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Liberal International Delegation: 15 June 2015

Dr. Juli Minoves Triquell, LI President (Andorra)

Dr. Minoves was born on 15 August 1969 in Andorra la Vella,

Andorra. He holds a PhD from Yale University and a Masters
of Philosophy in Political Science (Comparative Politics,
Political Philosophy and Political Economy). He was elected
th
as President of Liberal International at LIs 59 Congress in
Rotterdam, the Netherlands in April 2014. He served as a
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Andorra from April 12, 2001 till
May 7, 2007. From December 2007 until May 2009 he served
as a Minister of Public Affairs, Economic Development,
Tourism, and Culture.

Prior to his ministerial positions, Dr. Minoves served as

Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Andorra to the
United Nations, United States of America, Canada, the United
Kingdom, Spain, Switzerland, Finland, and the World Trade Organization.

Dr. Minoves is currently an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of La Verne in
Southern California. He speaks Catalan, French, Spanish, English, Italian, German and Portuguese.

Markus Lning, LI Vice-President & Chair of LI Human Rights Committee (Germany)

Markus Lning is the former German Federal Commissioner for

Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid. He was elected as
th
a Vice-President of the Liberal International Bureau at the 58
Congress in Abidjan, Cote dIvoire and recently re-elected to the
th
same position at the 59 LI Congress in Rotterdam, the
Netherlands. The focal points of Commissioner Lnings human
rights work are death penalty issues, expression and press
freedom, and protection of human rights defenders and
minorities rights. Regionally, the Commissioner has been
primarily concerned with the human rights situation in Eastern
Europe, China, South Caucasus, Central Asia, North Africa,
Turkey and Myanmar. Most recently, he campaigned as part of
the establishment of refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon to support the refugees from the conflict
in Syria. As a member of the German Bundestag he started focusing on European and development
policy matters. From 2005 to 2011 Mr. Lning was Vice President of the ALDE Party. He holds a
Bachelors degree in political science from the University of Kent at Canterbury and a Master of Arts
degree from the Ruprecht-Karls-University of Heidelberg

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LI Human Rights Committee Members

Tamara van Ark - Member of Parliament, VVD (The Netherlands)

Tamara van Ark is a Member of Parliament and Vice-Chair of the

parliamentary group of the People's Party for Freedom and
Democracy (VVD) in the Netherlands. She is the spokesperson of
emancipation, gay emancipation and equal treatment. She has a
wealth of experience in the international arena and is the driving
force behind the ALDE network Liberals 4 Equality. She was
an alderwoman of the former municipality of Nieuwerkerk aan den
IJssel from 2004 to 2010 and also and alderwoman of its
successor the municipality of Zuidplas in 2010.Van Ark
studied public administration at Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Naomi Blumenthal Leader of Party, Israeli Liberal Group (Israel)

Naomi Blumenthal graduated from Bar-Ilan University, and was elected

to the Knesset in 1992. She was re-elected in 1996 and 1999, and
appointed Deputy Minister of National Infrastructure in 2001. She
served as chairwoman of the Worldwide Likud Movement between
2001 and 2002, and stepped down from the cabinet in 2003. She is
also a former chairwoman of the Political Centre Israel Womens
Network, and was a member of the Israeli delegation to the UN
Conference on the Status of Women several times between 1989 and
1995.

Frank van Dalen - Chair of LI Working Group on LGBTI Rights, VVD (The Netherlands)

Frank van Dalen became involved with LGBT-themes in 1997. The Gay Games of 1998 were in need
of sponsorship but sponsors were reluctant in openly supporting the
event. A media campaign about gay advertising led by van Dalen
opened the doors towards financial support. In 2005 van Dalen
became president of the Dutch world oldest still existing LGBT-
movement, COC Netherlands. He launched a new mission, the third
phase of LGBT-emancipation, revitalizing the LGBT-cause in the
Netherlands, which became extremely successful. In 2007 van
Dalen also became president of gay pride-organizer ProGay. He set
a new strategy focusing on broadening the audience and deepening
the event agenda. Since that time he has been involved in many
LGBT-focused programs and initiatives in Amsterdam. Over the past

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years both as politician as well as an activist van Dalen visited many countries to give local support to
LGBT-causes, such as Poland, Lithuania, Turkey, and Macedonia. He is a regular workshop and
conference speaker.

