COPENHAGEN, 15 March 2013 (Deutsch) – Wolfgang Grossruck, a Member of the Austrian Parliament, today became the acting president of OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

Grossruck, as the Assembly's most senior vice-president, fills a vacancy created by President Riccardo Migliori's departure from the Italian Parliament.

Grossruck will serve as acting president through 3 July 2013, the end of the Assembly's Annual Session. First elected vice-president in 2008, Grossruck is one of the most experienced election observers in the OSCE region, having participated in 32 election observation missions, leading three of them as the appointed special co-ordinator.

"We are all sorry to bid farewell to President Migliori, but I look forward to humbly continuing where he left off in support of a strong, vibrant parliamentary voice within the OSCE," President Grossruck said. "I pledge to work closely with my colleagues and continue our Assembly's momentum, supporting the OSCE's important work on security and human rights throughout the Northern Hemisphere."

In a letter to the Standing Committee of heads of delegation from all 57 participating States, Secretary General Spencer Oliver announced the transition in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, Paragraph 1, which requires Members of the Assembly be Members of their National Parliaments, and Rule 5, Paragraph 8, which delineates the succession process when the president is unable to serve.

"President Migliori strengthened the independent voice of parliamentarians and helped start co-operative work with other parliamentary assemblies across Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa," Oliver wrote. Members of the Assembly elected President Migliori in July 2012.

The election of a new president will be held 3 July at the Assembly's Annual Session in Istanbul.