COPENHAGEN, 9 February 2011 – The Portuguese government nominated on 2 February former OSCE PA President Joao Soares to serve as Secretary General of the OSCE.

In nominating Soares, Foreign Minister Luis Amado mentioned the importance of the next Secretary General being a high level political appointment, a concept long promoted by the Parliamentary Assembly.

“We believe that the role of the future Secretary General, supporting the implementation of Decisions and political dialogue among participating States, will be of utmost importance,” the Foreign Minister wrote in his nomination letter. “Therefore, following the suggestion put forward by the Austrian Foreign Minister that the new Secretary General of the OSCE should be ‘an individual with ample political experience,’ I would like to propose the candidature of Mr. Joao Soares to the position of Secretary General of the OSCE.”

PA President Petros Efthymiou spoke at the Astana Summit of the need for upgrading the OSCE through the appointment of a higher profile Secretary General. He said Mr. Soares was well qualified to lead the Organization.

“I’m pleased the government of Portugal has put forward my friend and predecessor Joao Soares for this important position,” President Efthymiou said. “Having served as mayor running the city of Lisbon and having served as president of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and visited nearly every single field mission, Mr. Soares is a rare candidate who brings both the managerial experience and the intimate institutional knowledge needed to move the OSCE forward.”

Mr. Soares was a member of the Portuguese parliament from 1987 to 1990 and again since 2002, elected by the constituency of Lisbon. He is former mayor of Lisbon and a former member of the European Parliament. He served as OSCE PA President from 2008-2010.

The nominations of Mr. Soares and Austrian parliamentarian Ursula Plassnik, the former Foreign Minister of Austria, shows the growing government support for installing a high-level figure as the next OSCE Secretary General, President Efthymiou said.