The International Labour Organization has confirmed the appointment of Sheng Li as deputy director general, resolving a months-long vacancy in the post. Li currently serves as principal deputy assistant secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Labor and will move into the deputy leadership role at the ILO.
Li's career path includes service at the Labor Department during the previous U.S. presidential administration and a period working with the New Civil Liberties Alliance. A prior nominee for the deputy slot, Nels Nordquist, withdrew his candidacy amid the protracted selection process, according to two diplomats familiar with the matter. Nordquist was reported to be traveling and was not reachable for comment.
The deputy director general position traditionally goes to a U.S. national, reflecting Washington's status as the largest single contributor to the ILO budget. The United States is responsible for 22% of the agency's budget and, as of April 17, has outstanding payments totalling 257 million Swiss francs.
Those arrears have strained the agency's finances. The ILO has outlined plans that would cut 295 jobs as a consequence of its funding shortfall linked to unpaid U.S. contributions. In parallel, a draft U.S. State Department budget shows a proposal to allocate 50 million dollars to the ILO in 2026, a sum that represents only a small portion of the total outstanding amount.
Requests for clarification from the State Department about if and when the United States intends to clear its arrears received no response.
Context and implications
The appointment of a U.S. deputy to the ILO returns the traditional financing arrangement to form, even as the organization's finances face pressure from unpaid contributions. The combination of leadership changes and fiscal shortfalls has immediate operational consequences for the ILO's staffing and programs.
Currency reference used in reporting: 1 dollar equals 0.7844 Swiss francs.