Ms. Corina Eichenberger-Walther MP
Parliament:
Swiss Parliament
Political Party:
Freisinnig-Demokratische Partei Schweiz Ms. Eichenberger-Walther is a Swiss politician from the Freisinnig-Demokratische Partei Schweiz (FDP). A lawyer by training Ms. Eichenberger-Walther was an active member in the legislature of the canton of Aargau from 1993-2007 and from 2005-2006 was President of the Advisory Committee.
Dr. Hazim El-Nasser
Parliament:
Jordan’s House of Representatives
Political Party:
Independent Dr. Nasser holds a Bachelors and a Masters degree from University of Jordan and a PhD in Water Resources Management from Technical University of Munich and Wuerzburg University. Between 1991 and 1996, Dr. Nasser earned a higher diploma from Harvard University in Water and Environmental Economics.
In 2001, Dr. Nasser was appointed Minister of Water and Irrigation and in 2003, he was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Water and Irrigation until 2005. Between 2005 and 2007, Dr. Nasser worked as a water and irrigation consultant for several major international development agencies working on development projects in Palestine and Iraq.
Dr. Nasser has more than 60 publications in international journals on water and the environment and agriculture infrastructure. He also holds several honorary distinctions from Jordan and France. Recently, in 2009, he published a book " Management of Scarce Water Resources: A Middle Eastern Experience" by Witpress, UK.
Ms. Safura Elkhani MP
Parliament:
Afghan Lower House Ms. Elkhani was born on 1978 in the Bamyan province and graduated from the faculty of agriculture of Kabul University. She worked as a head teacher in the Deh Sorkh high school (Bamyan) for two years.
During the transitional terms of the Afghan government, she was elected as a representative of the Bamyan province for the emergency Loya Jerga. She then joined UNCHR in Bamyan and worked for two years as a field assistant. Ms. Elkhani also worked as a human rights assistant in the UNAMA office in Bamyan, where she worked for one and half years, specifically in the field of women rights.
In 2005, she nominated herself as a candidate for the Lower House of Afghanistan, and was elected to the Afghan Parliament.
Ms. Asha Hagi Elmi MP
Parliament:
Transitional Federal Parliament of the Republic of Somalia Ms. Elmi was selected to the Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP) of the Republic of Somalia on August 29, 2004, and will serve until 2009. She is also the founder of Save Somali Women and Children (SSWC), created in 1992 during the height of the Somali Civil War. Ms. Elmi has been acknowledged internationally for her activism against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Somalia and in other areas of Africa. She frequently travels to college campuses and universities around the world giving speeches about the political conditions in Somalia, FGM, and the resulting effects on Somali women.
Mr. Frank Engel MEP
Parliament:
European Parliament
Political Party:
Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) Frank Engel was elected to the European Parliament in June 2009. He current serves on the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs; Special Committee for the Financial, Economic and Social Crisis; Policy Challenges Committee; ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly; and is a Member of the Delegation to the Pan-African Parliament.
After obtaining his Masters of Law from the University of Metz, Engel was the Editor in Chief of CODEX from 1999 until 2002. Engel then became Head of Cabinet for Jacques Santer MEP, before becoming Secretary General of CSV parliamentary group.
Engel’s political activities began in 1995 when he joined the national committee of CSJ (youth wing of CSV). In 2000, he became a Member of the National Committee of CSV before becoming a Member of the Presidium of CSV in 2003.
In addition to his role in the European Parliament, Engel serves as Vice-president and Secretary General of the Luxembourg Institute for Asian Studies, Vice-president of the Luxembourg Atlantic Committee and Vice-president of SME-Union. He is also fluent in five languages and conversational in two more.
Ms. Elay Ershad, MP
Parliament:
Wolesi Jirga, National Assembly of Afghanistan Prior to becoming a parliamentarian, Ms. Ershad worked as the Gender Advisor and Executive Assistant to the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Education in Afghanistan. She has also worked in the legal arena, as a Legal Assistant for Moscovitch Advocate Holland, and as an Assistant Lecturer in the Faculty of Law and Political Science of Kabul University.
Ms. Ershad holds a Bachelors Degree from the Faculty of Law and Political Science in the Department of Diplomacy from the Kabul University. She is fluent in Pashto, Dari, English, and Dutch.
Mrs. Sari Essayah MEP
Parliament:
European Parliament
Political Party:
European People's Party Mrs. Sari Essayah is a Finnish Member of the European Parliament (2009-2014). Currently, she is a member of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, a member of Delegation for relations with Israel and a member of Delegation to the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly. In addition, Mrs. Essayah is a substitute member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and of the Delegation for relations with the Maghreb countries and the Arab Maghreb Union.
Mrs. Essayah has a long background in the Christian Democrats of Finland, serving on the local, national and European political scene. In 2004-2007, she was a member of the Finnish Parliament. She has a Major in Accounting and a Masters in Business Administration. She also has ten years’ experience as an auditor and controller. During her political career, she has taken a strong position in defending human rights. She is a member of the Christian human rights NGO, First Step Forum, and a member of the European Network for Women in Leadership.
Mr. Gareth Evans
Mr. Evans spent 21 years in Australian politics, 13 of them as a Cabinet Minister. As a Foreign Minister he was best known internationally for his role in developing the UN peace plan for Cambodia, helping conclude the Chemical Weapons Convention, and helping initiate the new Asia Pacific regional economic and security architecture. Mr. Evans was President and CEO of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group from 2000 to 2009. Since 2008, Mr. Evans has been Co-Chair of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, a joint initiative of the Australian and Japanese governments
