Communication | Doc. 14915 | 22 June 2019

Election of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe

Author(s): Committee of Ministers

Letter from the Chairperson of the Ministers’ Deputies to the President of the Assembly, dated 27 March 2019

Dear President,

I would like to inform you that at the 1342nd meeting of the Ministers' Deputies (27 March 2019), the Committee of Ministers adopted Resolution CM/Res(2019)2 containing the list of candidates it has decided to submit to the Parliamentary Assembly with a view of the election of the Secretary General.

The list was drawn up following a vote in accordance with the Committee's rules of procedure. The names are presented in alphabetical order so as to indicate that the Committee of Ministers does not wish to express any preference as between candidates included in the list.

I enclose a copy of the Resolution in both official languages.

Yours sincerely,

Signed:

Satu Mattila-Budich

Chairperson of the Ministers' Deputies

Resolution CM/Res(2019)2 on the appointment of the Secretary General

(Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 27 March 2019 at the 1342nd meeting of the Ministers' Deputies)

The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 36.b of the Statute of the Council of Europe,

Having regard to the Regulations relating to the appointment of the Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General and Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly having the rank of Deputy Secretary General;

Having regard to the decisions taken at the 117th Ministerial Session (May 2007);

Having regard to the Rules and procedures for the future elections of the Secretary General – Joint interpretative statement, adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly at the Standing Committee on 12 March 2010 and by the Committee of Ministers on 24 March 2010, and modified by the Parliamentary Assembly on 22 January 2018 and by the Committee of Ministers on 13 December 2017;

Having examined the four candidatures presented by the Governments of Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus and Lithuania;

Having consulted the representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly in the Joint Committee on 24 January 2019;

Having interviewed the four candidates at its 1341st meeting (20 March 2019),

Decides to submit to the Parliamentary Assembly, for appointment to the post of Secretary General, with effect from 1 October 2019, the following candidatures, listed in alphabetical order, with the names of the sponsoring governments in brackets:

• Ms Marija PEJČINOVIĆ BURIĆ (Croatia)
• Mr Didier REYNDERS (Belgium).

Appendix 1 – Marija Pejčinović Burić – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia

Born: 1963

Nationality: Croatian

Languages: French, English, Spanish - active knowledge; German - passive knowledge

Education

• 1993 - 1994 College of Europe, Bruges (Belgium) and Warsaw (Poland), Post-graduate study - Master in European Studies
• 1980 - 1985 University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics, Zagreb, Croatia Bachelor of Science Degree 

Work Experience

• June 2017 - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs
• May - November 2018 Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
• November 2016 - June 2017 State Secretary, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs
• 2013 - 2016 European Policy Expert - Independent consultancy (work on EU, UNDP and bilaterally funded projects in the candidate and potential candidate countries, as well as in European Neighbourhood countries)
• 2008 - 2011 Deputy in the Croatian Parliament (HDZ): Chairperson - Delegation of the Croatia - EU Joint Parliamentary Committee; Head of the delegation of the Croatian Parliament to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly; Member of the European Integration Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, the National Committee for the Follow-up of Negotiations; Member or alternate member of the Croatian Parliament delegations to Parliamentary Assemblies (PA) of: the Council of Europe, the Western European Union, the Parliamentary Mediterranean Union; Member of the Parliamentary Public Relations Committee, PA Western European Union; the Economic and Development Committee, PA Council of Europe; Chairperson of the Sub-committee for Development, PA Council of Europe; Chairperson of the Croatian – USA Friendship Society in the Croatian Parliament
• 2005 - 2008 State Secretary, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration
• 2004 - 2005  State Secretary, the Ministry of European Integration
• 2000 - 2004 Assistant Minister, the Ministry of European Integration
• 2006 - 2008  Member of the Croatian Negotiation Team for membership in the EU, Negotiator for Chapters: 30 External Relations, 31 Foreign, Security and Defense Policy, 34 Institutions and 35 Other Issues 
• 2005 - 2006 Member of the working group “Free movement of capital” in the Croatian Negotiation Team for EU membership
• 2006 - 2008  Chairperson for Croatia in the EU Stabilisation and Association Committee 
• 2005 - 2006 National Coordinator for Assistance Programmes and Co-operation with the EU 
• 2004 - 2006 National Coordinator for ISPA Programme
• 2000 - 2001 Member of Negotiating team for Stabilisation and Association Agreement Croatia - EU 
• 1997 - 2000  Director of Corporate Communications, PLIVA Inc., Zagreb 
• 1995 - 1997  Director of the Europe House Zagreb, Zagreb 
• 1991 - 1994 Secretary General of the Europe House Zagreb; Deputy Secretary General of the European Movement Croatia 
• 1988 - 1991 Expert Associate for Foreign Trade, “Končar Engineering”, Zagreb

