Australian elected as president for international organisation

An Australian has been elected president of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), as it becomes increasingly involved in major global issues such as climate change, security and social responsibility.

Dr Alan Morrison, who has been involved with standards development for 36 years and is deputy chairman of Standards Australia, will take up his position as ISO president from the beginning of 2009.

The ISO has 157 national members, is headquartered in Geneva and is charged with setting the International Standards that are often adopted as regulations or referred to in legislation around the world. There are 193 technical committees responsible for the development and maintenance of 16,500 standards.

As president, Morrison will play an integral role in overseeing and driving the ISO policy direction.

"The biggest challenge facing the ISO is maintaining and strengthening its engagement with the international community as important decisions are made, particularly regarding climate change and security," Morrison said.

"Over the past decade, the development of international standards has played an increasingly important part in the global response to these issues.

"My role as president and the role for the ISO is to ensure that the right standards are developed at the right time to address these and other emerging concerns."

The ISO has been responsible for developing international standards that are now globally accepted as world best practice in areas such as financial management, environmental protection and economic development.

Morrison was elected unopposed as president elect for 2008 and will take over as ISO president for two years from 2009.