The International Telecommunications Union has tapped Houlin Zhao from China as its next secretary-general. He will assume the position for a four-year term starting Jan. 1, 2015. He will succeed Dr. Hamadoun Touré.

The new secretary-general was elected at the ITU Plenipotentiary conference in Busan, Korea. He drew 152 of the 156 votes cast, running unopposed. He has been deputy secretary general and is a telecom engineer who headed ITU's standardization bureau.

The conference is held every four years to "set the strategic direction of ITU and to develop policies and recommendations that address the evolving needs of the union's members."