Board
EHF is run by a board which meets three or four times a year, and whose members are elected for terms of 3 years by the General Assembly. The Board itself elects its officers.
The current members are:
President: David Pollock (United Kingdom)
David, elected EHF president in 2006, has been actively involved in the humanist movement since 1961. He is a member of the board of trustees of the British Humanist Association (1965-75 and 1997 to date; chair: 1970-72) and a member of the board of the Rationalist Association (1979 to date; chair: 1989-91). He takes a special interest in policy and campaigning on the place of religion and belief in society and on other questions of public policy. He took a degree in classics at Oxford, had a 25-year career in the coal industry, was then successively Director of Action on Smoking and Health and of the Continence Foundation, and retired in February 2001. Email: david.pollock@virgin.net
On first being elected as President after the General Assembly in Toledo in 2006, David Pollock made a short statement.
Vice-President: Pierre Galand (Belgium)
Pierre was born in 1940. Since 2007 he has been President of the Centre d’Action Laïque (CAL), a federation of Belgian francophone non-confessional and freethinking associations. He is by training an economist and is honorary professor in DES (Developpement/ Sciences/ Eco) at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and member of their board.
A former Belgian senator, Pierre has worked for 40 years in the field of development cooperation, helping local groups and governments devise and implement ways to overcome their dependent condition.
He has held significant positions in many different organizations :
- 1967-1996: Secretary General of Oxfam, Belgium
- 1994-2002: President of the Centre National de Coopération au Développement (CNCD)
- 1986-1989: President of the Comité National d’Action pour la Paix et le Développement (CNAPD), organiser of anti-missile marches from 1979 to 1985.
- 2004-2006: President of Laïcité et Humanisme en Afrique Centrale (LHAC).
- 1985-1988: Lutte contre l’apartheid en Afrique du Sud
- Comité de Liaison des ONG européennes avec la Commission européenne (CLONG)
- Comité pour l’annulation de la Dette du Tiers Monde (CADTM) in Brussels
- Eurostep (European Solidarity towards Equal Participation of People) -European Union Brussels
Pierre remains president of the Organisation Mondiale contre la Torture (OMCT-Europe) – l’Association belge et la coordination européenne pour la Palestine (ABP et ECCP) – l’Association belge et la coordination européenne de soutien au peuple sahraoui (EUCOCO – le Forum pour un Contrat de Génération Nord-Sud – les Amis du Monde Diplomatique (Belgium) and other associations. He was elected to teh EHF Board in 2009.
Email: presidence@laicite.net. Website: http://www.pierregaland.be
Vice-President: Staffan Gunnarson (Sweden)
Staffan Gunnarson, born in 1964, is again a board member of the Swedish Humanist Association after a previous period of service from 1992 to 2004 and then two years as the Association’s secretary-general. He is a historian of ideas and science (he studied at Gothenburg University) and a freelance writer and lecturer. For over two decades Staffan has been active in the humanist movement in Sweden, Norway and internationally. Amongst other things he started the Swedish magazine “Humanisten” and in the position as editor developed it during the first eight years, 1995-2003. He also lead the preparations for the 1st Baltic Humanist Conference in Stockholm in 2006, a project to be followed by a second conference within a couple of years, perhaps in Poland, where Staffan will take an active part as well. Earlier work to mention includes a few years in market research and a period in the internet business.
Treasurer: Jean de Brueker (Belgium)
Jean was born in 1955 and has been active since 1985 in different functions in the Centre d’Action Laïque: as youth coordinator, financial representative, deputy secretary-general and since 2008, deputy secretary-general in charge of the European and International affairs. A graduate in social anthropology, he has a good knowledge of the concerns of underdeveloped countries and has worked as an expert in several parts of Africa including Congo, Cameroun and Senegal.
Email: jeandebrueker@laicite.net
Renate Bauer (Germany)
Born 1952 in Hassloch but now living in Ludwigshafen, Germany, Renate Bauer has a degree in psychology. Since 1977 she has worked as Speaker (Leader) of the Freireligiöse Landesgemeinde branch in Pfalz, Germany. Her voluntary work includes being the international contact person of the Bund Freireligiöser Gemeinden Deutschlands (BFGD) and the Dachverband Freier Weltanschauungsgemeinschaften (DFW) with IHEU and EHF. She was elected to the EHF Board in May 2010.
Rob Buitenweg (Netherlands)
Born in 1938, Rob Buitenweg studied moral counselling; constitutional law and philosophy of law before taking a PhD in Humanistics at the University for Humanist Studies in Utrecht. In a wide-ranging career he worked as coordinator of a centre for elderly care in Rotterdam, as director of the Foundation for Migrant Workers in Amersfoort, and as a humanist moral counsellor in the Dutch army before returning to Utrecht as a lecturer in Humanistics. After a spell as director of the Institute for Nature Education in Amsterdam he was appointed as senior lecturer in human rights and then associate professor of human rights at the University of Humanistics. Since 2004 he has been associate professor of human rights at the Kosmopolis Institute. He has been a board member of the International Jurists Organisation in New Delhi and chairman of the Dutch Humanist Committee on Human Rights. He is currently a member of the advisory board of the Humanist Institute for Development Co-operation and a member of the board of the Dutch Humanist Association. He has been widely published, including Human Rights, Human Plights in a Global Village (Atlanta: Clarity Press, 2007).
