The Headquarters of FAO is in

Concept: The location of a United Nations specialized agency's headquarters is set by decisions of its member states and its institutional history — it is not necessarily fixed forever at the agency's founding, and it can even change during the agency's life, as happened with FAO itself.

Application: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was established in 1945 to lead international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition, agriculture, and food security worldwide. FAO's headquarters were initially located in Washington, D.C.; in 1951 the organization relocated permanently to Rome, Italy, where it remains today. Rome is therefore the correct answer.

Contrast:

• Geneva: hosts other UN and international bodies (such as the WHO and the ILO) but not FAO’s headquarters.

• Washington D.C.: hosts international financial institutions (such as the World Bank and the IMF) but not FAO’s headquarters.

• Paris: hosts UNESCO but not FAO’s headquarters.

Cross-check: FAO is grouped together with two other UN food-and-agriculture-related bodies, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which are also based in Rome — together they are informally called the ‘Rome-based agencies’, reinforcing Rome as FAO’s seat.