Eduard Kokoyty, President of South Ossetia

Eduard Kokoyty, President of South Ossetia

(Кокойты Эдуард Джабеевич) born on October 31, 1964 in Tskhinvali.

Professional career started as an electrical engineer. Graduated South Ossetian Pedagogical Institute in 1987. While he was a student, he was elected as the secretary of the committee of communists at the university.From 1988-1989 was a secretary and then from 1989-1991 he was the first secretary of the city of Tskhinvali communist party.

During Georgia-Ossetia conflict, he created and headed the fighting division of the “defenders of Ossetia.”

From 1990-1993 he was a deputy of the Parliament of South Ossetia.

In 1993 he created a sports charity fund “Youth.”

In 1997 he was appointed as the Trade Representative-Minister of South Ossetia to Russia.

Then, he was an advisor to the deputy of Russian Parliament, A. Chekhoev.

Married. Has 3 sons.

Dmitry Sanakoev, Alternative President of South Ossetia

Dmitry Sanakoev (born in 1969) is a South Ossetian politician. He claims to serve as President of South Ossetia, a secessionist republic officially recognised as being part of Georgia, after winning alternative elections organised by the opposition to the de facto incumbent, Eduard Kokoity. He is recognised neither by the de facto government in Tskhinvali, the entity’s capital, or by the international community at large, which does not recognise the existence of a South Ossetian government at all.
Sanakoyev fought on the Ossetian side during the Georgian-Ossetian conflict in the early 1990s. Later, he served as defense minister and then as prime minister for several months in 2001 under Kokoity’s predecessor, Lyudvig Chibirov, but left South Ossetia for Moscow after Kokoity came to power.

On November 13, in a so-called “alternative” poll organized by The Salvation Union of South Ossetia in Georgian- and Ossetian villages not controlled by the separatists, Sanakoyev was declared the president-elect, with more than 80 percent of the vote. His campaign posters were prominently posted on walls outside polling stations in Georgian-controlled villages, benefited from extensive media coverage in the Georgian press. His election manifesto envisaged the restoration of the region’s status as a republic within Georgia and a program of measures to spur economic growth.

At his November 13 press conference, Kokoity termed Sanakoyev and Karkusov, head of the alternative election commission and a former advisor to Kokoity, “traitors to their homeland and traitors to the South Ossetian people.” The South Ossetian media launched a campaign to discredit and compromise Sanakoyev, accusing him of corruption, duplicity, and collaborating with Georgian intelligence.

In December 2006, Sanakoyev formed his government, choosing not to include the post of defense minister.

Mario Monti (born 19 March 1943) is an Italian economist and academic who is Prime Minister of Italy, as well as Minister of Economy and Finance, since November 2011. Monti served as a European Commissioner from 1995 to 2004, with responsibility for the Internal Market, Services, Customs and Taxation from 1995 to 1999 and then for Competition from 1999 to 2004. He has also been Rector and President of Bocconi University. Monti was appointed a Senator for Life in the Italian Senate on 9 November 2011, and three days later was invited by President Giorgio Napolitano to form a new technocratic government in Italy following the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi.

Mario Monti was born in Varese on 19 March 1943. His father hailed from Varese (though he spent much of his life in Argentina after emigrating during World War II), and his mother was born in Piacenza. Mario Monti holds a degree in economics and management from Bocconi University, Milan. He completed graduate studies at Yale University, where he studied under James Tobin, the Nobel prize-winning economist.

He taught economics at the University of Turin from 1970 to 1985 before moving to Bocconi University, where he was its Rector from 1999 to 2001, and has been its President since 1994. He was also the President of SUERF (The European Money and Finance Forum) from 1982 to 1985. His research has helped to create the ‘Klein-Monti model’, aimed at describing the behaviour of banks operating under monopoly circumstances.

Monti is a member of the Presiderium of the Friends of Europe, a leading European think tank, and was the first chairman of Bruegel, a European think tank founded in 2005. He is the European Chairman of the Trilateral Commission, a think tank founded in 1973 by David Rockefeller. He is also a leading member of the exclusive Bilderberg Group.

Monti has been an international advisor to Goldman Sachs and The Coca-Cola Company.

On 9 November 2011, Monti was appointed a Lifetime Senator by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. Mario Monti was seen as a favorite to replace Silvio Berlusconi to lead a new unity government in Italy in order to implement reforms and austerity measures. On 12 November 2011, following Berlusconi’s resignation, Napolitano invited Monti to form a new government. Monti accepted the offer, and held talks with the leaders of Italy’s political parties, saying that he wanted to form a government that would remain in office until the next scheduled elections in 2013. On 16 November 2011, Monti unveiled a technocratic cabinet, and was officially sworn in as Prime Minister of Italy. He also appointed himself as Minister of Economy and Finance.

Mario Monti is married, and has two children.

Known for his reserved character, Monti acknowledges not being especially sociable, explaining that his youth was given over to hard study, alongside spare time activities such as cycling and keeping up with world affairs by tuning in to foreign short wave radio stations.

Silvio Berlusconi, Former Prime Minister of Italy (resigned on Nov 12, 2011)

Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister of Italy

Born in Milan September 29, 1936. Married, five children. He lives in Milan.

Graduated in Law with honors. Entrepreneur.

Knight’s work. In 1962 he began working in the area of the building contractors. Be the first Italian player in the development of residential and commercial centers (Milan 2, Milan 3, Sunflower). In 1980 he founded Channel 5, the first national television network, in addition, Italy 1 (1982) and Rete 4 (1984). The commercial success of the TV allows you to develop various initiatives, insert, like all other companies within the parent holding company Fininvest, founded in 1978.

Spread so commercial television in Europe: France La Cinq (1986), Germany Telefünf (1987), Telecinco in Spain (1989). With the Mondadori (1989) becomes the main Italian publisher in books and periodicals. The Fininvest Group, with Mediolanum and Italy Program, to develop a strong presence in insurance and financial products. President since 1986 is the football team AC Milan which led to being the first club in the world for the number of international victories. On January 26, 1994 he resigned all his positions in Fininvest.

Foreign Languages

French and English.

POLITICAL PROFILE

Positions of party and political activity

Founder and President of the political movement Forza Italy. ”
Founder and President of the Political Movement “People of Freedom.”

