IAR’s Honorary Director, Dr. Yuan-Tseh Lee (Winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1986; Honorary Doctorate, Nagoya University, 2003; Member of the International Advisory Board, Nagoya University) was elected as the next President of the International Council for Science (ICSU), on 24th October, 2008, during the 29th General Assembly of ICSU in Maputo, Mozambique. He will take up the appointment in April 2010 and will succeed the current ICSU President in October 2011.

Founded in 1931 to promote international scientific activity in the different branches of science and its application for the benefit of humanity, the International Council for Science (ICSU) is one of the oldest non-governmental organizations in the world. ICSU's strength and uniqueness lies in its dual membership, National Scientific Members and International Scientific Unions, whose wide spectrum of scientific expertise allows ICSU to address major, international, interdisciplinary issues which its Members could not handle alone. In 1998, Members agreed that the Council’s current composition and activities would be better reflected by modifying the name to the International Council for Science, while its rich history and strong identity would be well served by retaining the existing acronym, ICSU. The Secretariat of ICSU is located in Paris.