Mathias Cormann. Photo: AAP /Mick Tsikas 13 March 2021 10:58am Australia’s former finance minister Mathias Cormann has been elected as the new head of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The 50-year-old will become the first person from Asia-Pacific to lead the Paris-based, 37-nation organisation, and takes the role in the middle of one of the worst global recessions on record. “It would be a privilege and an honour to take on the leadership of the OECD … it brings together like-minded countries from around the world committed to developing and delivering better policies for better lives,” Mr Cormann said in a statement.