ANKARA
Brazil's candidate Roberto Azevedo became the new director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), beating its powerful rival Mexican Herminio Blanco.
Azevedo, Brazil's ambassador to the WTO since 2008, will take office on September 1 to serve for four years. He replaces Frenchman Pascal Lamy.
The 159-member WTO began negotiating on April 2, 2013 to select its new director-general.
Azevedo and Blanco were the two most powerful competitors among the nine candidates. The other candidates were from Kenya, Ghana, Jordan, Costa Rica, Indonesia, South Korea and New Zealand.
