The governing body of the Society is the Council, which makes policy decisions for the Society and directs the Society as a whole.
The Council is empowered to:
- Fix international dues for Members of the Society;
- Approve the receipt of gifts and bequests;
- Ratify all appointments of representatives to Committees, and international and other agencies;
- Act upon proposals submitted to it by its Executive Committee and by the Chairs of other Committees;
- Enact Society Bylaws.
The Council consists of Ex officio Council Members and Ordinary Council Members. The Ex officio Council Members are the Executive Committee.
The number of Ordinary Council Members is determined by the number of Regions. Every Region has at least one Ordinary Council Member. The Ordinary Council Members are elected by the general membership of the Society.
The President is Chair of the Council.
The Chairs of the Standing Committees serve as non-voting ex officio Members of the Council.
| Executive Committee, (Council Member, Voting Ex-Officio) | ||
| Position Name | Name | Region |
| President | Clarice Demétrio | Brazilian Region |
| Outgoing President | Kaye E. Basford | Australasian Region |
| Secretary/Treasurer | Linda Young | Eastern North American Region |
| Editorial Represenative | Urania Dafni | Eastern Mediterranean Region |
| Educational Representative | Peter Njuho | South African Region |
| Executive Director (Non-voting) | Dee Ann Walker | ex officio |
| Council Member, (Non-Voting Ex-Officio) | ||
| Editorial Advisory Committee Chair | Charles McCulloch | Western North American Region |
| Biometric Bulletin Editor | Roslyn Stone | Eastern North American Region |
| Committee on Communications Chair | Sue Welham | British & Irish Region |
| Strategic Issues Committee Chair | Richardus Vonk | German Region |
| Awards Fund Committee Chair | Renato Martins Assunção | Brazilian Region |
| Education Committee Chair | Krista Fischer | Nordic-Baltic Region |
| Conference Advisory Committee Chair | Vicente Núñez-Antón | Spanish Region |
| Budget and Finance Committee Chair | Warren Müller | Australasian Region |
| Ordinary Council Member | Region |
| Hendriek Boshuizen | The Netherlands Region |
| David Baird | Australasian Region |
| Anthony Pettitt | Australasian Region |
| Alan Welsh | Australasian Region |
| David Balding | British & Irish Region |
| Tim Cole | British & Irish Region |
| John Philip Hinde | British & Irish Region |
| Chris Glasbey | British & Irish Region |
| Ruth King | British & Irish Region |
| Sue Welham | British & Irish Region |
| Tim Friede | German Region |
| Annette Kopp-Schneider | German Region |
| Andreas Ziegler | German Region |
| Frank Bretz | German Region |
| Christoph Muysers | German Region |
| Hans-Peter Piepho | German Region |
| Benjamin Reiser | Eastern Mediterranean Region |
| Timothy Gregoire | Eastern North American Region |
| Xihong Lin | Eastern North American Region |
| Jane Pendergast | Eastern North American Region |
| Jose Pinheiro | Eastern North American Region |
| Jeremy Taylor | Eastern North American Region |
| Zofia Hanusz | Poland Region |
| Ranganath Rattihalli | Indian Region |
| Yutaka Matsuyama | Japanese Region |
| Tom Britton | Nordic-Baltic Region |
| Esa Läärä | Nordic-Baltic Region |
| Julio A. Di Rienzo | Argentinean Region |
| Geert Molenberghs | Belgian Region |
| Stijn Vansteelandt | Belgian Region |
| Dalton de Andrade | Brazilian Region |
| Paulo Ribeiro | Brazilian Region |
| Raúl Macchiavelli | Central American-Caribbean Region |
| María Durbán Reguera | Spanish Region |
| Hélène Jacqmin-Gadda | French Region |
| Maria Grazia Valsecchi | Italian Region |
| Tae Rim Lee | Korean Region |
| Stephan Morgenthaler | Austro-Swiss Region |
| Andrea Berghold | Austro-Swiss Region |
| Christine McLaren | Western North American Region |
| Elizabeth Thompson | Western North American Region |



