotiating its crushing debt load.

sri/uhe (AFP, dpa)