SUPACHAI PANITCHPAKDI was worried about his collection of bonsai trees before he left Thailand for his new post in Geneva. The new director-general of the World Trade Organization didn’t think they would withstand the harsh Swiss winters so he left them behind in his native Thailand when heading for his new job in September. Some observers worry whether the ex-Buddhist monk can withstand the corrosive atmosphere at the WTO’s Geneva headquarters. Top of the anti-globalization movement’s hate list, the WTO was a difficult organization to run even before the protesters started besieging its summits.

　　Supachai, 56, a soft-spoken economist with an interest in chess, is likely to bring a leadership that comes with a change of style from that of predecessor, plainspoken New Zealander Mike Moore. Like all Thai men, Mr. Supachai spent a brief period as a Buddhist monk and still practices the meditation techniques he learnt in the monastery. Dapper, he exudes quiet confidence, with a softly spoken voice and deliberate manner. His idea of relaxation is to write books on globalization and play chess. However managing the global organization is going to require more than Zen-like calm. Protectionism is on the rise in the U.S., usually the cheerleader for free markets. Brussels and Washington are squaring up for what threatens to be the most ferocious trade war for a generation and the euphoria which lifted the organization after the successful launch of a new round of global trade talks last November in Doha has almost evaporated. The acrimonious farewell to the New Zealand director-general belies the enormous credit Moore has created in preparing the next round of world trade negotiations, known as the Doha round. Now it is Supachai’s task to deliver. Dealing with staff discontent will be one test of his mediation skills. His three-year term coincides almost exactly with the deadlines for the trade negotiations, putting the respected economist in charge of the organization in perhaps the most crucial period in its history.

　　If that wasn’t enough, Supachai also has to contend with the knowledge that much of the Western world, in particular the U.S. and the EU (but not Australia), vehemently opposed his selection. Details revealed by Surin Pitsuwan, Thailand’s former foreign minister and the man who led the relentless and ultimately successful campaign for Supachai’s appointment, explains the extent of that opposition. After months of bitter debate, the deal that saw Supachai’s appointment came in an extraordinary telephone conversation between Surin and former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in June 1999. She was phoning from a plane over Europe, as she tried to negotiate an end to the Kosovo crisis. She suggested that Supachai could be given a specially created post — clearly a “B-team” option — if he withdrew from the race in favor of Moore. It was either that, she suggested, or both would lose and a third candidate be imposed. According to Surin, the Western opposition to Supachai was precisely what he believed was the Thai candidate’s most important asset: He was from the developing world, with what were then seen as unacceptable opinions about the need to separate trade deals from environmental and labor concerns. But, in consultation with Fischer, Surin and his prime minister, Chuan Leekpai, determined they would never give up on their man. Instead, Surin suggested a compromise: Extend the term from four to six years, with the two men sharing it in consecutive three-year terms. Now, Supachai’s advocates, including Fischer, believe the world will reap the benefits of their determination. At the time of Supachai’s appointment, there was no real sign of a trade round. But the aftermath of September 11 set in train a new willingness for negotiation, and with it a willingness to listen to the developing world. “I think the world is ready and he is ready,” says Surin, who describes his friend as “humble and sincere.” Jane Drake-Brockman, a visiting fellow at the ANU and the convener of the Australian Services Round Table, agrees. “His weakness (the lack of initial support from the West) is also his strength,” she says. “(As is) his Asian personality, his ability to quietly and privately gain the confidence of those least confident in the process.” He still has his critics. Some accuse him of inappropriately bursting into public on sensitive issues — most recently he had a spat with the EU over their position on U.S. steel tariffs —— but others say such outspokenness is an asset. Says Fischer: “He showed enormous courage by holding on when everyone urged him to get out of the race. “He is a skilful diplomat, he is not a marshmallow but is a man with the capability of velvet and steel,” he says. “And steel encased in velvet is exactly the correct recipe for the Doha round.”

　　On Sunday the leadership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) passed to a new director-general, for the first time from a developing country: former Thai deputy prime minister Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi. His arrival is one sign of change at the WTO. Although the vast majority of its 145 members are developing countries, the former Thai deputy prime minister will be its first leader from the developing world. It’s also the first time one of the big three global financial institutions - the other two are the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank - has been run by someone from the third world.