Eva M.Calvo in Seoul
Today, during the 15th General Assembly, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies re-elected 53-year-old Juan Manuel Suárez del Toro Rivero to a second four-year term as President.
With 129 votes out of the 170 votes cast in his favor, Mr. Suárez del Toro, was elected in the first round by the absolute majority required. There were two other candidates in the running, Janet Davidson, member of the Board of Governors and Honorary Vice-President of the Canadian Red Cross, and Dr. Muctarr Jalloh, President of the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society.
Suárez del Toro thanked the Assembly for the trust and confidence that they extended to him, not only as president but also in the ideas that he had put forward in his pre-election speech when he outlined his vision for a Federation when he declared that "We need to ensure that we serve humanity, and that we work to ensure that in the future the world is fairer and more humane".
In his acceptance speech he expressed his gratitude to those who had helped him during his first tenure as President. “I would like to thank all of you who have been working with me over the past four years and not least the National Societies and their volunteers, those of you who really do the work of the Movement. I would like to renew my commitment to keep working for the Movement and for the people we dedicate our work and actions to the most vulnerable”.
“Personally, this means a lot to me. More than 30 years ago I started my adventure in the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement. That a volunteer can become a president of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies still touches me.”
During his term, Suárez del Toro initiated the “Federation of the Future” process which aims to increase the scale and scope of the Red Cross Red Crescent actions to address the world’s most urgent humanitarian issues.
“We have today a Federation which is more participative, flexible and viable to face our future challenges,” he said.
In his 30-year career with the Spanish Red Cross, Mr Suárez del Toro rose through the ranks, from youth volunteer in 1971, taking part in rescue, social welfare and international cooperation activities, to Red Cross Youth Director and President of the Canary Island branch. He has been President of the Spanish Red Cross since March 1999.
Juan Manuel Suárez del Toro was also a member of the Federation's Governing Board and Federation vice-president before becoming President of the International Federation. He was first elected to the post in November 2001.
His new term will commence as from the end of the current General Assembly, on 14 November.