H.E. M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra, MP

M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra served as the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand during the administration of Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai. He is also an Associate Professor in the Department of International Relations, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.

Since 1986 he has been the chairman of the Chumbhot-Pantip Foundation. From 1987 to 1993 he served as Director of the Institute of Security and International Studies. He also served as Advisor to the House of Representatives Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs from 1986 to 1988 and again from 1989 - 1991, and as Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister General Catichai Coonhavan from 1988-1989. Additionally, M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra was Advisor to the House of Representatives Standing Committee for House Affairs from 1989 - 1991.

Since 1992 he has been chairman of the Ministry of Commerce’s Advisory Committee of International Commerce. In 2002 he became the new Chairperson of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats, replacing the outgoing chairperson, Hon. Sam Rainsy of Cambodia.

President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan

President Chen Shui-bian was born to a tenant farming family in Kuantien Township of Tainan County in 1950. He attended National Taiwan University where he studied Law and became the nations youngest lawyer.

In 1980, after the Kaohsiung Incident in which numerous activists were arrested and sent for trial under martial law, Mr. Chen became a member of the defence team and dedicated himself to politics. Mr. Chen worked for freedom, human rights, and democracy for the people of Taiwan, running for public office for the first time in 1979. He was elected as a member of the Fourth Taipei City Council.

In 1986, he was sentenced to eight months in prison for criminal libel. Upon his release he joined the Democratic Progressive Party and in 1989 he was elected to the Legislative Yuan. He was elected Mayor of Taipei in 1994 and under his leadership the city was ranked fifth-best city in Asia for quality of life by Asian Week magazine. Mr. Chen was also selected as one of the top one hundred world leaders of the new century by Time magazine and one of the top fifty future Asian leaders by Asian Week magazine.

In July 1999, Mr. Chen accepted the nomination of the DPP for presidential candidate for the 2000 election. Mr. Chen asserted, in his campaign, that both sides of the Taiwan Strait should uphold the principles of “Goodwill reconciliation, active cooperation, and permanent peace.” His election as president of Taiwan in 2000 marked the peaceful transfer of power to another political party and was an encouraging sign in the ongoing democratisation in Taiwan.

Vice President Annette Lu

Ms. Lu was born in Taoyuan in the north of Taiwan and graduated from Taiwan’s top girls’ high school before attending Law School at National Taiwan University, where she graduated first in her class. She then went on to earn her Masters degree in Law from both the University of Illinois and Harvard.  She returned to Taiwan in 1978 and became an outspoken critic of the KMT government. She was jailed by the KMT in 1979 for her opposition and when released in 1985 she continued her work, travelling across the globe calling for greater democracy and international recognition for Taiwan.

In 1993, Ms. Lu was elected to the Legislative Yuan as a member of the DPP and she served for three years, during which she played a prominent role on the Foreign Relations Committee. She was asked to serve as National Policy Advisor under President Lee Teng-hui. Ms. Lu then ran for Taoyuan County Governor and was elected to the position in 1997.

On 20 may 2000, Ms. Lu became the first female Vice-President and has devoted even greater energy to promoting human rights, democracy, peace, love and high technology in Taiwan. She has launched numerous charity initiatives, helping those in need in India, Tibet and Afghanistan. In recognition of her great works, she was awarded the 2001 World Peace Prize. 

Lord Russell-Johnston

Lord Russell-Johnston was born 28 July 1932 and obtained his MA in History from Edinburgh University in 1961. While at university, he re-founded and was President of the Liberal Club there. After leaving university, Lord Russell taught history at the Liberton Secondary School and became a member of the Scottish Liberal Party Executive.

Lord Russell has had a long and distinguished career in politics, holding numerous positions and receiving many honours. In 1964 Lord Russell became a liberal MP and served in the Commons until 1997, during which he served as spokesman for education, Scotland, devolution, defence, and foreign and commonwealth affairs. Additionally, Lord Russell served as a liberal member of the European Parliament from 1973-1979 and Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. In 1999 be became president of the full Assembly - a post he held for three years. In the Western European Union he served as a member of the Defence Committee and Parliamentary and Public Relations.