Email: R.Buitenweg@planet.nl
Hans Christian Cars (Sweden)
Hans Christian Cars was born in 1939. He is Swedish but lives in Vienna, Austria. He was elected to the EHF board in May 2010 and represents the EHF at the OSCE and at the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency.
Education:
- 1970-1975 PhD in Economics from Stockholm university
- 1968-1969 Graduate studies in Bonn (economics and political science)
- 1964-1965 Graduate studies in Geneva (East-West trade)
- 1962-1963 Under graduate studies at Stockholm university
- 1958-1961 Military service and training to commissioned officer
Work experience:
- 2004-2009 Director and owner of a charter company in the Mediterranean
- 2002-2004 Director for administration and support services in the OSCE Mission to Kosovo
- 1997-2002 Director of general services in the IAEA
- 1993-1997 Director Administration in the OSCE Secretariat
- 1987-1993 Director of finance and logistics in UNRWA for Palestine refugees
- 1978-1987 Deputy Director in the Swedish Ministry of defence
- 1975-1978 Public researcher and investigator
- 1961-1962 Platoon commander at the Royal Guards regiment
Remus Cernea (Romania)
Born in 1974, Remus is a human rights activist and President of The Romanian Humanist Association since 2008.The RHA won a honourable mention at Gala Societăţii Civile (Civil Society Gala) in the “Education and research” section for the project called “The Celebration of Darwin Year in Romania – 2009”.
Remus Cernea and the RHA were awarded also with Rainbow Humanist Award 2009 “for speaking and writing about the situation of LGBT persons as a human right issue and as a right to make decisions in ones own life – the humanist core value of self – determination – despite fierce opposition from intolerant religious and political opponents . . .”
He was Executive Director of the first Romanian secular humanist NGO – The Solidarity for Freedom of Conscience (2003–2008). SFC was nominated for the best civic campaign from Romania in 2005 for the “Save Carol Park” Campaign. SFC initiated a successful campaign to stop the destruction of a beautiful park in Bucharest where the Romanian Orthodox Church supported by the government wanted to build a giant cathedral.
In 2009 he was a candidate for the presidential elections for Romania. His agenda was centred on environmental issues, human rights, secularism, education, scientific research and democracy. He got 60.539 votes having only 1500 Euros for the campaign and being the 8th from 12 candidates. A Romanian online magazine Optimal Media awarded his electoral campaign “The Diploma for the best online electoral campaign”.
The RHA will be the host of the General Assembly of the European Humanist Federation and the GA of the International Humanist and Ethical Union in 2013.
Marina van Haeren (Belgium)
Marina van Haeren is the Secretary General of Unie Vrijzinnige Verenigingen. She was elected to the EHF board in May 2010.
Julien Houben (Italy)
Julien was born on September 2, 1939 in Liége, Belgium. He received a degree in Physical Sciences from Li ge University in September 1961. Resident in Italy since January 1970, he worked as a researcher in physical chemistry at the Italian National Research Council (1970-2006). He has been a member of the Unione degli Ateisti e degli Agnostici Razionalisti (UAAR) since 2002 and is in charge of international relations for them. He was a vice-president of EHF from 2006 to 2010.
E-mail: julisa@alice.it
Massimo Redaelle (Italy)
Massimo Redaelli was born on June 17, 1979. He studied computer engineering in Milan, Italy and in Chicago, USA. He works as a forensic questioned document examiner. He is coordinator of the Milan branch of Unione degli Atei e degli Agnostici Razionalisti (UAAR) since 2008 and member of UAAR Board since 2010, in charge of international relations.
He was elected to the EHF Board in 2011.
Werner Schultz (Germany)
Werner is in his mid-50s and works as a humanist professional for Humanistischer Verband Deutschlands (HVD), heading its education department; he is also secretary for international contacts. For several years he was vice-president of HVD. He is a member of the board of European Humanist Professionals.
Baard Thalberg (Norway)
Baard was born in 1963 and educated at the Engineering College of the University of Oslo. He is a trained commercial pilot and a senior executive Officer on the Norwegian Defence Staff. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Norwegian Humanist Association, and a Ceremony celebrant for all four Humanist ceremonies (Baby naming, Confirmation, Marriage and Funerals). Other hobbies include SCUBA diving and what he calls a “nerd-like” interest in aviation.
Former board member Naomi Phillips resigned from the Board in February 2012 when she left the employmentof the British Humanist Association:
Naomi Phillips (United Kingdom)
Naomi Phillips is Head of Public Affairs for the British Humanist Association and so is responsible for the BHA’s campaigns covering a wide range of issues including public services, equality law, ethical issues, religion and schools, and social cohesion. She joined the BHA in 2007, following a spell working in a policy team at the Ministry of Justice. She has gained awards from both the University of Manchester and the London School of Economics for her academic achievements in the fields of Social Policy and Gender. She was elected to the EHF board in May 2010.
This content last updated 24 April 2012 @ 5:50 pm