Edouard Victor Saouma (6 November 1926 – 1 December 2012) was a Lebanese civil servant who served as Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for three consecutive terms from 1976 to 1993.

The original members of the group were Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, West Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

The U.S. was at first excluded because of the strong support given to Saouma by its ambassador Millicent Fenwick (a former member of Congress).

Saouma also allowed FAO Fisheries Department to focus efforts and publicity on promoting and supporting the 200-mile "exclusive economic zones" of coastal nations.

In recognition of his decisive role, the FAO Conference established in November 1993 the Edouard Saouma Award[7]