Dr. Fouzia El Bayed - Member of Parliament, Union Constitutionelle (Morocco)

Dr. Fouzia El Bayed is a Member of Parliament from the

Constitutional Union Party in Morocco. She sits on the Human
Rights Committee in the House of Representatives and is also a
Member of the Commission on Human Rights at the Council of
Europe. El Bayed is the founder of the Network of Parliamentarians
against the death penalty and has written extensively about the
need for prison reform in Morocco. She is also a strong advocate
for the rights of women, minorities, refugees and migrants. El
Bayed holds a PhD in Cultural Anthropology and degrees in in
public law and sociology.

Satka Hajdarpasic International Officer, Liberal Party of Montenegro (Montenegro)

Satka Hajdarpasic is the Vice-President of the Liberal Party of Montenegro in charge of international
relations, human rights and youth. She is also the Acting
Director of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Montenegro.

Satka is a graduate of the Institute of Foreign Languages in

Montenegro and a specialist interpreter. She served as an
international officer of the Liberal Youth of Montenegro from
2004 to 2009. She has also served as a National Consultant
in the field of mediation and legal aid at the United Nations
Development Programme (2010-2013) and has worked in
the Immediate Office of The Prosecutor in the Tribunal for
the Former Yugoslavia as part of the project for young
professionals from the states of the former Yugoslavia funded by the European Commission (2011-
2012). Prior to this Satka held a position as a teacher in English and Music (2002-2010)

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Boris van der Ham Director of the Dutch Humanist Union, D66 (The Netherlands)

Boris van der Ham has dedicated a large part of his professional life to the fight for human rights and
equal opportunities. During his time in office as a well-respected
parliamentarian for D66, Mr. Van der Ham drafted several bills, including
one that abolishes the ban on blasphemy and one that requires equal
treatment for the handicapped as well as for gays and lesbians. He was
also a spokesman on among others education and freedom of speech.
After Mr. Van der Ham chose to take a break from party politics he
continued his dedication to individual liberty, in publishing and as President
of the Dutch Humanist Alliance.

Van der Ham studied history at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences

before being admitted to Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts. After
graduation he worked as an actor for various theater groups. Van der Ham
was a member of the Young Democrats from age 15. From 1998 to 2000
he was their chairman.

In May 2002 Mr. Van der Ham was elected as Member of Parliament. He was re-elected in 2003,
2006 and 2010 with preferential votes. He drafted several bills for equal rights, for abolishing the ban
on blasphemy in the Dutch Law, reform a ban on shopping on Sundays and a reform of the formation
of the government. In November 2006 he also became Vice-Parliamentary group leader. In 2007 he
wrote a book "In the front row" (Voortrekkers en Baanbrekers) about the role of the Netherlands in the
European Union after the referendum of 2005. In 2012 he published a book "The Morality of
Freedom" ("De Vrije Moraal") about the history and dilemmas of permissive societies.

Ilhan Kyuchyuk Member of the European Parliament, Movement for Rights and Freedom (Bulgaria)

Mr. Kyuchyuk was born in 1985 in the city of Sevlievo, Bulgaria and has been a Member of the
European Parliament from the Group of the Alliance of Liberals
and Democrats for Europe since May 2014. In this capacity he
is a Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the
Delegation for relations with the Maghreb countries and the
Arab Maghreb Union and substitute member of the Committee
on Culture and Education and the Delegation for relations with
the United States. Mr. Kyuchyuk is a President of the youth
organization of the Movements for Rights and Freedoms
(MRF) and member of the Bureau of the Party. He has spent
his entire life protecting human rights and minorities in
Bulgaria, fighting against discrimination and violence, and
promoting freedom of religion and LGBTI Rights.

