1. The Sixty-First Session of the Council was held in Rome from 5 to 9 November 1973, under the Chairmanship of M. Cépède, Independent Chairman of the Council.
2. The Agenda of the Session as adopted is set out in Appendix A to this Report. The Council decided to establish a Committee-of-the-Whole, to deal with some of the constitutional, legal, administrative and financial matters on its Agenda.
3. The Council elected K. Prasad (India) as First Vice-Chairman and S.A. Jabati (Sierra Leone) as Second Vice-Chairman. K. Prasad would also act as Chairman of the Committee-of-the-Whole.
4. The Council elected the following members of the Drafting Committee of Plenary: Pakistan (Chairmanship), Australia, Colombia, France, Kenya, Sudan and the United States of America.
5. The Council elected the following members of the Drafting Committee of the Committee-of-the-Whole: Iran (Chairmanship), Canada, Dahomey, Philippines, Romania and Venezuela.
6. The Council unanimously expressed its deep appreciation and gratitude to M. Cépède, whose term of office as Independent Chairman of the Council was coming to its end. The outgoing Chairman, who had been closely and actively associated with FAO since its very inception, had rendered invaluable service and guidance to the Council in the last four years.
7. The Council paid tribute to the memory of J. de Castro of Brazil, Chairman of the Council from 1951 to 1955, who had died in 1973. The Council adopted the following resolution:
Resolution 1/61
TRIBUTE TO JOSUE DE CASTRO
THE COUNCIL,
Having learned with deep sorrow of the death on 24 September 1973 of Josue de Castro, the second Independent Chairman in the history of the Council,
Recalling the dynamic role he played in the early days of the Organization and his research in the field of nutrition and hunger,
Appreciating his work as a biologist, human geographer and active spokesman for the Third World,
1. Expresses deep sympathy and condolence on his sad demise, and
2. Requests the Chairman to convey to the family of the deceased the feelings of the Council.
1 CL 61/1, CL 61/1 (a), CL 61/INF/1, CL 61/INF/1-Corr. 1 and CL 61/PV/1
2 CL 61/PV/1
3 CL 61/PV/7
