Mr. Artis Pabriks MP
Parliament:
Latvian Parliament/Saeima
Political Party:
People's Party Mr. Pabriks was formerly the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia 2004-2007. Since 2004 he has been a member of Parliament, and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After finishing his Ph.D., he became the rector of Vidzemes Augstskola, a newly founded regional college located in Valmiera, Latvia. He has taught at Vidzemes Augstskola since then. Mr. Pabriks has many publications, among them he co-authored two books: Latvia: Challenge of Change (2001) and The Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (2002), along with the work in Vidzeme University College, he was a policy analyst-consultant in the Political Education Foundation (PIF), Latvia.
Justas Vincas Paleckis, MEP
Parliament:
European Parliament
Political Party:
Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament Mr. Paleckis studied at Vilnius University and graduated with a degree in Journalism in 1964. He later attended the Diplomatic University in Moscow from 1966-1969. Mr. Paleckis was the Foreign Policy advisor to the President of the Republic of Lithuania from 1993 to 1996 and then later the Ambassador of Lithuania to the United Kingdom and Ireland from 1996 to 2001. Additionally, he was the Deputy Foreign Minister of Lithuania from 2002 to 2004.
Since 2004, Mr. Paleckis has been a member of the European Parliament and is currently the Vice-Chairman on the subcommittee on Security and Defence and member of the committee on Foreign Affairs, delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, and the delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly. MEP J. Paleckis is also Vice Chair of the Delegation for relations with Belarus.
Hon. Ms. Binda Pandey
Parliament:
The Constituent Assembly of Nepal
Political Party:
Communist Party of Nepal (UML Hon. Ms. Binda Pandey is the Chairperson of the Fundamental Rights & Directive Principle Committee of the Constituent Assembly of Nepal.
Ms. Pandey was born in 1966. She had been involved in Nepal’s trade union movement for more than a decade. She was the driving force behind most publications brought out by GEFONT, one of the largest confederations of the Nepalese trade unions.
Throughout her career, Hon. Ms. Pandey has always been a women’s rights activist. She was one of 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. Hon Ms. Pandey worked from 1994 to 1997 as a program coordinator for the Committee for Asian Women – Regional Labor, an NGO based in Hong Kong, and has gained considerable knowledge and experience of the challenges faced by working women throughout Asia. She was an Executive Committee member from 1997 to 2000.
In May 2004, Hon Ms. Pandey was appointed Deputy Secretary General of the GEFONT, a confederation of Nepali trade unions. She worked previously as a Central Secretariat Member and Chief of the GEFONT’s Department of Education from 2001 to 2004, and Secretary of its Department of Foreign Affairs from 1997 to 2000. Hon. Ms. Pandey also worked for the National Women’s Commission formed by the Government of Nepal from 2001 to 2003. She was also an active member of the All Nepal Women Association (ANWA).
Mr. Ioan Mircea Paşcu MEP
Parliament:
European Parliament/Romania
Political Party:
Socialist Group in the European Parliament Mr. Paşcu holds degrees in Commerce and Foreign Trade and a Doctorate Political Science. He was Vice-President of the Social Democratic Party from 1997-2006 and was State Secretary, Ministry of Defence (1993-1996) and Minister for Defence (2000-2004). Mr. Paşcu has authored several books including “Zone Denuclearizate:” (“Nuclear Weapon-Free Zones”, 1985 – winner of the Nicolae Titulescu Academy Award for 1985), “Armele şi Politica” (“Weapons and Politics”, 1989), and more recently “The Battle for NATO - A Personal Report”. He has also authored numerous papers in the field of military matters and politics, international security and stability in the Balkans.
Senator Maria Perceval
Parliament:
Argentine Senate
Political Party:
Partido Justicialist, Bloque Pj Frente Para La Victoria Rt Revd Stephen Platten, The Bishop of Wakefield
Parliament:
The UK Parliament, House of Lords Rt Revd Stephen Platten presides over and cares for the Diocese of Wakefield. He is the 12th Bishop of Wakefield and began this ministry on 19 July 2003. He was educated at the Stationers, Company’s School, and thereafter at the Universities of London and Oxford. At the University of London (Trent Park College of Education and the University of London Institute of Education) he took a B.Ed. (II.i) in Education and Natural Science, and then at the University of Oxford (Cuddesdon Theological College and Trinity College, Oxford) he completed the Post-graduate Diploma in Theology (with Distinction) and then continued to research in new Testament and Christian Ethics. He was awarded a B.D. at Trinity College Oxford and also a D.Litt. (Hon) at the University of East Anglia both in 2003. He was formerly Dean of Norwich. He works with other senior members of staff and the Bishop’s Council in planning the strategic leadership of the diocese. He has recently been appointed as Chairman of the Church of England Liturgical Commission, which seeks to develop the worshipping life of the church.
