St Petersburg/Geneva, 2 July 2004 – Arne Wessberg, the director-general of the Finnish public service broadcaster, has been re-elected as president of the European Broadcasting Union for a new two-year term of office, from 1 September 2004 to 31 August 2006.
Arne Wessberg was re-elected by the delegates of EBU Members at their General Assembly held in St Petersburg this year. ‘I am very proud and pleased at having your support in leading this internationally influential
organization. I hope that EBU Members also enjoy the cooperation that I myself find highly rewarding and beneficial,’ declared Mr Wessberg.
Arne Wessberg, 61, was elected EBU president in July 2000 and re-elected in 2002. He is a former journalist and currently director-general of Yleisradio Oy, the Finnish public service broadcaster. He is also a board member of
Nokia and former chairman of Eurosport.
Vice-presidents
The General Assembly delegates also elected four vice-presidents for a two-year term of office:
* Christopher Baldelli, of FT2 (France)
* Boris Bergant, of RTVSLO (Slovenia)
* Juan Buhigas, of RTVE (Spain),
* Fritz Pleitgen, of ARD/WDR (Germany).
Christopher Baldelli, the director-general of France 2 (FT2), was Michèle Cotta’s successor. Michèle Cotta was also EBU vice-president before him.
Baldelli started his career in 1991 as administrator in the French Senate. In 1996 he joined the Lagardère group where in 1999 he was appointed director-general of the daily La Provence newspaper, then director-general delegate of France 2, before moving into the director-general’s seat in 2002.
He is chairman of the Groupement des radiodiffuseurs français (GRF) and has been a member of the Administrative Council since May 2004.
Boris Bergant, the deputy director-general of RTVSLO (Radiotelevizija Slovenija), has been re-elected vice-president of the EBU for the fourth time. He is a member of the European Institute for the Media, and has been
the secretary general of Circom Regional (European Association of Regional Television) since. He was also previously a journalist.
Juan Buhigas is director of international and institutional affairs at Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE). Juan Buhigas has spent his whole career at RTVE, where he has held the positions of head of human resources, director
of the RTVE president’s secretariat, administrative director, coordinator of the RTVE president’s technical advisory, head of recruitment, head of the Copyright and Branding Department, and legal advisor.
Fritz Pleitgen has been director-general of WDR (Westdeutscher Rundfunk), the largest regional broadcaster in Germany, since 1995. He was also president of ARD (the association of regional German broadcasters) from
January 2001 until 31 December 2002. Fritz Pleitgen joined WDR in 1963 as a reporter. He still makes regular screen appearances.
With its Permanent Services in Geneva, the EBU has 71 active members in 52 countries of Europe and the neighbouring areas. Its activities include running the Eurovision and Euroradio networks, programme exchanges for news, sport and culture, coproductions, promoting technical standards, training, and legal affairs.
For further information, contact:
Patrick Jaquin, Deputy Head of Communications, +41 (0)79 217 09 24
Françoise Davies, EBU Communications Service, +41 (0)22 717 22 04,
press@ebu.ch
Leena Laine-Väisänen, YLE Corporate Communications, +358 9 1480 3534,
leena.laine-vaisanen@yle.fi