ArcelorMittal CEO L N Mittal has been elected chairman of the World Steel Association, the representative body of 180 steel producers from across the globe, on the first day of its 42nd annual conference in Washington.

Mittal was also elected as member of the worldsteel executive committee.

Ku-Taek Lee, Chairman and CEO, POSCO, Paolo Rocca, Chairman and CEO, Techint Group and John Surma, chairman and CEO, US Steel, were elected vice presidennts.

The new officers will hold office for one year, until October 2009.

Ian Christmas, director general, World Steel Association, welcomed Mittal as the new chairman and expressed gratitude on behalf of the board of directors,to outgoing chairman Ku-Taek Lee, while welcoming Mittal.

We are delighted to welcome our new members on board," Christmas said.

Christmas said that since its formation in 1967 the global steel industry had changed substantially and so has the asociation, wich now represented 18 of the worlds 20 largest steel companies, including six of the top 10 producers in China.

The association also said it had changed its name from International Iron and Steel Institute.

Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, headed by Naveen Jindal, has been admitted to the asociation as an associate member in the category of steel companies producing less than 2 MT per annum.