International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance

International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance

"Created in 1995, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), an intergovernmental organization with member states from all continents, has a mandate to support sustainable democracy worldwide. IDEA operates at an interface between those who analyse and monitor trends in democracy and those who engage directly in political reform or act in support of democracy at home and abroad. IDEA works with both new and long-established democracies, helping to develop and strengthen the institutions and culture of democracy. It operates at international, regional and national level, working in partnership with a range of institutions." 


 * Secretary General, Vidar Helgesen

Funding
"IDEA is financed through contributions from member states and through complimentary funds obtained from a variety of other sources like for example, European Commission, Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ireland, University for Peace (UPEACE), United Nations Foundation, International Development Research Centre(IDRC)." 

Directors
Honorary Board Member
 * Lena Hjelm-Wallén (Chairperson), former Deputy Prime Minister and former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden
 * Ambassador Andrés Rozental (Vice Chairperson), President of the Mexican Council on International Affairs (biographical sketch)
 * Brigalia Bam, Chairperson of South Africa's Independent Electoral Commission and former General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches
 * Jermyn Brooks, member of the Board of Directors of Transparency International and former Global Managing Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (biographical sketch)
 * Ricardo Díez-Hochleitner, Honorary President of the Club of Rome
 * Lourdes Flores Nano, President of Alianza Electoral Unidad Nacional and candidate in the 2001 Peruvian presidential election (biographical sketch)
 * Jos van Gennip, member of the Upper House of the Netherlands' Parliament
 * Ashraf Ghani, Chancellor of Kabul University; former Afghan Minister of Finance
 * M. S. Gill, Member of the Indian Council of World Affairs; former Chief Electoral Commissioner of India
 * Kaci Kullmann Five, former Cabinet Minister and Chairperson of the Conservative Party of Norway
 * Sirpa Pietikäinen, Chairwoman of the Finnish UN Association; Chairwoman of World Federation of United Nations Associatons; former Finnish Minister of Environment
 * Hugh Segal, Member of the Senate of Canada; former President of the Institute for Research on Public Policy; former Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister in Ottawa
 * Cassam Uteem, former President of the Republic of Mauritius
 * Aung San Suu Kyi, General Secretary of the National League for Democracy in Burma and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Former Board Members
Source
 * Subhash Kashyap, former Secretary-General of the Lower House of Indian Parliament and Constitutional Adviser to the Indian Government
 * Ambassador Kuniko Inoguchi, Permanent Representative of Japan to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva
 * Henning Scherf, President of the Senate and Mayor of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, Germany
 * Harri Holkeri, Former Head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and former Prime Minister of Finland
 * President Martti Ahtisaari, Co-Chairman of the New York-based EastWest Institute and Chairman of the International Crisis Group, Brussels, former President of the Republic of Finland.
 * Ignacio Astarloa Huarte-Mendicoa, Undersecretary of Justice, Spain; former Secretary-General of the Chamber of Deputies and Secretary of the Central Election Commission
 * Cheryl Carolus, High Commissioner for the Republic of South Africa in London, UK
 * Thomas Carothers, Vice President for Studies, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
 * Henry de Boulay Forde, Lawyer and former Foreign Minister and Attorney-General of Barbados
 * Adama Dieng, Registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda; former Secretary-General of the International Commission of Jurists
 * Frene Ginwala, former Speaker of the National Assembly, South Africa
 * Professor Colin Hughes, Professor of Political Science, University of Queensland and former Electoral Commissioner of Australia
 * Monica Jimenez de Barros (Former Vice Chairman), President of the Board of PARTICIPA, Executive Director of Corporación APRENDER, and member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Chile.
 * Ambassador Legwaila Joseph Manson John Legwaila, Special Representative to lead the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea
 * Manmohan Malhoutra (Former Treasurer), Secretary-General of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, India; former Assistant Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and adviser to the former Prime Minister of India, Mrs Indira Gandhi.
 * Erling Olsen, former speaker of Parliament, Denmark.
 * Maureen O'Neil, President of the International Development Research Centre, Canada.
 * Shridath Ramphal (Former Chairman), former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and Co-Chairman of the Commission on Global Governance.
 * Lord David Steel, Presiding Officer, Scottish Parliament and former President of Liberal International, UK.
 * Ambassador Thorvald Stoltenberg (Former Chairman), President of the Norwegian Red Cross, former Foreign Minister and Minister of Defence of Norway, and UN Special Representative in the former Yugoslavia.

Contact

 * International IDEA, Strömsborg, SE-103 34 Stockholm, Sweden
 * Web: http://www.idea.int