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How is CERN governed and organised? Find out about its Council, Member States and departments. The CERN Council is the highest authority of the Organization and has responsibility for all-important decisions. It controls CERN’s activities in scientific, technical and administrative matters. It approves programmes of activity, adopts the budgets and reviews expenditure. The Council is assisted by the Scientific Policy Committee and the Finance Committee. The Director-General, appointed by the Council, manages the CERN Laboratory. The Director-General is assisted by a directorate and runs the Laboratory through a structure of departments. Council Source: CERN (CDS) CERN is run by Member States, each of which has two official delegates to the CERN Council. One represents his or her government’s administration; the other represents national scientific interests. Each Member State has a single vote and most decisions require a simple majority, although in practice the Council aims for a consensus as close as possible to unanimity. Scientific Policy Committee Scientific Policy Committee Photos 11 December 2017. Source: CERN (CDS) The Scientific Policy Committee evaluates the scientific merit of activities proposed by physicists and makes recommendations on CERN’s scientific programme. Its members are scientists elected by their colleagues on the committee and appointed by Council on the basis of scientific eminence without reference to nationality. Some members are also elected from Non-Member States. Finance Committee Finance Commitee meeting 2019. Source: CERN (CDS) The Finance Committee is composed of representatives from national administrations and deals with all issues relating to financial contributions by the Member States and to the Organization’s budget and expenditure. Structure as of 2026 Directorate Director-General Appointed by Council, usually for five years, the Director-General manages CERN. A directorate assists the Director-General, who proposes its members to Council. The Director-General reports directly to the Council, and can also propose any adjustment deemed necessary to meet the evolving needs of the research programme.Mark ThomsonDirector for Accelerators and TechnologyOliver BrüningDirector for Finance and Human ResourcesJan-Paul BrouwerDirector for Research and ComputingGautier Hamel de MonchenaultDirector for Site OperationsMar CapeansDirector for Stakeholder RelationsUrsula BasslerChief Information Officer (CIO)Enrica Porcari Heads of departments Accelerator SystemsRoberto LositoBeamsMalika MeddahiEngineeringSaid AtiehExperimental PhysicsGiovanna LehmannFinance and Administrative ProcessesKasia PokorskaHuman ResourcesLisette Van Den BoogaardIndustry, Procurement and Knowledge TransferGiovanni AnelliInformation TechnologySimone CampanaOccupational Health & Safety and Environmental ProtectionBenoît DelilleOrganisational Support and ImprovementAlex KohlsSite and Civil EngineeringCedric GarinoTechnologyRhodri JonesTheoretical PhysicsUrs Wiedemann

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