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GENEVA, Nov 4 (Reuters) - The head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Pascal Lamy, told the body on Tuesday that he will seek a second term as director-general.
"I would hereby like to notify you of my decision to seek reappointment as Director-General of the World Trade Organisation for a further term upon the expiry of the current one on 31 August 2009," Lamy said in a letter to the chairman of the WTO's General Council, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.
Lamy, a Frenchman who was formerly trade chief for the European Union, became director-general of the organisation that umpires world trade in September 2005. His four-year term ends in August next year.
Under WTO rules the selection process for a head begins nine months before the expiry of the incumbent's term. The council chairman, Australia's WTO ambassador Bruce Gosper, said three weeks ago that the process would start on Dec. 1. (Reporting by Jonathan Lynn; Editing by Louise Ireland)