The meeting of the UCLG Executive Bureau in Rabat held from 22 to 24 June 2011, appointed Josep Roig as UCLG Secretary General after an international selection process. Josep Roig, who has been Secretary General of Metropolis since 2000, has been involved in the UCLG´s Metropolitan section as a founding and active member since 1985. He is an economist by profession, he has held various posts in the Barcelona metropolitan area and he was Executive Director of the University of Barcelona from 1990 to 1994.
In his speech to 216 local government leaders from 40 countries, Mr. Roig highlighted the need to strengthen the role of UCLG as a network of networks, as a guarantor of local interests and as a driving force behind local innovation.