Mr. Pierre CORNILLON Mr. Cornillon served as the Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamenary Union for three mandates from 1 January 1987 to 30 June 1998. As a mark of gratitude and esteem, the 100th Inter-Parliamentary Conference (Moscow, September 1998) conferred on Mr. Cornillon the title of Honorary Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE of Mr. Pierre CORNILLON

Mr. Cornillon devoted his professional life to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, spending over 30 years in the service of the organization. Prior to being elected Secretary General, he occupied the posts of Deputy Secretary General and Legal Adviser (1972-1986); Assistant Secretary of the Union (1968-1972); and Research Officer and Committee Secretary (1964-1968).

While Assistant Secretary General of the IPU, Mr. Cornillon was the principal architect of the International Centre for Parliamentary Documentation and Technical Assistance Programme - forerunners of the IPU's successful Programme for the Promotion of Representative Democracy.

Mr. Cornillon is a renowned expert on parliamentary diplomacy and comparative parliamentary law - subjects on which he has spoken throughout the world and authored numerous papers and publications.

Born in 1935 in Lyon, France, Mr. Cornillon obtained an M.A. in Political Science and Law at the Faculty of Law of Geneva University, and prepared a Ph.D. on "The development of original institutions in the Kingdom of Aragon at the time of the Reconquest". He is also a linguist (English, French and Spanish), having studied and taught at the Interpreters' School of Geneva University.