EHF is run by a board 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: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

On first being elected as President after the General Assembly in Toledo in 2006, David Pollock made a short statement. 

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.

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:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Website: http://www.pierregaland.be 

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: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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. 

 

 

 

 

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 

Luc Devuyst (Belgium)

After studying contemporary  history at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Luc became a teacher of “non-confessional moral education” (1957-1970) and then an inspector-advisor (1970-1997) for non-confessional moral education at State secondary schools and teachers colleges in the Flemish community, Belgium.  He has served as an advisor to several Belgian Ministers of Education, was a member of the Belgian delegation to the UNESCO Commission on Drug Prevention, 1972-1983.  He has been Secretary General of the RIBZ (overseeing non-confessional moral education) since 1998.  He was President of Unie Vrijzinnige Verenigingen (Union of Non-Confessional and Freethinkers Associations) (1992-1998), and has held many other positions in  secular and humanist organisations, including IHEU.

Marina van Haeren is the Secretary General of Unie Vrijzinnige Verenigingen.  She was elected to the EHF board in May 2010.

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 teh 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.