Lord Russell received his knighthood in 1985 and was made a Life Peer in 1997. He has also received the Grand Cross orders from three European countries - Romania, San Marino and Austria, and an Order of Merit from Albania.

Dr. Norica Nicolai

Dr. Norica Nicolai was born on 27 January, 1958 in Siania, Prahova County. Dr. Nicolai currently serves as Senator of the National Liberal Party for the constituency of Cluj County, and also serves as Secretary of the Senate Committee for Defense, Public Order and National Security.

From 1983 – 1991, Dr. Nicolai served as prosecutor of Calarasi County, having graduated from Law School in Bucharest. From 1991 - 1997, she was an associate professor of Penal Law and Criminology at the University of Bucharest and also an associate professor of Compared Penal Law at the Romanian Academy of Management. During the period of 1991 - 1997, Dr. Nicolai also served as Secretary of State for the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.

In 1997, Dr. Nicolai was appointed as Head of the Department for the Coordination of Strategies on Women’s Rights and Elaboration of Family Strategies. In 1998, she served as Head of the Department for Labour Force and the Unemployed and also served as Chairwoman of the Economic and Social Council. In 1999, she was appointed as Head of the Department for the Coordination of the Labour Market and Salary Strategies.

Dr. Nicolai has taken active participation in international events, having served as a representative of Romania at the International Congress of Criminology in Budapest in 1993 and at the International Congress of Penal Law in Rio de Janeiro in 1994.

Alexander Shishlov

Dr. Shishlov was born on 28 July 1955 in Leningrad, USSR and graduated from the Mathematics and Mechanics (1977) and Legal (1994) departments of St. Petersburg (Leningrad) State University, receiving his Ph.D. in

1984. From1977-1990 he worked as an engineer, researcher, and laboratory head in the field of control over complex systems.

Since 1988 he has been an activist of the democratic movement and in 1990 was elected deputy of Leningrad City Council. In 1991 he was elected member of the city council Presidium and worked in the commissions for local government and law. From 1994 to 1995 and since 2004, he was Programme Director of St. Petersburg Centre for Humanities and Political Studies, “Strategy,” dealing with civil education, human rights and NGO leaders training.

From 1996 to 2003 he was a member of the Russian Parliament as well as Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. From 1997 to 2003 he was Vice President of the LDR Group of PACE. In 2002 - 2003, Dr. Shishlov was Chairman of the Committee for Education and Science. Dr. Shishlov has been a member of Yabloko since 1993 and from 1997 to 2001 he was Chairman of the St. Petersburg branch. Since 1998 he has been member of the Federal Council of Yabloko.

Pablo Maria Leclercq

Pablo Maria Leclercq currently serves as President of the Doctrine Commission of RECREAR, School of Political Formation in Argentina. Mr. Leclercq received his Civil Engineering degree from the University of Buenos Aires in 1963 and his Cours de Doctorat in Economics from the University of Paris in 1966.

Mr. Leclercq’s public service includes Secretary of State for Public Utilities from 1981 – 1982 and Minister of Economy and Public Works for the Province of Chubut from 1968 – 1970. From 1971 – 1975, Mr. Leclercq served as advisor to the Inter American Development Bank and from 1971 – 1972, he was appointed as National Director of Hydraulic Services for the Ministry of Public Works and Services in Argentina.

In 1972, Mr. Leclercq was appointed President of the National Services of Safe Water in Argentina. From 1983 – 1985, he served as advisor to the Senate in the Budget and Treasury, Economy, Communication and Transportation Committees. Currently, he also provides advice to international companies willing to invest in the MERCORUR Telecommunications field. 

Dr. Parris Chang

Dr. Chang was born on 30 December 1936 in Taiwan and earned hi PhD from Columbia University (USA) in 1969. He worked as a Professor at Pennsylvania State University in the Department of Political Science.

Dr. Chang is currently the abroad Legislative Yuan member and serves as the Chairperson of UNOP. He was awarded the Outstanding Professional Achievement Asian-American Award in 1992.

