Nov 10, 2006

The UNPO GA Elects Ledum Mitee as President


The VIII General Assembly held in Taipei, Taiwan, from 27 until 29 October 2006, elected the new leadership of UNPO, filling the positions of President, Vice-President and Members of the Presidency. The GA also announced the names of four individuals appointed as Honorary Presidents.

At the VIII General Assembly held in Taipei, Taiwan, from 27 until 29 October 2006, UNPO adopted the first leg of its reform and modified its founding document, the UNPO Covenant, seeking to lay the structure for a revitalized organisation, strengthened and prepared for the challenges of the twenty-first century. Integral to the GA was also the election of the new leadership of UNPO, filling the positions of President, Vice-President and Members of the Presidency. The GA also announced the names of four individuals appointed as Honorary Presidents.

 

President and Vice-President

 

Mr. Ledum Mitee was elected President. He is a lawyer, leader of the Ogoni people in Nigeria and President of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). Mr. Mitee, a former prisoner of conscience, has worked tirelessly in the field of human rights, and was moreover notably the co-defendant of a prominent Ogoni leader whose brutal execution in 1995 prompted international outcry, namely Ken Saro-Wiva, former Vice-Chair of the UNPO General Assembly.

             

Ms. Maysing Yang was elected Vice-President. She currently holds the position of Vice Minister of the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission, Vice President of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and is the Director of the Taiwan-US Culture Exchange Center. Ms. Yang is also the founder of the council of Asian Liberal and Democrats and an active Member of Liberal International.

 

Honorary Presidents

 
The General Assembly adopted by standing ovation the following as Honorary Presidents of the organisation:

 

Mr. Erkin Alptekin

Sen. John Nimrod

Dr. Parris H. Chang

Ms. Tsering Jampa

 

UNPO, since its inception in 1991, is indebted to the dedication and commitment of these individuals and expressed its sincere appreciation and respect for their devoted efforts into the organisation.

 

Members of the Presidency

 
UNPO acknowledged in appreciation the accomplishments of the Presidency which had served its terms since the VII General Assembly. The nine other seats of the Presidency were composed of the following:

 
Abkhazia
                    (Mr. Maxim Gunjia)       

Ahwazi                        (Dr. Karim Abdian)                    

East Turkestan             (Mr. Dolkun Isa)            

Khmer Krom                (Mr. Thach Thach)         

Maasai                         (Ms. Mary Simat)                      

Mapuche                      (Mr. Reinaldo Mariqueo) 

Scania                         (Mr. Göran Hansson)     

Tibet                            (Mr. Ngawang Choephel)

Zanzibar                      (Mr. Seif Sharif Hamad) 

 
 

General Secretary

Serving as the General Secretary of UNPO is Mr. Marino Busdachin, elected at the VII General Assembly. He has been with UNPO since 2003.

 

The new leadership is to serve in the term until the IX General Assembly in 2008.