Member States of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) re-elected Ms. Doreen Bogdan-Martin as the organization’s Secretary-General for a second four-year term.
Making history with being elected as the first female Secretary-General Ms. Doreen Bogdan-Martin in 2022 (assumed office in January 2023), she has been re-elected as Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)for the second term during the election held on November 12, 2026 in Doha, Qatar by securing 164 out of 173 votes cast by ITU Member States.
Set up in 1865 and United Nations’ agency since 1947 with 194 member states, the ITU’s Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-26) is being held in Doha, Qatar from 9 November 2026 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center that will come to end on 27 November 2026.
“I am deeply honoured for the trust ITU Member States have placed in me to serve a second term as Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union,” said Bogdan-Martin of the United States.
Ms. Bogdan-Martin has more than three decades of experience in international telecommunications policy and has held a series of leadership positions at ITU.
Ms. Bogdan-Martin had served ITU’s various posts from 2008 and was elected Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau from 2018 to 2022.
Before joining ITU in 1994, she worked at the U.S. Department of Commerce as a Telecommunication Policy Specialist in the National Telecommunication and Information Administration.
Bogdan-Martin’s second-term priorities include focusing on connecting the 2 billion people around the world that remain offline while ensuring that emerging technologies such as AI create new opportunities for everyone.
A Master’s in International Communications Policy from American University in Washington, DC, a post-graduate certification in Strategies for Leadership from the Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, and a certification in Accountability and Ethics from the UN Leaders Programme is also a qualified amateur radio operator.
Ms Bogdan-Martin is married with four children.
At PP-26, Member States will also elect various other dignitary posts.
Meanwhile, the United States welcomes the re-election of Ms. Doreen Bogdan-Martin as Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
The United States looks forward to working with Ms. Bogdan-Martin in her second term to advance the ITU’s mission: strengthening global connectivity, supporting technological leadership, and delivering meaningful results for its Member States, said a press release of the State Department and added, “We proudly congratulate our fellow American for this historic achievement.”
