Mr. Roberto Blois Montes de Souza, born in 1950, has worked for more than twenty-five years in the field of telecommunications, gaining a wide and diversified range of experience in both technical and management areas.

After obtaining his Engineering degree in Electronics and Telecommunications from the University of Brasilia in 1974, Mr. Blois joined the Broadcasting Services Secretariat at the Ministry of Communications in Brazil. His career at this Ministry, which spanned a period of twenty years, enabled him to gain a wealth of experience and to play a key role in the development of the telecommunication system in Brazil at both policy and technical levels.

During the period 1979-1994, Mr. Blois served at the Ministry of Communications in Brazil as Director of the Broadcasting Division of the National Telecommunication Department, Director of the National Telecommunication Department and Director of the Department of Private Telecommunications Services.

In addition to his experience and activities at the national and regional levels, Mr. Blois has been a prominent figure in telecommunications affairs at the international level during the last twenty years. He participated in various meetings of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Inter-american Telecommunication Commission (CITEL), having acted as Head of the Brazilian delegation on many occasions.

Mr. Blois was the representative of Brazil in the Administrative Council of the ITU from 1990 to 1993. He was also the representative of Brazil in the Permanent Executive Committee of the Inter-american Telecommunication Conference COM/CITEL (OAS) from 1991 to 1993. After having held the position of Executive Secretary of CITEL from 1994-1999, Mr. Blois assumed the position of Deputy Secretary-General of ITU in February 1999 after having been elected to the post at the 1998 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference held in Minneapolis. He has been re-elected for a second term as Deputy Secretary-General on 1 October 2002 at the Marrakesh Plenipotentiary Conference.