Casini elected as new president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Rome (Reuters) - Pier Ferdinando Casini is the new president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, an international organization that brings together the representatives of the parliaments of 141 States, for the three-year period from 2005 to 2008. Reuters was informed of this by a spokesperson for the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, who added that the candidate received 230 of the 337 votes cast during the Assembly held in Geneva. The presidency of the Inter-Parliamentary Union is one of the highest profile political posts held by an Italian in an international organization following the departure of Romano Prodi from the leadership of the European Commission. Italy has returned to the leadership of the IPU for the first time in nearly fifty years.
Yahoo - Italy - 19 October 2005
She thinks a woman's place is in the Elysée
Ségolène Royal is popular. Experienced, a tireless campaigner and, at a time when a disenchanted French electorate is searching for novelty, among the youngest of the top politicians in her embattled Socialist Party. But when Royal, 52, said last week that she was considering running for president in 2007, she unleashed an onslaught of attacks and ridicule form her own camp…France's only woman prime minister to date, Edith Cresson, left office in 1992 under a cloud. There has never been a woman president - not surprisingly since the mainstream parties have never fielded a woman candidate. Less than 13 per cent of lawmakers are women, leaving France ranked 74th internationally in gender-equality, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
International Herald Tribune - 30 September 2005
Foreign Secretary pays tribute to the IPU
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has praised the British Group IPU for "strengthening" Britain's international links and helping countries which are struggling to become democracies. "In areas of tension, the Group's work in building parliamentary links makes a very valuable contribution to our objectives on entrenching stability and supporting new, sometimes fragile, democratic institutions", he said. ..."I want to assure you that the Foreign Office and the British Group IPU continue to work very closely together"
IPU Review (British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union) – January 2005
China, South Korea agree to deepen parliamentary cooperation
Parliament speaker of China and South Korea agreed Wednesday in New York to boost cooperation between the two legislatures and facilitate the development of bilateral ties as a whole. Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress (NPC), and Kim One-ki, speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea (ROK), stressed the role of parliaments in state-to-state relations. The two held a meeting on the sidelines of the Second World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments, a three-day gathering that started Wednesday at the Headquarters of the United Nations.
People's Daily - 8 September 2005
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