New President of PACE elected

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - Liliane Maury-Pasquier (Switzerland, SOC) has been elected President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Kazinform has learned from the Assembly's media office.

Succeeding Michele Nicoletti (Italy, SOC) - who resigned because he was not re-elected in Italy - she becomes PACE's 32nd President and the second Swiss representative since 1949. She is the fourth woman to hold the post. Only one candidate was in the running.

In her opening speech, Ms. Maury-Pasquier recalled that the values of the Council of Europe need more than ever to be promoted, carried and lived, on the European continent and beyond.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is a 47-nation international organization dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law.