OSCE states agree Secretary General will serve second three-year term

VIENNA, 25 June 2008 - The OSCE's Secretary General, Ambassador Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, will serve a second three-year term, the Foreign Ministers of the Organization's 56 participating States agreed today.

The OSCE's Ministerial Council agreed by consensus to back a recommendation from the Permanent Council, one of the Organization's decision-making bodies.

"I remain as inspired today as when I first arrived -- inspired by the expertise and diversity of the staff who work for the Organization and by the vision that sustains it every day," said Brichambaut. "The vision of forging a 'Europe whole and free and at peace with itself' still animates all of us because so much work remains ahead."

The Secretary General is the OSCE's chief administrative officer, providing continuity between the Organization's annually rotating chairmanships and acting as the representative of the Chairman-in-Office.

Brichambaut, 59, has served as Secretary General since June 2005. He previously held several senior positions in the French administration and international organizations.