Membership of the IWC is open to any country in the world that formally adheres to the 1946 Convention. Each member country is known as a Contracting Government and represented by a Commissioner, who is assisted by experts and advisers.
The Chair and Vice-chair are elected from among the Commissioners and usually serve for four years, first as Vice-chair for two years, and then as Chair. The current Chair is Andrej Bibic of Slovenia and the Vice-chair is Amadou Telivel Diallo of the Republic of Guinea. Due to the Covid pandemic and postponement of IWC meetings, both have served in these roles since 2018.
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The USA acts as the depository nation for the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (See Article X of the Convention). This means that any nation wishing to adhere to the Convention, and thus become a member of the IWC, is required to notify the State Department of the USA. The USA provides a Status of the Convention document which records the dates that Contracting Governments have adhered and withdrawn from the Convention. This may be obtained by contacting the IWC Secretariat.
The following table shows all IWC member countries and their current Commissioner. Where the IWC has been so notified, a link is provided to the member countries own webpage dedicated to their representation to the IWC. Please note the IWC's disclaimer on external links.
Individual contact information for Countries can be downloaded here.
| Contracting Government | Adherence | Commissioner | Appointment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antigua & Barbuda | 21/07/82 | Ambassador D. Joseph | 22/07/14 |
| Argentina | 18/05/60 | Ambassador H.F. Martinsen | 08/12/20 |
| Australia | 10/11/48 | Dr. N. Gales | 14/06/16 |
| Austria | 20/05/94 | Dr. A. Nouak | 09/08/96 |
| Belgium | 15/07/04 | Ms S Langerock | 16/06/15 |
| Belize | 17/06/03 | Ms. B. Wade | 17/05/06 |
| Benin | 26/04/02 | Dr A.G. Djihinto | 12/09/16 |
| Brazil | 04/01/74 | Ambassador M. Farani | 04/12/20 |
| Bulgaria | 10/08/09 |
Ms. Y. Velina |
17/03/21 |
| Cambodia | 01/06/06 | Prof. N. Thuok | 14/09/09 |
| Cameroon | 14/06/05 | Dr. G.I. Mimbang | 21/10/19 |
| Chile | 06/07/79 | Mr. J. Fernandez | 28/06/13 |
| People's Republic of China | 24/09/80 | Mr Liu Xinzhong, | 10/03/21 |
| Colombia | 22/03/11 | Sr E.Castro González, | 07/05/21 |
| Republic of the Congo | 29/05/08 | Mr. B.C. Atsango | 17/08/14 |
| Costa Rica | 24/07/81 | Ms. H. Rodriquez | 03/07/18 |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 08/07/04 | Dr. Z.A. Meite | 04/06/15 |
| Republic of Croatia | 10/01/07 | Ms I Partl | 28/11/19 |
| Cyprus | 26/02/07 | Mr L Vasiliades | 10/02/21 |
| Czech Republic | 26/01/05 | Mr J. Mach | 15/12/15 |
| Denmark | 23/05/50 | Mr L. Thostrup | 15/08/22 |
| Dominica | 18/06/92 | Mr. L. Pascal | 10/07/01 |
| Dominican Republic | 30/07/09 | Mr A Estevez | 12/11/18 |
| Ecuador | 10/05/07 | Mr W. Schuldt | 04/12/20 |
| Eritrea | 10/10/07 | Mr. S. M. Ahmed | 02/10/08 |
| Estonia | 07/01/09 | Mr H. Zingel | 19/02/15 |
| Finland | 23/02/83 | Ms. P. Blankett | 03/05/11 |
| France | 03/12/48 |
Mr. N.M. Alaoui |
15/06/22 |
| Gabon | 08/05/02 | Prof. L. White | 14/09/14 |