Institutional charges and parliamentary activity

In the XII legislature was Prime Minister from May to December 1994. Later he was part of the 3rd Standing Committee – Foreign and Community Affairs. In 1994 he participated in elections to the European Parliament shall be elected in all five boroughs Italian, but has not joined the Assembly for incompatibility with the office of President of the Council then held. In the XIII legislature has been part of the 3rd Standing Committee – Foreign and Community Affairs, the 1st Standing Committee – Constitutional Affairs, the Council Presidency and interior of the parliamentary commission for constitutional reforms, the Italian Parliamentary Delegation to the Assembly of the Council ‘s Europe and the Italian parliamentary delegation to the Assembly of Western European Union. In 1999, reelected to Parliament, V term, resigned June 10, 2001 for incompatibility with the office of President of the Council of Ministers, who served in the XIV legislature of the National Parliament. Interim Minister for Foreign Affairs on 6 January 2002 to November 14, 2002, Interim Minister of Economy and Finance 3 to 16 July 2004 and interim Minister of Health 11 March 2006.

On November 18, 2007 in Piazza San Babila in Milan announces the birth of the future movement “People of Freedom” which is actually founded February 27, 2008.

With the same movement won the parliamentary elections of 13 and 14 April 2008.
In the sixteenth term becomes President of the Council of Ministers for the fourth time.

13-14 April 2008 elections

Elected to the House in the list The People of Freedom in the Molise Region XVIII with 71,994 votes equal to 36.48%.

Previous elections

Elected in the 1994 consultation, the College District No. 1 of the XV-Lazio 1, with 34,534 votes – 46.3%. Linked lists: Forza Italy, the National Alliance. Reelected in 1996 with the Pole for Freedom in College 1 – 1 Milan, Lombardy 1 of the Third District, with 46,135 votes – 51, 5%. Linked lists: Forza Italy.

Confirmed in 2001 with the House of Freedoms in the College # 1 – 1 Milan, the Lombardy Region III 1 with 42,086 votes – 53.7%. Linked lists: Forza Italy.

Reelected in 2006 in Italy in the nineteenth Force list Campania Region 1 with 492,594 votes equal to 27.23%. Linked lists: Forza Italy.

Assignments and activities in local authorities

City Councilman at the Commune of Milan from 27 April 1997 to May 12, 2001, from May 13 to November 9, 2001, from 28 May 2006 to 12 May 2008.

Giorgio Napolitano, President of Italy

Giorgio Napolitano, President of Italy

Giorgio Napolitano was born in Naples on June 29th, 1925.

He graduated in law from Naples University in December 1947, with a dissertation on political economy entitled Il mancato sviluppo industriale del Mezzogiorno dopo l’unità e la legge speciale per Napoli del 1904 (The Failure to Bring about Industrial Development in Southern Italy after Italy’s Unification and Special Legislation for Naples in 1904). In 1945-46 he engaged actively in the Student Faculty Councils movement, and was a delegate to the first National University Congress.

In 1942, as un undergraduate in Naples, he joined a group of young anti-Fascists and in 1945 he joined the Italian Communist Party, of which he was a militant and then a leading figure until the Democratic Party of the Left was established.

From the autumn of 1946 to the spring of 1948 he was a member of the  Secretariat of the Italian Economic Centre for Southern Italy, chaired by Senator Paratore. He took also an active part for over 10 years in the Movement for the Rebirth of Southern Italy, since its foundation in December 1947.

He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the first time in 1953, and with the exception of the 4th Parliament he was a Member of Parliament until 1996, always re-elected in the Naples constituency.

His parliamentary activity began as a member of the Budget and State Holdings Committee, and focused – also in debates on the Floor of the House – on the issues of Southern Italy’s development and national economic policy.

In the 8th (from 1981) and 9th Parliaments (until 1986) he chaired the Communist group at the Chamber of Deputies.

During the 1980s his activity focused on international and European policy issues, both as a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies and (from 1984 to 1992 and from 1994 to 1996) of the Italian delegation to the North Atlantic Assembly, and also through manifold political and cultural initiatives. As far back as the 1970s he was an active lecturer abroad, visiting International Policy Institutes in the UK and Germany and several US Universities (Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Chicago, Berkeley, SAIS and CSIS in Washington).

From 1989 to 1992 he was a Member of the European Parliament.
On June 3rd 1992, in the 11th Parliament, he was elected Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, and remained in office until the end of that Parliament in April 1994.

During the 12th Parliament he was a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Chairman of the Special Committee on the Reorganisation of Broadcasting Sector.

During the 13th Parliament he served as Minister of the Interior and for the Coordination of Civil Protection in the Prodi Government, from May 1996 to October 1998.

Since 1995 he has been the President of the Italian Council of the European Movement.

From June 1999 to June 2004 he chaired the Constitutional Affairs Committee of the European Parliament.

In the 14th Parliament the then Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Pier Ferdinando Casini, appointed him as Chairman of the Foundation of the Chamber of Deputies, an office which he held until the end of that Parliament.

On  September 23rd 2005 he was appointed life senator by the President of the Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.

On May 10th 2006 he was elected President of the Republic with 543 votes. He was sworn-in on May 15th, 2006.

In acknowledgement of hid dedication to the cause of Parliamentary democracy and his contribution to the rapprochement between the Italian Left and European Socialism, in 1997 he was awarded the Leibnitz-Ring International Award in Hannover for his “lifelong” commitment.

In 2004 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Political Science from Bari University.

He contributed in particular to the journal Società (Society) and, from 1954 to 1960, to the journal Cronache meridionali (Southern Chronicles), with essays on the Mezzogiorno (South of Italy) debate following the Liberation, on the thinking of Guido Dorso, on agricultural reform policies and on Manlio Rossi-Doria’s theses on the industrialisation of Southern Italy. In 1962 he published his first book Movimento operaio e industria di Stato (Workers’ Movement and State Industry), with special reference to the analysis of Pasquale Saraceno.

In 1975 he published the book Intervista sul PCI (The Italian Road to Socialism: An Interview by Eric Hobsbawm with Giorgio Napolitano of the Italian Communist Party), which was translated and published in over 10 countries.

In 1979 he wrote In mezzo al guado (At Mid-Crossing), about the period of the so-called “democratic solidarity” (from 1976 to 1979), when he acted as spokesperson for the PCI and handled relations with the Andreotti government on economic and trade union issues.

In 1988, in his book Oltre i vecchi confini (Beyond Old Boundaries), he addressed the problems that arose in the years of the thaw in relations between East and West, at the time of President Reagan in the USA and President Gorbachev in the USSR.

His work Al di là del guado: la scelta riformista (Beyond the Crossing: the Reformist Choice) collects his public addresses from 1986 to 1990.

The book Europa e America dopo l’89 (Europe and America after 1989), published in 1992, is a collection of lectures he gave in the United States after the fall of the Berlin wall and the Communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe.

In 1994 he published, partly in the form of a personal diary, the book Dove va la Repubblica – Una transizione incompiuta (Where the Republic is Heading – An Unfinished Transition), on the period of the 11th Parliament, form his viewpoint as Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies.