Mr. Sam Rainsy

Sam Rainsy was born 10 March 1949 in Phnom Penh and received university degrees in Business Administration, Accounting, Economics, and Political Science. Prior to entering politics, Mr. Rainsy served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DR Gestion, a Paris-based finance company, and also as Bank Director at Paluel-Marmont, a French bank specializing in research and stock investment.

Mr. Rainsy was a founding member of the FUNCINPEC Party, created in 1992, and served as a member of their steering committee until 1995. From 1992 until 1993, Mr. Rainsy was a member of the Supreme National Council of Cambodia and in 1993 he was elected Member of Parliament for the Siem Reap province. While serving as a Member of Parliament, Mr. Rainsy was Minister of Finance of the Royal Government of Cambodia and also president of the Khmer Nation Party.

Since 1998 Mr. Rainsy has served as president of the Sam Rainsy Party and was elected Member of Parliament for Kompong Cham province. Mr. Rainsy is now also the leader of the opposition in Parliament, which is represented by 15 National Assembly members and 7 Senators.

Dr. N. Bhaskara Rao

A founding member of MDRA (Marketing and Development Research Associates), Dr. Rao is the pioneer in market research in India. He has led several national level studies in the areas of management research during the past three decades. He was formerly the President of ORG for several years and an advisor to several Ministries of the Government of India, including the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, the Ministry of Chemical & Fertilizers, Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Telecommunications and the Ministry of Environment & Forests.

Dr. Rao is a strong advocate of Social Marketing and has advised many government and international development agencies such as the World Bank, The Asian and Development Bank, UNESCO, etc. Dr. Rao is also a coordinator of Andhra Pradesh's Vision 2000 and is a trustee of the Indian Brand Equity Fund.

Dr. Eugene Chien

Dr. Chien was born on 4 February 1946 in Taipei, Taiwan and graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from National Taiwan University in 1968. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics from New York University. Prior to entering politics Dr. Chien taught at Tamkang University and was later Chairman of the Department of Aeronautical Engineering and then Dean of the College of Engineering at Tamkang University.

Dr. Chien has had a lengthy and illustrious career in politics in which he held many positions. In 1983 he was elected to the Legislative Yuan and from 1984-1985 served as Chairman of the National Defence Committee and Education Committee. In 1987 he was re-elected to the Legislative Yuan and also began as Administrator Minister of the Environmental Protection Administration. Dr. Chien served as National Policy Advisor to the President from 1993-1996 and from 1997-2000 as Senior Advisor for the National Security Council. In 2000 he was appointed Deputy Secretary General, which he remained until 2002 when he became ROC Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the ICDF-TAIWAN.

Dr. Chien has also received many honours throughout his career, including the Environmental Engineering Award from the Chinese Institute of Environmental Engineering. He was awarded the Outstanding Contribution and Service Medal, the Environmental Protection Administration’s highest honour, in 1996. In 1998 Dr. Chien received an honorary Fellowship from Cardiff University in Wales. 

Mr. Boris Dittrich

Mr. Dittrich was born 21 July 1955 in Utrecht and is a second generation citizen of The Netherlands, his father having gone there as refugee from communist Czechoslovakia. He studied Law at Leiden University and worked as a lawyer in Amsterdam before entering politics. From 1989 until 1994 he was judge at the district court of Alkmaar, working as president of the immigration court, judge at the petty crime court, member of grand criminial court, member of family court and member of psychiatric patient rights court.

Mr. Dittrich has been a member of Parliament since 1994 and has held numerous parliamentary posts including, Vice President of the Justice Committee, Member of the temporary committee on execution of the recommendations of the Parliamentary Investigations Commission into criminal execution, and member of presidium. Since January 2003 he has been Party Leader of the Democrats 66 (D66).

Additionally, Mr. Dittrich has held positions with numerous non-governmental organisations. He was a member of the advisory board for the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation. He also serves as a board member for the Dutch Aids Foundation.

