Rafael Grossi

In 1983 he graduated from the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina with a BA in Political Science, and in 1985 Grossi joined the Argentine foreign service. In 1997 he graduated from the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute of International Studies with an MA and PhD in History, International Relations and International Politics.[3]

In November 2017, after the disappearance of ARA San Juan, Grossi had the idea of reviewing the records of the hydro-acoustic stations of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) as an alternative to obtain clues about what happened with the submarine. He contacted Lassina Zerbo, the Executive Secretary of the CTBTO, and convinced him of doing such reviews. His efforts paid off: the agency subsequently reported on "an underwater impulse event" occurred near the last known position of the submarine by the listening posts on Ascension Island and Crozet Islands at 46.12°S 59.69°W / -46.12; -59.69.[10][11] The remains of the ill-fated ship were found a year later, about twenty kilometers from the estimated position based on the cited records.

On August 2, 2019, Grossi was presented as the Argentine candidate to become the Director General of IAEA.[12] On 28 October, 2019, the IAEA Board of Governors held its first vote to elect the new Director General, but none of the candidates secure the two-thirds majority in the 35-member IAEA Board of Governors needed to be elected. The next day, 29 October, the second voting round was held, and Grossi won 24 of the 23 needed votes required for Director General Appointment, and became the first Latin American to head the organisation.[13][14] He assumed office on 3 December 2019.[2] In August 2022, Grossi led a team of IAEA inspectors to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine.[15][16] Since 2022, Grossi had been in the spotlight to obtain information on nuclear materials from Iran to re-negotiate the JCPOA. In September 2022, he continued to express concerns about traces of uranium found at three Iranian nuclear sites. Grossi told a press conference in Vienna that he is "under political pressure". Iran has long denied that it seeks nuclear weapons for defense purposes.[17]

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  Grossi with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in October 2021
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  Grossi with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 26 April 2022
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  Grossi with UN Secretary-General António Guterres in May 2022