In 2002, he published his book Europa politica (A Political Europe), at the height of his activity as Chairman of the Constitutional Affairs Committee of the European Parliament.

His latest book Dal PCI al socialismo europeo: un’autobiografia politica (From the PCI to European Socialism: a Political Autobiography) was published in 2005.

Lucas Papademos, Prime Minister of Greece

Lucas Demetrios Papademos (born 11 October 1947) is a Greek economist and the interim Prime Minister of Greece. He was appointed Prime Minister in November 2011 after the head of the governing party, George Papandreou, decided to step down, and allow a provisional coalition government to form with the task to take Greece out of a major political crisis caused by the country’s debt crisis. He is also currently serving as a visiting professor of public policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Born in Athens, Papademos attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, gaining a degree in physics in 1970, a masters degree in electrical engineering in 1972, and a doctorate in economics, in 1978.

He followed an academic career at Columbia University where he taught economics from 1975 until 1984, and then at the University of Athens from 1988 to 1993.

He has served as Senior Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in 1980. He joined the Bank of Greece in 1985 as Chief Economist, rising to Deputy Governor in 1993 and Governor in 1994. During his time as Governor of the national bank, Papademos was involved in Greece’s transition from the drachma to the euro as its national currency.

After leaving the Bank of Greece in 2002, Papademos became the Vice President to Jean-Claude Trichet at the European Central Bank from 2002 to 2010. In 2010 he left that position to serve as an advisor to Prime Minister George Papandreou.

He has been a member of the Trilateral Commission since 1998.

He is a member of the Academy of Athens. He has published numerous articles in the fields of macroeconomic theory, the structure and functioning of financial markets, monetary analysis and policy as well as on subjects concerning the economic performance, financial stability and economic policy in the European Union. He has also delivered addresses on the Greek debt crisis.

His name has been mentioned among Nikiforos Diamandouros and Stavros Dimas as a potential candidate for Prime Minister of Greece of the interim government decided between George Papandreou government and Antonis Samaras opposition in November 2011.

On 10 November 2011, he was named as Prime Minister, the 183rd governor of modern Greece history.

George Papandreou, Former Prime Minister of Greece (quit office on Nov 7, 2011)

George Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece

Date of Birth: June 16, 1952

Place of Birth: St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A.

Marital Status: Wife Ada
Children: Andreas (birth date 1982), Margarita-Elena (birth date 1990)

Education: Athens College
Athens, Greece
York Highschool
Elmhurst, Illinois, U.S.A.

Viggbyholmskolan
Stockholm, Sweden

King City Secondary School
Toronto, Canada, 1970 (Secondary School Certificate)

University Level: Honorary doctorate in law
Amherst College, Amherst, MA, USA (2002)
BA Degree in Sociology
Amhest College, Amherst, MA, USA (1970-75)

Undergraduate studies (Sociology)
Stockholm University, Sweden (1972-73)

M. Sc. Degree in Sociology and Development
London School of Economics – LSE (1976-77)

Fellow at the Center for International Affairs (CFIA)
Harvard University, Cambrdige, MA, USA (1992-1993)

Languages: English, Swedish
Activities: In the Government:
Prime Minister (October 2009 – )

Minister of Foreign Affairs (February 1999 – February 2004)
Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs (September 1996 – February 1)
Government Coordinator of 2004 Olympic Games Bid (1996-1997)
Minister of Education and Religious Affairs (July 1994-October 1996)
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (Oct. 1993 – Jul. 1994)
Responsible for US -Greek Relations. Took part in Greek Presidency’s negotiations on the new EU membership of Sweden, Finland, Austria and Norway
Minister of Education and Religious Affairs (1988 – 1989)
Government Coordinator of 1996 Olympic Games Hellenic Candidacy (1988-1989)
Ministry of Culture, Under Secretary for Cultural Affairs (July 1985-February 1987)
In charge of (a) Greeks of the Diaspora Affairs, (b) Adult Education – Continuing Education and Youth Affairs

In the Parliament:

Member of Parliament
First District of Salonika (2004-present)

Member of Parliament
First District of Athens (1996-2004)
Member of Parliament
District of Achaia (Patras) (1981-1996)
Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee of Education για την Παιδε?α (1982 – 1985)
Vice-Chairperson of the cross – party Parliamentary Committee for Free Radio (1987)
In Charge of the Parliamentary Committee for Culture and Education (1989-93)

Party Work:

President of PASOK (8 February 2004 – present)
Elected Member of the Executive Office and the Political Bureau of PASOK (July 1996-present)
Elected Member of the Central Committee of PASOK (1984-present)
Elected Member of the Executive Office PASOK (1987-1988)
Elected Secretary for the Committee on the Greek Diaspora (1990-1993)

PASOK Political Committee Service between 1975-1985:

Committee for Studies, Publications and Seminars (Secretary)
Agricultural Cooperatives (Secretary)
Organization Committee (Deputy Secretary)
International Relations (Member)

Other Activities:

President of the Socialist International (Αthens, 2006)
Vice-President of the Socialist International (Ramallah, 2005)
Vice-President of the International Olympic Truce Centre
Founding Member of the Helsinki Citizens Assembly (Prague, 1990)
Founding Member of the Lagonisi Initiative on Cooperation in the Balkans (1994)
Responsible for Government Coordinator for the Bid for 2004 Olympic Games (1997)
Member of the Board of the Foundation of Mediterranean Studies
Member of the Board of the Foundation for Research and Self-Education
Member of Research Teams at the Foundation of Mediterranean Studies
Member of the Advisory Board of the Cambridge Foundation For Peace

Honours:

