Rabat – French police controller Lucas Philippe was elected head of Interpol on Thursday at its 93rd assembly general in Morocco, the law enforcement agency posted on X.
He obtained 84 votes compared to the runner up, Turkish Mustafa Serkan Sabanca, who got 60 votes, Moroccan state news agency MAP said.
During his campaign for the post, Philippe said: “My objective is clear: to consolidate the role of the organisation as a global reference for collective security.”
🇲🇦🇫🇷 Lucas Philippe, nouveau président d’Interpol : « Le Maroc va longtemps résonner dans mon cœur. C’est ici que je suis devenu président, porté par l’aide forte de ce pays. Et c’est ici que commence une nouvelle ère. » pic.twitter.com/nNmuNjLxbn
— Le360 (@Le360fr) November 27, 2025
Namibia’s Anne-Marie Nainda and Ethiopia’s Demelash Gebremicheal Weldeyes trailed behind with 12 and eight votes respectively, the agency said.
The president is tasked with presiding over the agency’s general assembly, but it is the secretary general who determines day-to-day operations in Lyon, Interpol’s headquarters since 1989.
The post of secretary-general is currently held by Brazilian Valdecy Urquiza, elected in November 2024 for a five-year term.
In addition to Raisi, other Interpol presidents have been at the centre of controversies, including former Chinese politician Meng Hongwei, who took the post in 2016 before disappearing from the headquarters in Lyon two years later.
Beijing later said he had returned to China where he faced charges of corruption, for which he was sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison in 2020.
Clôture de la 93e session de l’Assemblée générale d’ @INTERPOL_HQ au terme de 4 jours de débats, en présence de plus de 800 délégués de 179 pays, dont 82 chefs de police.
Cette 93e session a été marquée par l’élection du Français Lucas Philippe, à la tête de l’organisation pour… pic.twitter.com/7YwCp7YJ3s
— 2M.ma (@2MInteractive) November 27, 2025
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Source: AFP