| The Gambia | 17/05/05 | Mr. O. Gibba | 09/06/22 |
| Germany | 02/07/82 | Mr. B. Soentgerath | 09/06/20 |
| Republic of Ghana | 17/07/09 | Professor F. Nunoo | 07/10/21 |
| Grenada | 07/04/93 | Mr. A. Dabreo | 10/09/18 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 29/05/07 | Mr. I. Barros | 03/02/15 |
| Republic of Guinea | 21/06/00 | Mr. D.A. Telivel | 12/02/14 |
| Hungary | 01/05/04 | Tbc | |
| Iceland | 10/10/02 | Dr. J. Stefánsson | 01/04/22 |
| India | 09/03/81 | Mr. S. Dasgupta | 01/06/20 |
| Ireland | 02/01/85 | Ms S. De Brúch | 06/07/22 |
| Israel | 07/06/06 | Ms R. Oberman | 30/06/14 |
| Italy | 06/02/98 | Mr. R. Rigillo | 06/05/14 |
| Kenya | 02/12/81 | Prof. M.J. Ntiba | 23/09/16 |
| Kiribati | 28/12/04 | Dr A Yeeting | 15/01/19 |
| Republic of Korea | 29/12/78 | Mr. H Kim | 05/01/22 |
| Laos | 22/05/07 | Dr. B. Khambounheuang | 01/10/07 |
|
Liberia |
10/08/18 |
Ms. E.M. Glassco |
10/08/18 |
|
Lithuania |
25/11/08 |
Ms. L. Caplikaite |
24/02/12 |
| Luxembourg | 10/06/05 | Mr. C. Origer | 10/06/05 |
| Mali | 17/08/04 | Mr. M.M. Keita |
06/11/20 |
| Republic of the Marshall Islands | 01/06/06 | Hon. D. Momotaro | 03/04/18 |
| Mauritania | 23/12/03 | Dr. A. M. Jiddou | 16/05/11 |
| Mexico | 30/06/49 | Dr. L. Rojas Bracho | 15/07/16 |
| Monaco | 15/03/82 | Prof. F. Briand | 13/06/03 |
| Mongolia | 16/05/02 | Mrs Sh. Tserendulam | 12/05/22 |
| Morocco | 12/02/01 | Mr A. Benmansour | 13/04/22 |
| Nauru | 15/06/05 | Hon. M. Dube | 17/10/17 |
| Netherlands | 14/06/77 |
Mr. L.J. van der Heiden |
22/03/17 |
| New Zealand | 15/06/76 | Ms. J. Henderson | 05/08/19 |
| Nicaragua | 05/06/03 | Mr. E. Jackson Abella | 30/09/16 |
| Norway | 03/03/48 | Mr. O. D. Stenseth | 01/06/11 |
| Oman | 15/07/80 | Dr. A. Al-Marzouqi | 20/11/18 |
| Republic of Palau | 08/05/02 | Hon R. Rechebei | 24/06/21 |
| Panama | 12/06/01 |
Dr L. Trejos-Lasso |
04/03/21 |
| Peru | 18/06/79 |
Minister G.L.Collazos |
06/08/21 |
| Poland | 17/04/09 | Mrs. M. Lesz | 14/05/09 |
| Portugal | 14/05/02 | Mr. L.A. de Andrade Freitas | 30/07/15 |
| Romania | 09/04/08 | Dr. D. Cioaca | 28/01/19 |
| Russian Federation | 10/11/48 | Ms. I.B. Fominykh | 02/11/15 |
| San Marino | 16/04/02 | Mr. D. Galassi | 10/10/02 |
| Sao Tome & Principe | 17/05/18 | Ms. A.M. D'Almeida | 25/10/19 |
| St Kitts and Nevis | 24/06/92 | Mr. T.M.X. Williams | 03/02/20 |
| St Lucia | 29/06/81 | Mr. H. Walters | 25/08/16 |
| St Vincent & The Grenadines | 22/07/81 | Sen. E. Snagg | 05/03/03 |
| Senegal | 15/07/82 |
Mr. D. Faye |
06/07/20 |
| Slovak Republic | 22/03/05 | Mr. B. Hrabkovsky | 22/10/15 |
| Slovenia | 20/09/06 | Mr. A. Bibič | 20/01/10 |
| Solomon Islands | 10/05/93 | Ms R. Masu | 08/06/20 |
| South Africa | 10/11/48 | Mr. H. Oosthuizen | 10/04/06 |
| Spain | 06/07/79 |
Mr. F. Magdaleno Mas |
26/06/21 |
| Suriname | 15/07/04 | Mr R Ramkisor | 11/07/16 |
| Sweden | 15/06/79 | Mr. S. Danielsson | 21/06/21 |
| Switzerland | 29/05/80 | Mr. B. Mainini | 03/06/05 |
| Tanzania | 23/06/08 | Mr H.G. Mbilinyi | 12/01/18 |
| Togo | 15/06/05 | Dr. A. Domtani | 03/11/09 |
| Tuvalu | 30/06/04 |
Dr T. Falefou |
30/03/21 |
| UK | 10/11/48 | Mr. J. Smith | 26/04/21 |
| Uruguay | 27/09/07 |
Tbc |
|
| USA |
10/11/48 |
Mr. R. Wulff (Acting) | 09/09/14 |