Distinguished Professor in the Center for Hellenic Studies – Georgia State College of Arts and Science (April 2006)
Open Fields Award Truce Foundation USA (April 2006)
Peru, Lima – Gran Cruz ” El Sol du Peru ” (October 31, 2003)
USA, Washington – Recipient: Defender of Democracy- of Parliamentarians for Global Action (17 September, 2003)
Italy-Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (2003)
Hungary-Grand Commander of the Order of the Merit (2003)
Awarded, during the United States Sport Academy (U.S.S.A.) School’s 30th anniversary celebration, the Jackie Robinson Humanitarian Award (July, 26 2002)
Vatican-Grand Cross of the Order of Pius IX (Athens, November 11, 2002)
Portugal-Grand Cross of the Order of Infante dom Henrique (2002)
Belgium-Grand Cross of the Order of Crown (2001)
Spain-Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (2001)
Germany-Grand Cross of the Order of Merit, first class (2000)
Eastwest Institute 2000 Awards – Peace Building Awards . The 2000 “Statesman of the Year Award” given to Foreign Minister George Papandreou of Greece and Foreign Minister Ismail Cem of Turkey for their great efforts at improving relations between their respective countries (May 2, 2000)
Austria-Grand Cross of the Order of Honour, first class (1999)
Estonia-Grand Cross of the Order of the White Star (1999)
Sweden-Grand Cross of the Order of Polar Star (1999)
Recipient of the ” Botsis’s Foundation for the Promotion of Journalism ” award for “his multifaceted struggles, which established the Free Radio as part of our democratic institutions” (June 1988)
Spain-Grand Cross of the Order of thw Civil Merit (1998)
Abdi Ipekci special award for Peace and Friendship ( June 1997) “for his activities in favor of Greek-Turkish approach during the period 1995-1996 while serving as Minister of National Education and Religion”
Recipient of the ” SOS against Racism, and affiliated organizations ” Committee award, for his work against racism and anti-Semitism (April 1996)
Poland-Grand Commander of the Order of the Polish Republic (1996)
Finland-Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion (1996)
Ukraine-Commander of the Order of the Yaroslav (1996)

Karolos Papoulias, President of Greece

Karolos Papoulias, President of Greece

Karolos Papoulias was sworn in as President of Greece on 12 March 2005, after having been elected by an unprecedented 279 votes in the country’s 300-seat parliament. A founding member of the opposition Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), the 75-year-old Papoulias won support both from his own party and from the ruling center-right New Democracy party, which nominated him to succeed Kostis Stephanopoulos in the largely ceremonial post.

In the course of his long career, Papoulias has been a pole vault champion, an attorney, a political activist, a member of parliament, an official of the national volleyball team, and president of the National Athletics Association.

He was born in Ioannina in 1929. After legal studies in Athens and Milan, he obtained his PhD at Cologne University and went on to practice law from 1963 to 1981. He was in Germany at the time of the 1967 military coup in Greece. During the next seven years, Papoulias helped found a student resistance organisation and broadcast regularly on Deutsche Welle’s Greek service, denouncing the colonels.

In 1977, Papoulias entered parliament for the first time, representing the Ioannina electoral district as an MP on the PASOK ticket. He was re-elected eight times, serving a total of 27 years. A close associate of the late Greek prime minister Andreas Papandreou, he has been a consistent influence in the foreign policy of successive PASOK governments, serving as deputy foreign minister from 1981-1984, as foreign minister from 1985-1990, and again as foreign minister from 1993-1996. In 1995, he was elected to the party’s executive bureau and political secretariat.

Following the 1996 general elections, Papoulias became head of Greece’s parliamentary representation to the OSCE. In June 2000, he was appointed a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the International Olympic Truce Foundation.

Papoulias will serve a five-year term. He is married and has three daughters.

Campaigner, poet, politician – Michael D Higgins is widely regarded as a principled, eloquent and passionate public figure and statesman.

Michael D was born into humble circumstances in Limerick, and raised in Clare by a family who paid a huge price during the tumultuous events of the foundation of the state. After years spent as a clerk with the ESB, Michael D became the first in his family to go to university. There he found the language and the ideas to articulate the deep sense of social justice and hunger for equality that he had developed as a young man. This powerful symmetry – between the instincts of the heart and the ideas of the head – has been a hallmark of Michael D’s public life.

As a young academic, Michael D strove to ensure that people of a similar background to himself had the opportunity to access education and travelled, with colleagues, to towns and villages throughout the west of Ireland providing outreach courses. The social exclusion, emigration and poverty that he experienced and witnessed led Michael D to more direct political involvement, where he could argue and advocate for real change, both social and economic.

Dedicated to serving the people, Michael D. has been elected to Galway City and County Council, Seanad Éireann and Dáil Éireann. He has served with distinction as Mayor of Galway, President of the European Council of Culture Ministers and as one of the country’s most innovative and visionary Cabinet Ministers.

As our first Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, Michael D. made brave decisions which continue to benefit Ireland. His achievements include establishing TG4, reinvigorating the Irish film industry, the ending of the Section 31 censorship regime, investment in new public museums, such as Collins Barracks and the Chester Beatty Library, the setting up of a network of local arts venues and theatres right across Ireland and the revitalisation of our waterways, including reconnection of the Royal and Grand Canals. In his ambitions for film, music and culture in all its forms, Michael D. recognised creativity as an integral part of our lives which can play a vital role in our social and economic development.

Michael D. has been to the forefront of campaigns for progressive change on equal pay for women, access to contraception, divorce, the rights of people with disabilities and many other important issues. He often argued for these reforms in the face of a conservative consensus, and has often paid a high electoral price for standing up bravely for what he believes.

He has been a consistent voice for equality, the elimination of poverty and a ‘citizenship floor’ of basic rights and participation below which no citizen should fall. A feminist, Michael D, often together with his wife Sabina, has in particular fought for women’s rights in Ireland and abroad.

Internationally, Michael D. has campaigned for justice and peace and supported humanitarian projects in countries including Nicaragua, El Salvador, Cambodia, Iraq, Somalia and Chile. He was awarded the first Seán McBride International Peace Prize by the Zurich-based International Peace Bureau in recognition of his international human rights work.

A renowned author, poet and speaker, Michael D. has a deep commitment to and connection with the Irish language. He also has a lifelong passion for sport and is a strong supporter of gaelic football and hurling as well as being President of Galway United FC.

Enda Kenny, Prime Minister of Ireland (since Mar 9, 2011)

Prime Minister of Ireland

Enda Kenny was elected as Taoiseach on March 9th 2011
He was elected Leader of Fine Gael in June 2002. Since then, he has rebuilt the party. Under his leadership Fine Gael has gained seats in every single location.
In the general election in 2011 Fine Gael won 76 seats, becoming the largest party in the Dáil.
In the local elections in 2009 Fine Gael won 340 seats, becoming the largest party at local level for the first time in history.
Enda has represented the people of Mayo as a Fine Gael member of Dáil Éireann since 1975.
He served as Minister for Tourism and Trade from 1994 – 1997, overseeing an unprecedented growth in tourism business and Ireland’s trade position internationally.
He was Minister for State at the Department of Education, Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Western Development, Youth Affairs and Sport.

Some other facts on Enda

• Enda is married to Fionnuala. They have 3 teenage children, Aoibhinn, Ferdia and Naoise.
• He enjoys hillwalking, cycling, golf, has climbed Croagh Patrick over 100 times and Kilimanjaro for charity.
• He played for, managed and coached his local team Islandeady GAA for many years to County Championship victories.
• He looks forward to and enjoys annual family holidays in Kerry.
• He reads a lot, including Irish and military history.
• He is a fluent Irish speaker.
• He is a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen.
• His late father Henry Kenny won All Ireland Football honours with Mayo in 1936 and his father in law with Kerry in 1953.

