ROME – The Dutch Ambassador to the FAO, Gerda Verburg, is considering running as a candidate for election as Director General of the UN agency, diplomatic sources said Thursday.

 Ms Verburg, a highly-respected former Dutch Minister for Development and publicly declared lesbian who married her female partner two years ago, is considered by many OECD countries an ideal candidate to challenge macho Brazilian Director General of the FAO, José Graziano da Silva, who has been campaigning for months unofficialy for re-election next year to a second term of office at the helm of the Rome-based UN agency.

 “Verburg has been outspoken and forceful as ambassador to the Un agencies in Rome,” a senior western diplomat said, “she would be ideal as DG given that Graziano effectively downgraded gender equality as a priority at the FAO”.

 Under Graziano’s stewardship the Food and Agriculture Organisation abolished an existing Gender department and subsumed it under “social protection,” a change that many women at FAO consider patronising.

Since taking office Graziano has been criticised for what is seen by many observers as sidelining senior staff from OECD countries except for Germany and Japan and for blocking promotion of women over 40 from OECD countries to senior positions.

 There was no immediate comment from the Dutch Embassy press office in Rome when contacted by Italian Insider.

 Under election rules the window has been open for several days for candidates to run the FAO to throw their hats in the ring.