Other Work Experience

• 2003 - 2011; 2017 -  Lecturer at the seminars of the Diplomatic Academy of Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia, History of European Integration and Founding Treaties; Parliamentary Democracy; EU Institutions and the Decision   Making Process; Croatia as the member of European Union - challenges and opportunities
• 2012 - 2013  Lecturer at the seminars of the State School for Public Administration - the Lisbon Treaty
• 1991 - Lecturer at seminars and conferences on European integration in Croatia and abroad 

Board Memberships and Projects

• President of the Initiative - Partnership for Open Government, Croatia, 2017
• Member of the Board of Directors of CEPS (Centre for European Policy Studies), Brussels, since 2016
• Member of the Board of Management of the Alliance française in Zagreb, 2003 - 2013
• Member of the Board of Management of the Foundation for Civil Society Development, 2003 - 2008; 2017
• Member of the Steering Committee of the “Public Administration” magazine, since 2005
• Participant in the scientific project “Europeisation of the Croatian Public Administration”, 2006 - 2011
• Member of the Steering Committee of the “civilsociety.hr” magazine,  2004 - 2008
• Representative of the Republic of Croatia at Le Conseil permanent de la Francophonie 2012 - 2015
• Vice-President for Central Europe, Institute Robert Schuman for Europe (IRSE), Chantilly, 1996 - 1997
• Representative of the Croatian Section at the European Committee of the Europe at School/ L’Europe à l’Ecole, 1995 - 1996
• Permanent Representative of the Republic of Croatia, Alps Adriatic Working Community, Working Group for Youth, 1991 - 1993

Author and editor of articles on topics related to European Integration

• Role of the Croatian Parliament in the European Integration, Etudes européennes, ENA, Strasbourg, 2011
• Reversing the sharp Decline in Youth Unemployment, Report to the PA Council of Europe, Strasbourg, 2011
• Council of Europe as a Promoter of European Integration: Case Study Croatia, Crossroads, Skopje, 2010
• The Efficiency of the Use of the EU Pre-Accession Funds in Croatia, Croatian Public Administration – 3, Zagreb, 2010
• EUphorie in Kroatien, Kulturreport, Fortschritt Europa, Stuttgart, 2004
• Should we discard Croatian Identity while joining the EU?, Croatian Identity in the EU, Centre for Advancing of the Church Social Tenet, Zagreb, 2003
• A brief Overview of the History of European Integration, Croatia and Europe, European Movement Croatia and Europe House Zagreb, Zagreb 1997
• Co-operation in the south-east Europe, Europe House Zagreb Seminar, Zagreb, 1996
• Last Chance for Peace in Bosnia and Croatia, The Sunday Times, Valletta, February, 1996
• Istria and European Integration, Istrian Club Conference, Zagreb, 1995
• Phare: a part of Strategy for EU Integration, Europe House Zagreb Seminar, 1995
• All about Phare Programme, Pan Liber, Osijek, 1994
• The Goals and Consequences of the Previous Enlargements, Europe House Zagreb Seminar, April 1994
• The European East Today: Romania and Bulgaria; Hungary and Albania EM Magazine, Zagreb, May-June 1994
• L’Elargissement de l’Union européenne, Collège d’Europe, La these de DEA, Bruges - Varsovie, 1994
• Editor in Chief of PLIVA Magazine (1997 - 1999) and Euroforum, Magazine of the Ministry of the European Integration of the Republic of Croatia (2002 - 2005)