Mary McAleese, Former President of Ireland

Mary McAleese, President of Ireland

On 11th November, 1997, Mary McAleese was inaugurated as the eighth President of Ireland. Mary McAleese was re-elected on Friday 1st October 2004 being the only validly-nominated candidate. She is a barrister and former Professor of Law. Born on June 27th 1951 in Belfast, she is the first President to come from Northern Ireland. She is married, since 1976, to Dr. Martin McAleese, an accountant and dentist. They have three children, Emma, born 1982 and twins Justin and SaraMai, born 1985.

The eldest of nine children, President McAleese grew up in Northern Ireland through the violent times that have come to be known as ‘The Troubles’. Her family was one of many adversely affected by the conflict. She graduated in Law from the Queen’s University of Belfast in 1973 and was called to the Northern Ireland Bar in 1974. In 1975, she was appointed Reid Professor of Criminal Law, Criminology and Penology at Trinity College Dublin and in 1987, she returned to her Alma Mater, Queen’s, to become Director of the Institute of Professional Legal Studies. In 1994, she became the first female Pro-Vice Chancellor of the Queen’s University of Belfast.

President McAleese is an experienced broadcaster, having worked as a current affairs journalist and presenter in radio and television with Radio Telefís Éireann. She has a longstanding interest in many issues concerned with justice, equality, social inclusion, anti-sectarianism and reconciliation. The theme of her Presidency is ‘Building Bridges’

Among the other appointments she has held are;

• Director of Channel 4 Television.
• Director, Northern Ireland Electricity
• Delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Trade and Investment in Ireland and to the follow up Pittsburg Conference in 1996.
• Member of the Catholic Church delegation in 1996 to the North Commission on Contentious Parades.
• Member of the Catholic Church Episcopal Delegation to the New Ireland Forum in 1984.
• Founder member of the Irish Commission for Prisoners Overseas.

Born in Gotse Delchev, Rosen Plevneliev studied at Blagoevgrad Mathematical and Natural Sciencies High School, from which he graduated in 1982. In 1989 he graduated from the Higher Mechanical-Electrotechnical Institute, Sofia, and in the same year become a fellow at the Institute for Microprocessing Technology, Pravetz. In 1990 he started the first post-communist private building company in Bulgaria. Among other projects, the company built the Sofia Business Park.Plevneliev became Minister of Regional Development and Public Works under Prime Minister Borisov on July 27, 2009.

He was announced as GERB’s candidate for President of Bulgaria on September 4, 2011. He subsequently won the presidential election in a second round held on October 30, 2011, with majority of 55.3%. He defeated Ivaylo Kalfin from the Bulgarian Socialist Party in the second round.

He is married and has three sons: Philip, Asen and Paul.

GEORGI PARVANOV, Former President of Bulgaria

GEORGI PARVANOV, President of Bulgaria

Date of birth: 28 June 1957
Place of birth: Sirishnik, Pernik district
Nationality: Bulgarian
Marital status: Married, with two sons

• 1975: Finishes the Secondary School of Mathematics, Pernik
• 1981: Graduates from the Faculty of History of the St Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia

Aleksandr Ankvab, President of Abkhazia

Alyksandr Zolotinska-ipa Ankvab (born December 26, 1952) is the President of Abkhazia, a prominent member of the political party Aitaira and a businessman. Ankvab had been Prime Minister, a post to which he was appointed by then newly elected President Sergei Bagapsh on 14 February 2005. In the 4 October 2004 Presidential election, Ankvab had supported Bagapsh’s candidacy following his own exclusion by the Central Election Commission. He survived four attempts at his life from 2005 to 2010. He was appointed acting President of Abkhazia after the president Sergei Bagapsh underwent an operation on May 21, 2011. Following the operation, Bagapsh died on May 29, 2011 and Ankvab has served as the acting president until he was fully reelected on August 26, 2011.

Born in the Abkhazian capital Sukhumi, Ankvab graduated with a degree in law from the Rostov State University in southern Russia and worked as an official of the Komsomol for many years. He served between 1975-1981 as an official in the Justice Ministry of the Abkhaz ASSR. He joined the executive of the central committee of the Georgian Communist Party in 1981, being promoted to the post of deputy interior minister of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1984. He held this post until the end of Communist rule in Georgia in 1990.

After the disintegration of the Soviet Union and Georgia’s achievement of independence in 1991, Ankvab became a member of the Abkhaz Supreme Soviet. He was appointed interior minister of Abkhazia’s separatist government during the 1992-1993 conflict with the Georgian central government. Following the Abkhaz victory, he moved to Moscow in 1994 and became a successful businessman.

Sergey Bagapsh, Former President of Abkhazia

Sergey Bagapsh, Former President of Abkhazia

Before being appointed as Prime Minister, Bagapsh had been a businessman, a former first secretary of the Abkhaz Komsomol and a permanent representative of the Abkhaz leadership in Moscow, Russia.

Bagapsh led Abkhazia at a time when there was a very real danger of renewed conflict with Georgia. He also led the entity while its separatist leader, Vladislav Ardzinba, was still able to govern effectively, so Bagapsh had much less power than some of his successors.

Former Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze once claimed that Bagapsh never passed any resolution without Ardzinba.

The Georgian-Abkhaz tensions during Bagapsh’s rule came to a height in May, 1998, when the Tbilisi-based government-in-exile deployed forces along the Abkhaz-Georgian border. In the resulting conflict, which was colloquially named the “Six Day War”, 30,000 Georgian refugees fled across the border to the town of Zugdidi. 1,695 Georgian houses were also burned down.

Bagapsh was the Abkhaz energy minister when he began to emerge as a likely opposition candidate in the leadup to the 2004 elections. On July 20, 2004, the two main opposition movements, Amtsakhara and United Abkhazia, named him as their joint candidate for the October presidential elections (which were not recognized by international community), beating out other hopefuls, such as former foreign minister Sergey Shamba. In the elections, Bagapsh and his main opponent, Raul Khadjimba, disputed the results. The Abkhaz Electoral Commission originally declared Khadjimba to be the winner, with Bagapsh a distant second, but the Supreme Court later found that Bagapsh had won with 50.3% of the vote. The court later reversed its decision after Khadjimba’s supporters stormed the court building. At one point, Bagapsh and his supporters threatened to hold their own inauguration on December 6, 2004. However, in early December, Bagapsh and Khadjimba reached an agreement to run together on a national unity ticket. New elections were held on January 12, 2005, with this ticket easily winning. Under the agreement, Bagapsh ran for president and Khadjimba ran for vice-president.