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Lilli Loebsack, Criminal Lawyer, German Group of Liberal International (Germany)

Lilli Lbsack began her legal career in 1972 as a prosecutor with

the District Court in Berlin after studying in Heidelberg and Berlin
and conducting a clerkship in Berlin, Speyer and Schleswig. From
1978 -1981 she was head of the judiciary press office and
spokeswoman for the Senator for Justice. From 1981 to 1984 she
studied constitutional law at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in
Brazil. The study appeared in 2012 in a revised edition in the series
of "German-Brazilian Lawyers Association" at Shaker Verlag. From
1984 to 1988 she was a Representative of the FNF- Foundation in
Buenos Aires and Manila, Head of Department at the Society for
Technical Cooperation (GTZ) in Eschborn (1989-1993) and
Deputy Managing Director of the German Development Service
(DED) in Bonn (1993-2006). In 2007 she was awarded the Federal
Cross of Merit. She has been a criminal lawyer since 2009.

Stevens Mokgalapa, Member of Parliament, Democratic Alliance (South Africa)

Stevens Mokgalapa was born in Tshwane, Gauteng Province, South Africa. After attending
Motsemogolo Primary and Kgolaganyo Middle School, Stevens Matriculated at Mabopane High
School.He studied Political Science at the University of Pretoria and achieved Honours in
International Relations.He served the City of Tshwane Metro for
nearly 9 years both as Ward and PR Councillor. Stevens joined the
DP in 1999 as a Regional Executive Member, advancing to Branch
Chairperson of the CBD branch and later Township Strategy
Coordinator Member. His career also afforded him the opportunity to
serve as Deputy Caucus Chairperson, Caucus Strategic Member,
and Inner Regeneration Spokesperson.

Stevens further holds the position of board member of a sec 21

company for urban regeneration in his constituency and is a founder
member of sector policing.

He works for the community as a: social welfare organizations

coordinator, cleaning campaign as well as drug and alcohol abuse
coordinator and is also a development advisor. Stevens currently
serves the DA as Shadow Minister of Human Settlements. He is
married to Pearl and they have a daughter named Rorisang.

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Other Participants

Dr. Wan Azizah Member of Parliament, Peoples Justice Party (Malaysia)

The Honorable Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. She is
currently the President of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People's
Justice Party) as well as a Member of Parliament (Permatang
Pauh) and the first female Opposition Leader of Dewan
Rakyat, the lower house of the Malaysian Federal Parliament
in Malaysian history and a Selangor state assembly person for
Kajang.

Following the dismissal and arrest of her husband on 20

September 1998, Dr. Wan Azizah earned the respect and
admiration of many Malaysians as the leader of the fledgling
Reformasi movement. She first led the Social Justice Movement (ADIL), a civil rights NGO, before
helping to establish Parti Keadilan Nasional on 4 April 1999. The establishment of the party saw Dr.
Wan Azizah being elected as the first party president.

As a political party leader, state assemblyperson and a member of parliament, Dr. Wan Azizah is
involved in many programs and activities domestically and internationally. She is also the Vice-Chair
of the Malaysian Parliamentary Caucus for Democracy in Myanmar and a member of the ASEAN
Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus.

Modou Diagne Fada Former Minister of Health and Prevention, PDS (Senegal)

Modou Diagne Fada is a former Minister of Health and Prevention for

Senegal. Before his appointment as Minister in 2009, he has been an MP for
the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), and Minister for the Environment
and the Protection of Nature (2002 to 2005) and Minister of Youth,
Environment and Public Hygiene (2001 to 2002).

Hsiao Leung Gooi Member of Parliament, Peoples Justice Party (Malaysia)

Mr. Hsaio Leung Gooi is a Malaysian Member of Parliament for

Alor Setar. He serves as a Peoples Justice Party Supreme Council
Member and as the International Bureau Chief. Mr. Gooi graduated
from the University of Londons School of Oriental & African
Studies in 1994. He is also a practicing lawyer, having been called
to the UK Bar at Lincolns Inn in 1995 as a Barrister.