Other Professional Training

• Advanced language learning and "au pair" work in Paris (1.5 years), London (1 year) and Salamanca (6 months), 1985 - 1988
• Diplomatic course, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Croatia and the Law School of Zagreb, April-July 1992, Zagreb
• Study visit to Germany - Berlin, Land Brandenberg: Postdam, Frankfurt am Oder, 2011
• Study visit to Belgium and Netherlands: Permanent Representative USA to NATO - headquarter NATO, Brussels and Brunssum, 2009.
• Study visit to Japan: Japan - diplomatic and economic history, relations EU - Japan, Tokyo, Kyoto, 2009.
• Study visit to Denmark: “Strategic Planning in Public Administration”, 2008, Copenhagen
• Study visit to Slovakia: “Pre-accession funds”, “Structural and Cohesion Funds”, 2005, Bratislava
• Study visit to Ireland: “Structural and Cohesion Funds”, 2005, Dublin
• Study visit to Finland: “Structural and Cohesion Funds”, 2005, Helsinki,
• Study visit to Germany: “Germany as a Transition Country”, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, 2002, Berlin and Leipzig
• Study visit to Hungary, Albania, Bulgaria and Romania, March - April 1994              
• Study visit to the Council of Europe and the European Parliament, invitation by L’Ecole Centrale from Paris, 1990, Strasbourg
• Course in professional management: "Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Management", Management Centre Europe, 1998, Brussels
• Seminar: "The European Union After 1996", Salzburg Seminar Foundation scholarship, 1995, Salzburg
• Participant at number of other professional training courses on management, communication skills etc., since 1990

Membership in political parties:

• Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) 

Appendix 2 – Didier REYNDERS

Rue des Petits Carmes, 15

1000 BRUSSELS

Tel : [phone]

Fax : [phone]

Deputy Prime Minister

Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs, and Defence in charge of Beliris and Federal Cultural Institutions

http://www.didierreynders.be - E-mail: [email protected]. be

Born in Liège on August 6th, 1958

Married - 4 children

Government positions: Deputy Prime Minister since 12th July 1999

• Minister of Finance (1999 - 2011)
• Chairman of the Eurogroup (January - December 2001)
• President of the Ecofin (July - December 2001 / July 2010 - December 2010)
• Member of the G7 in 2001
• Chairman of the G10, which is the meeting of the main creditor States, in 2002
• Minister in charge of the Belgian Buildings Agency (2003 - 2011)
• Deputy Prime Minister since 18 July 2004
• Minister of Institutional Reforms (2004 - 2011)
• Minister in charge of the National Lottery, the Federal Holding and Investment Company (FHIC) and the insurance companies (2007 - 2011)
• Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and European Affairs (2011 - 2014)
• Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs, in charge of Beliris and Federal Cultural Institutions since 11 October 2014, and of Defence since 9th December 2018

Academical functions

• Student-assistant of Professor François Perin – Faculty of Law of the University of Liège (1979 - 1982)
• Lecturer / Visiting Professor at the Hautes Etudes commerciales of Liège (1989 - 2004)
• Visiting Professor - HEC Management School of the University of Liège (2005 - 2017)
• Visiting Lecturer at the Louvain School of Management - Université catholique de Louvain (2007 - to this day)
• Lecturer at the Université libre de Bruxelles (2017 - to this day)

Political activities

• Chief of staff of the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Justice and Institutional Reforms, Jean Gol (1987 -1988)
• Member of the Liège Town Council (1988 - 2012)
• Leader of the MR Group of the Liège Town Council (1995 - 2012)
• Deputy Chairman of the MR (1992 - 2004)
• Member of Parliament since 1992
• Chairman of the PRL-FDF Group (1995 - 1999)
• Chairman of the Provincial and District MR Federation of Liege (1995 - 2004)
• Member of the Bureau and Deputy Chairman of the Liberal International (2005 - 2011)
• Chairman of the Mouvement Réformateur (2004 - 2011)
• Member and Leader of the MR Group of the Uccle Town Council (since 3 December 2012)
• Chairman of the Brussels MR Federation (since 12 January 2013)

Professional activities

• Lawyer (1981 - 1985)
• Director General of the Local Authorities Department of the Ministry of the Walloon Region (1985 - 1988)
• Chairman of the National Railway Company of Belgium (1986 - 1991)
• Chairman of the National Society of Airways (1991 - 1993)