Slavo Kukic, Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina (since June 14, 2011)

Slavo Kukić (born 1954 near Posušje, Yugoslavia) is a Bosnian sociologist and politician.
He teaches as a professor at the Faculty of Economics at the Mostar University and has additional teaching tasks at the universities of Sarajevo and Split.
In June 2011, the independent ethnic Croat was nominated for the office of Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Nermin Niksic, Former Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina (since Mar 17, 2011)

Nermin Niksic, Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Nermin (Dževad) Niksic was born on 27 December 1960 in Konjic where he still lives. Completed Elementary school and grammar school in Konjic. He graduated in 1986 with a degree in Law.

Nermin Niksic has been a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) since 1993. From 1994-2004 he served as president of the Municipal Organization SDP Konjic. He was President of the Cantonal the SDP and the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (HNK). In January of 2007 he was elected Secretary General of the Party.

According to data from the Centers for Civic Initiatives (CCI), Niksic was one of the most active members.

Niksic is married to his wife Nadia with whom he has a daughter and son Haris Najra.

Aleksandar Dzombic, Former Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina (since Dec 29, 2010)

Aleksandar Dzombic, Former Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina (since Dec 29, 2010)

Born in 1968. in Banja Luka. Currently a graduate student at the Faculty of Management ECPD (European Center for Peace and Development), Belgrade. So far, he worked in the City Administration of Banja Luka, the Crystal Bank AD Banja Luka as an officer, the head office and project manager, and in Agroprom Banka AD Banja Luka as a director.

Before the election as Finance Minister, served as the Executive Director of the Nova Banka AD Bijeljina. Ethnicity is a Serb.

Married, one child.

MUSTAFA MUJEZINOVIĆ, Former Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina

He was born on December 27, 1954 in Sarajevo. He completed the elementary school in 1970 in Sarajevo, and in 1974 he completed the First General High School. He received his Bachelor degree in electric power systems (electro-energetics) from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the Sarajevo University in 1978.

From 1978 until 1983 he was Constructor, and then Quality Engineer in the Factory of Transformer Stations and Switchgear Plants TTS “Energoinvest” Sarajevo.

From 1983 until 1990 he was Head of Technical Group in the Sales Department of the Factory TTS “Energoinvest” Sarajevo.

From 1990 to 1992 he was Sales Manager and Member of the Management Board of the Factory TTS “Energoinvest” Sarajevo.

From 1994 until 1995 he was President of the Municipality Stari Grad (Old Town) Sarajevo, and from 1995 until 1996 he was Mayor of the Municipality Stari Grad Sarajevo.

From 1996 until 1998 he was the first Prime Minister of the Canton Sarajevo, and from 1998 until 2000 he was Governor of the Canton Sarajevo.

From 2000 until 2001 he was Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

From 2002 until 2004 he held the office of the Director of the Privatization Fund “Prevent Invest”.

From 2004 until 2008 he was Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Malaysia.

From 2008 he was Advisor to the Management of the Development Bank of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He speaks English.

Married.

Powers vested to the Prime Minister:

• Enforcement of the policy and the Federal authority laws, including ensuring the execution of the decisions passed by the Courts of the Federation;
• Making motion for removal of the President of the Federation from his/her office pursuant to the Article IV 8.3 (2) of the Constitution of the Federation BiH;
• Making proposals and recommendations in the legislative area;
• Preparing the Proposal of Budget for the Parliament of the Federation BiH.

Office of the Prime Minister:
Address: Alipašina 41, Sarajevo
Phone: +387 33 650 457
Fax: +387 33 664 816

Source: http://www.fbihvlada.gov.ba/english/premijer/index.php

Andris Berzins, President of Latvia

Andris Bērziņš was born in 1944 in Nītaure, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union. In 1958 he completed studies at a Nītaure primary school, and attended the 1st middle school of Sigulda from 1958 to 1962. He then began studying at the Riga Polytechnical Institute, which he graduated in 1971, and became a radio engineer at the “Elektrons” factory. He worked his way up to director and in 1988 was appointed deputy minister of municipal services of the Latvian SSR. He also studied at the Economic Faculty of the Latvian State University, which he graduated in 1988.

In 1989 Bērziņš was elected to the Valmiera district Council (Soviet) of People’s Deputies and was appointed chairman of the district’s executive commission. In 1990 he was elected to the Supreme Council of the Latvian SSR, representing Valmiera. He joined the Latvian Popular Front faction in the Supreme Council. On May 04, 1990 he voted in favor of the declaration that restored the independence of the Republic of Latvia.

After the completion of his term as deputy in 1993, Bērziņš became chairman of the Privatization Fund of the Bank of Latvia. He also became president of Latvijas Unibanka (a joint-stock company). Bērziņš became a successful businessman and his estate exceeded 1 000 000 lats (by the mid 2000s). He also owned 30 various land properties. Bērziņš worked as an advisor to the president of SEB and was a board member of several joint-stock companies, including Valmiera stikla šķiedra (Valmiera fiberglass) and Lode.

Andris Bērziņš returned to politics in 2005, when he unsuccessfully ran for the office of Mayor of Riga as the leader of the Union of Greens and Farmers party list. From 2006 to 2010 he served as the president of the Latvian Chamber of Industry and Commerce and was also Latvenergo’s board chairman (until 2009).
In 2010 Andris Bērziņš was |elected deputy of the Saeima as a member of the Union of Greens and Farmers

From 1993 to 2004, Andris Bērziņš was the President of Unibanka.

On May 23, 2011 Andris Bērzinš was nominated a presidential candidate by 5 Union of Greens and Farmers deputies.

In the first round of the election, Bērziņš got 50 votes for and 48 against, while Valdis Zatlers got 43 for and 55 against (99 lawmakers cast votes, but one was invalid), meaning no one was elected. In the second round, held later on the same day, Bērziņš got 53 votes, winning the election. Andris Bērziņš takes office as president of Latvia on 8 July 2011.

Valdis Zatlers, Former President of Latvia

Valdis Zatlers, Former President of Latvia

Valdis Zatlers, President of the Republic of Latvia, was elected on 31 May 2007 by the Parliament for a four-year term.