Dr. Nereus Acosta

Dr. Acosta is a member of the Liberal Party of the Philippines and in 1999 he was elected as Vice-President of the International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY). He is currently the Vice President for Mindanao of the Party and serves as the Chairman Emeritus of the Kabataang Liberal ng Pilipinas. He is the second term representative of the first district of Bukidnon.

He is the principal author of the landmark Clean Air Act and is currently the Chair of the Congressional Task Force on Billion Trees. He also serve as Assistant Majority Floor Leader and Senior Vice Chair of the Committees on Ecology, Foreign Affairs, Civil Political & Human Rights, Science & Technology.

Mr. Otto Guevara

Mr. Guevara graduated  from University of Costa Rica with a degree in Law. He received an MA in Business Management, specialising in International Business at the National University, and a second MA in Law, with a specialisation in Resolution of Conflicts from Harvard University.

He has been a professor of Law at the University of Costa Rica and the Institute of External Service “Manuel Maria Peralta” running courses of “Negotiation and Decision Making” from 1994 until the present. Moreover, he has taught short courses for FEDEPRICAP, OEA, and PARLACEN in the Central America region with themes of “Resolution of Conflicts,” “Political Negotiation” and “Decentralisation and Conflict Management,” among others. He has also been dedicated to the exercise of his profession as a lawyer as well as an international consultant.

Mr. Guevara co-founded Movimiento Libertario in 1994 and was elected to Parliament un 1998. He served as an MP until 2002, when he decided to dedicate himself exclusively to his legislative function. He was selected as the best MP for four consecutive years in all national surveys and according to many journalists. He was a presidential candidate in 2002 for Movimiento Libertario, which obtained 6 of the 57 legislative seats. At present, he is president of Mivimiento Libertario.

Dr. Lili Nabholz-Haidegger

Dr. Nabholz-Haidegger was born in Solothurn Switzerland and studied Law at the University of Zurich. She received her Masters of Law in 1970 and her Doctorate in 1972. She served as Attorney at Law/Barrister in Zurich was also Ombudsperson for private insurance companies.

Dr. Nabholz-Haidegger has had a long and distinguished political career. She was elected to the National Council in October 1987, 1991, 1995, and 1999-2003. She served as the Chairwoman of the Legal Affairs Committee from 1996-1998, Chairwomen of the Joint Committee (Senate and Lower House) from 1996-1998, and Chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in 2003. She also served as Vice-Chairwoman of the Swiss Parliamentary Delegation of the European Free Trade Association and the European Parliament.

From 2000 until the present she has been a Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. During which time she has served as Member of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Vice Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Human Rights, Member of the Committee on Refugees and Migration, and Member of the joint working group Duma/Council of Europe of Tchetchnia.

Dr. Nabholz-Haidegger has also served as the Chairwoman of the Swiss Foundation for the protection and safeguard of landscape and the Swiss Foundation for the integration of disabled persons. She is a Laureate of the Ida Somazzi-prize, a foundation for democracy, and the Fischhoff-Prize, a foundation against racism and anti-Semitism.

Dr. Lee Ying-Yuan

Dr. Yuan was born 16 March 1953 in Yunlin County and earned his B.S. in Public Health at National Taiwan University. He went to the U.S. for Advanced Health studies, receiving his M.A. from Harvard and his Ph.D. in Health Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Yuan was Associate Professor at University of South Dakota and National Taipei College of Nursing. Dr. Yuan also served as Vice President of World United Formosans for Independence and it was with this group that  he went back to Taiwan to set up headquarters. In 1991 he was arrested, but was finally released in May of 1992.

In 1995 he ran for a seat in the Legislative Yuan from Taipei County and won. He has since served as convener of the DPP legislative caucus, convener of the Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee, convener of the Sanitation, Environment, and Social Welfare Committee, and member if the Judiciary Committee. In 1999 he joined a government delegation to Macedonia to deliver medical and humanitarian aid to that country.

Dr. Irmgard Schwaetzer

Dr. Schwaetzer was born in Cathedral (Westphalia) and in 1961 became Abitur in Being Castle (Westphalia). From 1961 to 1967 she did her Pharmaceutical studies in Passau, Cathedrals, and Bonn. in 1967 she took the Pharmaceutical state examination and was licensed to practice in 1968.

