Yvette van der Merwe has been elected President of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) for a three-year mandate at the 22nd OIV General Assembly in Dijon, France, on October 18, 2024.
Photo ©️ Baptiste Paquot_OIV
Economist and specialist in new information technologies, Yvette van der Merwe’s career spans nearly three decades of dedication to the South African wine industry.
First African president of the OIV, Van der Merwe inaugurates the beginning of the new OIV century.
Van der Merwe is the Chief Executive Officer of South African Wine Industry Information and Systems (SAWIS), and deals with the administration of the wine of origin scheme under the Liquor products Act and the management of statistical information and business intelligence in terms of the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act.
Since joining the South African delegation to the OIV in 2000, Yvette has held several key roles within the organisation. President of the Commission III Economy and Law from 2022 to 2024, she served as Vice-President of the "Law and Consumer information" Expert Group from 2013 to 2016, and later as Chair of the "Economic Analysis, Markets, and Consumption" Expert Group of Commission III from 2016 to 2021.
Yvette van der Merwe succeeds Professor Luigi Moio, who becomes the vice-president of the OIV.