CURRICULUM VITAE

Personal data
Nationality: Latvian
Citizenship: Citizen of the Republic of Latvia
Date of Birth: 22 March,1955

Education
1990.-1991. — 6 months’ professional training in orthopedia in Yale University and Syracuse University, USA
1973.-1979. — Specialty of physician,Riga Institute of Medicine
1962.-1973. — Riga Secondary School No. 50, Latvia

Language knowledge
Latvian – native
English – fluent
Russian – fluent

Work experience
08.07.2007.-to date — President of Latvia
2004.-08.07.2007. — Board Chairman, State Limited Liability Company Hospital of Traumatology and Orthopaedics
1998.-2004. — Director, Board Chairman, non-profit organization State Limited Liability Company Hospital of Traumatology and Orthopaedics
1994.-1998. — Director, State Hospital of Traumatology and Orthopaedics
1995.-1999. — Co-ordinator from the Latvian side in a Swiss Confederation Assistance Project
1985.-1994. — Head of the Traumatology Department, Riga City Hospital No.2
1979.-1985. — Traumatologist – orthopaedist, Riga Hospital No.2

International professional activities
2004.-2007. — Lectures on knee joint endoprosthetics and bone tissue transplantation in Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Russia
2002. — Participant of the international research on knee joint endoprosthetics
1993. — to date – Member of the International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine (ISACOS)
1992. — Honorary member of the Georgian Association of Orthopaedics and Traumatology

International research reports
2006. — Congress of the Hungarian Association of Orthopaedics Association
2002., 2004. — Congress of the Orthopaedist Association of Central Europe
2004. — 25-year Experience Symposium of Zweimuller Endoprothesis
2002. — Congress of the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology on Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy
2001. — Congress of the European Federation of the Associations of Orthopaedists
2001. — Congress of the International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery, and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine (ISAKOS)
2001. — International Congress on Shoulder Surgery
1994. — Arthroscopy Congress of Poland

Professional activities
2003.-to date — President of the Latvian Association of Traumatology and Orthopaedics
1994.-1998. — Vice President of the Latvian Association of Arthroscopy, Chairman of the Certification Commission
1990.-1993. — Founder and President of the Latvian Association of Arthroscopy

Public activities
1988.-1989. — Board Member of the Latvian Popular Front
1988.-1989. — Activist for the renewal of the Latvian Physicians Association, Board Member

Awards
2007. — Three-Star Order, fourth class
1993. — Prize from International Arthroscopy Association (IAA) for the largest contribution into the development of arthroscopy in emerging countries

Other important information
May-June, 1996 — Medical Service Officer, Work on the Elimination of the Consequences of the Chernoby Nuclear Power Plant Catastrophe

Text by: The Chancery of the President of Latvia

Atifete Jahjaga, born 20 April 1975, is the 4th and current President of Kosovo. She is the first female, the first non-partisan candidate, and the youngest to be elected to the office. She previously served as the Deputy Director of the Kosovo Police, holding the rank of Major General, the highest among women in Southeastern Europe.

Jahjaga was born in the southwestern town of Gjakova, where she attended primary and secondary school. She graduated from the University of Pristina Faculty of Law in 2000. In 2006/07, she attended a graduate certificate program in police management and criminal law at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. She has also received extensive professional training at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Germany and the FBI National Academy in the United States.

After the Kosovo War, Jahjaga began working as an interpreter for the international police. Later on, she completed training to become an offer and gradually sought promotion to higher ranks, initially to major, then colonel, and finally general major. She was first deployed with the border police and then transferred to the training department.

Jahjaga held the position of deputy director of the Kosovo Police, and briefly filled in as acting general director in 2010. While serving as police officer, she drew the attention of American officers and diplomats who presented her before senior U.S. officials on special occasions. Her pictures with U.S. President George W. Bush during his visit to the FBI National Academy and with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her visit to Kosovo were among the few distributed through the internet before she was placed on the national spotlight as a presidential candidate.

On 6 April 2011, she was announced as a consensual candidate for president of Kosovo by the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Democratic League of Kosovo and New Kosovo Alliance, and supported by the US Ambassador in Kosovo, Christopher Dell. Although she enjoyed a reputation as a police commander, she came out of relative obscurity as a candidate for the high office of the state, with most of the public and political leaders unaware of her political leanings.

On 7 April, Jahjaga was elected President on the first round of voting by the Parliament; of 100 MPs present, 80 voted for Jahjaga and 10 cast a ballot for Suzan Novoberdali. To date, she is the only president to be elected on the first round of voting. Only Kosovo’s 1st President Ibrahim Rugova has received more votes, being appointed by the Parliament by a 88-3 vote in 2002, in the third round and winning by a landslide in direct presidential elections in 1992 and 1998.

In her inaugural address, Jahjaga stated that one of her main goals as President is to secure Kosovo’s membership in the European Union and the United Nations. “The ideal of all Kosovo is membership in the EU and a permanent friendship with the United States. I believe and I am convinced our dreams will come true,” she said in her first speech to the Parliament.

Atifete Jahjaga is married to Astrit Kuçi, a dentist, and has no children. Media reports have stressed that neither she nor her husband own real estate and that they rent a modest apartment in Prishtina.

Fatmir Sejdiu, Former President of Kosovo

Fatmir Sejdiu, Former President of Kosovo

Date of birth: 23 October 1951
Place of birth: Pakashtice, Podujevë

On 10 February 2006, Fatmir Sejdiu was elected President of Republic of Kosovo with two-thirds of the votes of MPs of the Assembly of Kosovo.

Fatmir Sejdiu was born on 23 October 1951 in Pakashtica, Municipality of Podujeva in Kosova. He got his elementary and secondary education in Podujeva. In 1974 he graduated Law at the University of Prishtina. Mr. Sejdiu completed his post-graduate studies and earned a PhD from the same University. As a scholar, Dr. Sejdiu spent time at both the University of Paris 2 and Arizona State University and had brief placements at other Universities for further, specialized training.

Fatmir Sejdiu has authored many scholarly articles on the juridical-historical and juridical-constitutional fields. He published a number of books on these areas.

Dr. Sejdiu is a Professor at the Faculty of Law and the School of Political Science of the University of Prishtina. On 28 June 2006 he received the price “Doctor Honoris Causa” from the University of Tirana in Albania.

One of the founding members of the Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) which was established in late 1989, Fatmir sejdiu was elected a member of the Presidency of the Party in 1992, whereas on 1994 he was elected Secretary General of LDK.

In 1992 and 1998 elections, he was elected member of the Parliament of the Republic of Kosova holding the positions of the General Secretary of the Parliament and Chairman of the Constitutional Issues Committee.

In the first post-war elections in 2001 and 2004, Mr. Sejdiu was elected member of the Kosova Assembly and a member of the Presidency of the Assembly. He was also a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Judicial, Legislative and Constitutional Matters and the Committee for International Cooperation and EU Integration.

He speaks French and English.

