IRAN'S JAVAD MOTTAGHI APPOINTED SECRETARY GENERAL OF ASIAN BROADCASTING BODY

Director of the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD), Javad Mottaghi, has been appointed the next Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) secretary-general.

The decision was made by the ABU administrative council after a meeting here last Friday. However, the effective date has yet to be decided.

Mottaghi, 54, succeeds David Astley, who would be leaving the organisation at the end of June after holding the post for eight years, ABU said in a statement here on Monday.

Mottaghi, an Iranian, headed AIBD since August 1998 and has 30 years of national and international experience in media and communications.

He served Iran's national broadcaster, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), in various capacities from 1978 to 1996, notably in the fields of sports, production and news.

He was the director of IRIB's Radio and TV Sports Department for 18 years. He also held the directorships of the Foreign Bureau and International Relations Department, TV Social Department and News Department, and was advisor to the IRIB president.

The statement also said that Mottaghi had long been active in ABU activities. He was IRIB's liaison officer for both the ABU and the European Broadcasting Union until 1996.

He was a member of the ABU administrative council for three years and chairman of the ABU Sports Group, ABU Olympic Sub-Group, World Football Cup Sub-Group and Asian Games Sub-Group, and a member of the negotiating team for TV rights for the World Football Cup, Asian Games and the Olympics for several years.

Mottaghi holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tehran Sharif University of Technology, a Master's degree in Management and is a PhD candidate in Management with the University of Teesside, England.