ITER Director-General Bernard Bigot Dies
Final three minutes of Bernard Bigot’s testimony to the French Senate Committee on Economic Affairs, Oct. 27, 2021
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By Steven B. Krivit
May 14, 2022
Bernard Bigot, the director-general of the ITER organization died today, according to Eisuke Tada, the deputy director-general. Bigot’s health issues were apparent as early as Oct. 27, 2021, when he falsely testified before the French Senate Committee on Economic Affairs and was barely able to speak.
On May 9, according to Michel Claessens, the former spokesman for the ITER organization, Bigot had delegated his responsibilities on May 6 to Tada and the ITER council was planning on holding a special meeting on May 11 to speed up the search of a new director-general.
On May 9, Laban Coblentz, the current spokesman for the ITER organization, denied that Bigot had resigned and said that Bigot had been experiencing “some serious health issues recently” and that the situation was temporary.
An ITER staff member provided the following e-mail to New Energy Times this morning:
Sent: 14 May 2022 11:36
To: only-staff <only-staff@iter.org>; All-Interim-Staffs <All-Interim-Staffs@iter.org>; All-IPA <All-IPA@iter.org>; Luo Delong <luodl@iterchina.cn>; Filhol Jean-Marc EXT <Jean-Marc.Filhol@f4e.europa.eu>; Baruah Ujjwal K <ujjwal.baruah@iter-india.org>; Sugimoto Makoto <sugimoto.makoto@qst.go.jp>; Jung Kijung <kjjung@kfe.re.kr>; Krasilnikov Anatoli <a.krasilnikov@iterrf.ru>; Vanek Thomas <thomas.vanek@science.doe.gov>
Subject: Tragic loss of Director-General Bernard Bigot
Dearest colleagues,
I am writing this message to all of you with the most deep sadness in my heart, to inform you of the unfortunate passing of our beloved ITER Director-General, Bernard Bigot this morning. As you are all aware, Bernard had been struggling with a serious illness, which took an abrupt turn for the worse in recent days. From our contact with Bernard Bigot’s family, we know that he died in peace, surrounded by those he loved, following a life well lived. I was healed to hear that and I would like to pray for his soul from the bottom of my heart.
In all my life and professional career, I have never witnessed a leader more sincerely dedicated and profoundly committed than Director-General Bigot to deliver the promise of hydrogen fusion as a safe, environmentally friendly, clean and sustainable source of energy for future generations. While some of us worked with him more closely than others, all of us saw his daily dedication: his inexhaustible energy, and his strong mind for doing things right – from high-profile diplomatic actions to the each individual technical matter and support to staff needs. While we all supported him to the best of our capacity, it is not an exaggeration to say that Bernard bore a huge responsibility for making ITER the success it is today.
Above all, he appreciated the value and importance of his colleagues, the people of ITER and the broader fusion community. He held all of us to higher standards of performance, and was not hesitant to point out the need for improvement; but he held himself to the highest standards of all. He proved it by demonstrating continuous dedication and strong commitment.
Bernard’s tenure at ITER Organization, beginning in 2015, marked the final stage of an extraordinarily distinguished career spanning multiple fields of energy and science, much of it at the highest levels of the French government service. He became a champion of the ITER Project from its earliest stages in France, and in March 2015 he accepted the appointment as ITER Director-General. I am clearly remembering that at that time, he invited me to ITER Organization for working together. It is really my honour that I could work with him, and I am sure all of you feel the same way. In parallel with his exceptional leadership of the ITER Project, he continued to lead multiple foundations, always focused on the betterment of human society and the improvement of “the common good.”
Given Bernard’s stature as a distinguished civil servant and leader of multiple organizations, we have many people to notify – from the Élysée and Member governments to his close personal friends, and including all of you, his beloved ITER staff and collaborators – before this news is released more generally. We will do this immediately. In the next few hours, we will then issue a press release to notify the broader public.
In addition, to honour Director-General Bigot’s legacy, I have asked our security team to lower the ITER flag to half-mast, where it will remain for a week. On 16 at noon, we will pause for a few minutes of silence. Working with Bernard for many years, I knew that he would say “No need to stop but let’s keep working”. So I would not propose to physically gather but everyone to pause at your own place. It’s the best way to show our respect for how he has guided us. At the request of Bernard and his family, his funeral service will be small and personal, by invitation only, but we will pay our tributes to his memory in other ways to show our gratitude and deep condolences, and we will keep you informed as we gain more information.
With Bernard’s passing, it will now fall to me to take on the role to lead the Project, with the support of the ITER Council, while the Council proceeds with its search for a long-term successor for Bernard. This is not a duty I have ever sought, but I assure you that, with your help and support, I commit to deliver this role to the best of my abilities. As Bernard has an open-door policy for every staff who feels the needs to talk to him directly for personal/important matter, I will also take over that philosophy and my door is open for you as well, to achieve our common goal together.
For me, as for all of you, the greatest honour we can pay to Director-General Bernard Bigot is continue to deliver the ITER project with the same unwavering commitment and dedication that he demonstrated to all of us. Despite our sorrow at this great loss, we can look forward with confidence based on the legacy he created, with our support, over the past seven years. He will be deeply missed, but his legacy will live on. Our continued work and achievements we originally committed can be the best regards to him for leading us.
Warmest regards,
Eisuke Tada
Deputy of the Director-General