Mr. Sejdiu is married with three children. He lives in Prishtina

Source: http://www.president-ksgov.net

CONTACTS
Office of The President
Building of the Parlament of Kosova
Mother Theresa street
10 000 Prishtina, Kosova

CONTACT WITH CABINET
Phone: + 381 38 213 222; 213 333
Fax: + 381 38 211 651

CONTACT WITH INFORMATION OFFICE
Phone: + 381 38 212 460
Mob: + 377 44 550 715
Email: xh_beqiri@president-ksgov.net

Micheline Calmy-Rey, President of the Swiss Confederation (since Dec 10, 2010)

Micheline Calmy-Rey was born in Sion in Canton Valais on 8 July 1945 . She is married with two children and has a degree in political science from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva.

For 20 years she ran a book distribution business. In 1979, she joined the Socialist Party of Geneva, which she later served as president for two terms. As a deputy in the Grand Conseil, or cantonal legislature, she took an interest in public finance, and when she became a member of the cantonal government in 1998, she took over as head of the Department of Finance. In four years, she achieved her goal through a thorough restructuring of the Department’s services. She also successfully oversaw the restructuring of the Cantonal Bank of Geneva which was burdened by a large volume of non-performing loans.

Micheline Calmy-Rey was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on 4 December 2002 and was appointed as head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). She pursues an active foreign policy marked by a commitment to promoting peace, respect for international law and human rights, and the fight against poverty. The aim of this policy is to ensure security and well-being for all Swiss citizens.

In 2007, Micheline Calmy-Rey was President of the Confederation.

On December 10, 2010, Parliament elected Micheline Calmy-Rey as President for 2011 (106 of 189 votes).

Click here to view MICHELINE CALMY-REY’s CV.

Doris Leuthard, Former President of the Swiss Confederation

Doris Leuthard, Former President of the Swiss Confederation

Prior to assuming her current position as Head of the FDEA on 1 August 2006, Mrs. Leuthard had been a member of the National Council for seven years and President of the Christian Democratic People’s Party from 2004. During her time in the National Council, she was a member of the committees for legal affairs, political institutions, judicial affairs and economic affairs and taxation.

Mrs. Leuthard was born in 1963 and is a lawyer by training. She is married to Dr. Roland Hausin, a research chemist.

Hans-Rudolf Merz, Former President of the Swiss Confederation

Hans-Rudolf Merz, President of Switzerland

Hans-Rudolf Merz was born in Herisau on 10 November 1942 (and is a citizen of Beinwil am See). After attending primary school and secondary school in Herisau and high school in Trogen, he went to the University of St. Gallen. He completed his studies in 1971 with a dissertation on the subject of “Financial assets and administrative assets from the standpoint of public law and economics”, and was awarded a doctorate in political sciences. Between 1967 and 1969, he also held the post of Assistant Lecturer at the Institute of Public Finance and Fiscal Law at the University of St. Gallen.

After leaving university, Hans-Rudolf Merz worked as Secretary of the FDP St. Gallen between 1969 and 1974 and also as managing director of the Appenzell Ausserrhoden Industrial Association. At the same time, he was manager of the Herisau Sports Centre. This was followed by a post as Deputy Director of UBS’s Wolfsberg Executive Development Centre between 1974 and 1977. Between 1977 and 2003, Mr Merz worked as an independent business consultant and was on the board of various Swiss industrial and services companies. His field of activity covered the Middle East, South Africa, Latin America and Europe. As a business consultant he specialised in the recruitment and training of senior management together with corporate development.

Before being elected to the Federal Council, Hans-Rudolf Merz was Chairman of the Board of Directors for Helvetia Patria Insurance AG, St. Gallen, Cilander Textile Finishing AG, Herisau and the holding company Anova Holding AG, Hurden. Furthermore up until the end of 2003, he also held directorships in Hüber + Suhner AG, Herisau, Concast Holding AG, Zurich and Steinegg Holding AG, Herisau. Before this he had been Chairman of Spinnerei Streiff AG in Aathal and Chairman of the Appenzell Ausserrhoden Cantonal Bank where he was responsible for the reorganisation and sale of the bank to the Union Bank of Switzerland. He has also held directorships in Schmidt-Agence AG, Schläpfer AG Appenzeller-Zeitung and SIG AG, Neuhausen.

In 1997 Hans-Rudolf Merz was elected to the Council of States as a representative of Appenzell Ausserrhoden where, as a member of the Radical Free Democratic Party (FDP), he chaired the Finance Committee and was a member of the Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Committees. In addition, he was vice-president of the OSCE delegation. He was elected to the Federal Council in December 2003. Since taking office at the start of 2004, Mr. Merz has been head of the Federal Department of Finance (FDF). On 10 December 2008, he was elected President of the Swiss Confederation for 2009 by the United Federal Assembly.

Hans-Rudolf Merz is married and the father of three grown-up sons. Culture and sport are the mainstay of his spare time activities. His hobbies include opera, jazz, cultural history, literature and ice hockey. Before being elected to the Federal Council, he was president of the Folklore Museum in Stein in Appenzell Ausserrhoden and the Ferdinand Gehr Foundation in St. Gallen, as well as being a member of the Board of Directors of the St. Gallen City Theatre and a trustee of the Steinegg Foundation. For many years he was also president of the Herisau Ice Skating Club.

In the army, Hans-Rudolf Merz held the rank of Major.

LINK: http://www.efd.admin.ch

Micheline Calmy-Rey, Former President of Switzerland

Micheline Calmy-Rey (born July 8, 1945) is a Swiss politician, member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2003. She is head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (the Swiss foreign minister) and President of the Confederation for 2007.
Early life and education

Calmy-Rey was born in Sion in the canton of Valais to Charles and Adeline Rey. She received her diploma in 1963 in St. Maurice, and received a degree in political science at the Institut de hautes études internationales (HEI) (Graduate Institute of International Studies) in 1968. In 1966 she married André Calmy. They have two children.
Career

From 1981-1997 Calmy-Rey served as a Congresswoman in the Grand Conseil of the canton of Geneva as a member of the Social Democratic Party (PSS/SPS), and served as president of the assembly during 1992-1993. She was president of the Geneva section of the party from 1986-1990 and again from 1993-1997. In 1997, Calmy-Rey was elected to the Conseil d’Etat of Geneva. In 2001 she became head of the Finance Department and president of the Conseil d’Etat.

She was elected on December 4, 2002 to the Federal Council, heading the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Calmy-Rey is only the fourth woman elected to the Federal Council in history. On December 7, 2005 she was elected Vice-President of Switzerland, a post she held for the calendar year of 2006.

In 2007 she will be the second female President of the Confederation in history, the first having been her predecessor on the Federal Council, Ruth Dreifuss. She was elected as President on 13 December 2006 by 147 votes.