In 1975 she became a member of the FDP and from 1982 to 1984 served as the Secretary-General of the FDP. In 1980 she became a member of the federal daily, which she remained until 2002. From 1984 - 1987 she served as federal treasurer of the FDP, becoming State Minister in the Foreign Office in 1987. She held that post until 1991 when she became Federal Minister for Area Planning, Building Industry, and Town Construction.

Dr. Schwaetzer has also been associated with many other organizations including, the European Academy for Women in Politics and Economics, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Project HOPE Germany, and Acts Instead of Words.

Mr Frank Chang-ting Hsieh

Mr. Hsieh was born on 18 May 1946 in Taipei City and in 1967 he entered the National Taiwan University and majored in Law. He later studied at Imperial Kyoto University in Japan and received his Master’s degree and Ph.D. He served as a key defense attorney in the Kaohsiung Incident of 1980, and his career in politics began.

He was elected as Taipei City Councilor to two consecutive terms between 1981 and 1988. In 1983 he had begun working for the “Outside Party“ organization and took part of the formation of the DPP in 1986. He was elected as “member of Central Standing Committee“ of the DPP.

In 1989 he was elected as Legislator and in 1996 he ran for Vice-President. He was not elected, but in 1998 he ran for mayor of Kaohsiung and won, becoming the first opposition party candidate to rule in Kaohsiung Municipal City. In 2000 he was concurrently elected as chairman of the DPP.

Lord John Alderdice

Lord Alderdice was born in Northern Ireland on 28 March 1955 and in 1973 he read Medicine at The Queen’s University of Belfast, graduating MBBCh, BAO in 1978. In 1983 be became a Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and was appointed by the Eastern Health and Social Services Board of Ireland’s first consultant psychotherapist in 1988.

Lord Alderdice joined the Alliance Party in Northern Ireland in 1978 and in 1987 he was elected Leader of the Alliance Party. This was followed by election to Belfast City Council in 1989 and re-election in 1993. From 1993 to 1997 he served as Executive Medical Director of South and East Belfast Health and Social Services Trust and was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 1997. In 1998 he was elected as a member for Belfast East to the new Northern Ireland Assembly. He was immediately appointed Speaker of the new Assembly.

In 1999 he was elected Treasurer and then Vice-President of the European Liberal Democratic and reform Party and in 2000 was elected Deputy President of Liberal International. Lord Alderdice was raised to the Peerage of Baron Alderdice of Knock in 1996 and took his seat in the House of Lords that year, being one of the youngest ever life Peers.

Lord Alderdice has also been actively involved in the peace process in Northern Ireland, leading the Alliance Party into the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation. He was one of the key negotiators of the Belfast Agreement signed on Good Friday 1998. His commitment to peace has been recognized through a number of international awards, including Honorary Citizenship of the City of Baltimore, Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, the WA Harriman Award for Democracy and the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award (received jointly with other signers of the Belfast agreement).

Mrs. Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck

Mrs. Neyts-Uyttebroeck was born in Brussels and received university degrees in French, Secondary School Teaching, and Press and Social Communication from the Free University of Brussels. From 1973 to 1975 she served as Press Officer for the Minister of Justice and as Junior Chief of Staff of the Vice-Governor of the province of Barbant from 1975 to 1981.

Mrs. Neyts-Uyttebroeck participated in numerous parliamentary elections, European elections, and regional elections. She chaired her local branch of the Flemish Liberal Party from 1977 until 1987 and again since 1995 as well as serving as National Chairperson of the Flemish Liberal Party (PVV) from 1985 until 1989. She was State Secretary for the Brussels Region from 1981 - 1985 and Minister in the Brussels Government form 1999 - 2000 as well as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Minister in charge of Agriculture.

Ms. Neyts-Uyttebroeck is a member of the Executive of the European Liberals, Democrats and Reformists. She has been a Member of the Liberal International Bureau since 1989, Deputy Leader since 1996, and is currently serving as President of Liberal International.