Mr. Lennart Båge from Sweden was elected President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on February 2001 by the Fund's Governing Council. Mr. Lennart Båge comes to IFAD with nearly 25 years of experience in international development, and longstanding and active involvement in the United Nations system and multilateral finance institutions. Prior to IFAD, he served as Head of the Department for International Development Co-operation in Sweden's Ministry for Foreign Affairs in charge of Budget and Policy Development for Sweden's USD 1.6 billion International Cooperation Program as well as responsibility for EU Affairs and international financial institutions. Mr. Båge, has also served as Sweden's Deputy for the International Development Association (IDA), Vice-Chairman of the DAC/OECD and Sweden's Alternate Governor for the Asian, African and Inter-American Development Banks and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Governors of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF).

Throughout his career, Mr. Båge has focused on a variety of issues central to IFAD's mission for poverty reduction, rural development, economic and social reform, capacity building, environmental management, and gender. Mr. Båge has been involved in the activities of IFAD for 10 years during which time he served as Chairman of the Governing Council of IFAD and Co-Chairman of the High Level Special Committee on IFAD's Resource Requirements and Related Governance Issues.