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Who we are
| Profile of Dr.
Astrid N Heiberg President, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies November 1997 - November 2001 Dr. Astrid N Heiberg became the first female president of the International Federation when she was elected in November 1997. A warm and attentive mother and grandmother, she is described as being a good listener and as having a great sense of humour, and as being intelligent and energetic. She is a determined woman who can be tough. Her energy and immense working capacity have always meant that she has had much more on her plate than just her role as professor of psychiatry at the University of Oslo, Norway – her home country. In the 1980s, she was a conservative member of Parliament, junior minister of social affairs and cabinet minister of family and consumer affairs. Among many other activities, she has been a member of the Institute of Women in Political Leadership. She was Norway's representative on the European Council's Committee for the prevention of torture. A Red Cross volunteer since 1982, Dr. Heiberg has been president of the Norwegian Red Cross and was elected to lead the International Federation by the General Assembly in 1997. The 64-year-old president considers the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement as her second family. She is very committed to the platform on which she was elected. Her main aim is to strengthen the capacities of National Societies and the Federation's regional delegations. "I would like to encourage a greater use of local resources to develop National Societies," says Dr. Heiberg. "This is our strength as a Red Cross Red Crescent family. Unlike many humanitarian organisations, to us it is not a question of being first in or last out from a disaster situation: we are always there, with our local volunteers – rooted in the community," she says. Dr. Heiberg was replaced by Don Juan Manuel Suárez Del Toro Rivero in November 2001 |