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Khodor Habib Member of Parliament, Future Movement Party (Lebanon)

Mr. Habib is a Member of the Lebanese Parliament representing the Future Movement Party (Al-
Mustaqbal) and has previously served as an Ambassador of Lebanon to the Republic of Guinea
(2006-2008). He has a bachelors degree in international
business management from the Central State University of
Oklahoma in the United States of America. He is the owner
of H.P.C: a company for import, export and distribution of
oil derivatives and H.P.C.C: a company for contracting and
construction in Tripoli. He served as a member of the
Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce and
Industry in Tripoli and the north from 1995 to 2006. He is
currently a Member of the Lebanese Chambers Federation
and the Lebanese American Commerce Chamber. He is
fluent in Arabic and English and French.

Hillel Neuer Executive Director of UN Watch (Canada)

Hillel C. Neuer is the executive director of UN Watch, a human

rights NGO in Geneva, Switzerland. Mr. Neuer appears regularly
before the United Nations Human Rights Council, intervening for
the victims of Darfur, the rights of women, political prisoners in
China, Russia and Zimbabwe and the cause of Middle East peace.
Mr. Neuer has been quoted as an expert on U.N. and human rights
issues by the New York Times, Die Welt, Le Figaro and Reuters,
and has appeared on CNN, BBC, and Al Jazeera. U.S. Maariv
newspaper recently named Neuer to its list of the Top 100 Most
Influential Jewish People in the World. Mr. Neuer taught
international human rights at the Geneva School of Diplomacy, and
in 2008 was elected Vice-President of the Conference of NGOs'
Special Committee on Human Rights in Geneva, on which he
served until 2011. Since 2009, Neuer has represented 25 human
rights groups as chair of the annual Geneva Summit for Humans Rights and Democracy. Prior to
joining UN Watch, Neuer practiced commercial and civil rights litigation at the international law firm of
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP as well as multiple human rights cases. Originally from
Montreal, Neuer served as a law clerk for Justice Itzhak Zamir at the Supreme Court of Israel. He
holds a B.A. in Political Science and Western Society and Culture from Concordia University, a B.C.L.
and LL.B. from the McGill University Faculty of Law, and a LL.M. in comparative constitutional law
from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Neuer is a member of the New York Bar and the author of
several legal publications.

Judith Pallars Corts Member of Parliament, Liberal Party of Andorra (Andorra)

Originally born in Barcelona, Mrs. Pallars is an Andorran Politician

and member of the Andorran Liberal Party (PLA) since 2001. She
has been a member of the Andorran parliament since March 2015.
She has also served as International Secretary for the PLA bureau
since 2011. Prior to her parliamentary position, she worked as one
of the liberal city councillors in her town of la Massana from

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December 2003 to December of 2007. Pallars recently received a degree in Political Sciences from
the Faculty of Law of University of Barcelona.

Marta Pascal Member of Parliament, Convergncia Democrtica de Catalunya (Catalonia,Spain)

Marta Pascal was born in Catalonia, April 1983. She earned a degree in
Political Science and a degree in Contemporary History as well as
participated in a leadership program for public sector management at
IESE Business School University of Navarra (2014).She worked as
Head of the Education area at the City Council of Vic (2008-2011).
During the period 2011-2013 she worked as an advisor of Education
policy to the Ministry of Education, Generalitat de Catalunya. Ms. Pascal
served as President of the youth political organisation Joventut
Nacionalista de Catalunya (JNC) between 2012-2015 and was
previously Vice-President (2010-2012), as well as the Head of the
Education Committee for the Government of Catalonia (2008-2010).
She has been a member of Convergncia Democrtica de Catalunya
Bureau since 2010 and was recently selected as a 2015-2016 Marshall
Memorial Fellow by the German Marshall Fund.

Kasit Piromya Vice-President on LI Bureau, Democrat Party (Thailand)

Mr. Kasit Piromya is Vice-President on the LI Bureau and is a

former Foreign Minister of Thailand and former Ambassador to the
United Nations, United States, Brussels and the former Soviet
Union. He is a politician for LI full member Democratic Party
(Thailand). He was the Director General of the International
Organisation Department, where he was one of the key players in
drafting the Comprehensive Plan of Action for Vietnamese boat
people. He also chaired the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in
Phuket, 2009.

Friso Rip International Officer, VVD (The Netherlands)

Friso Rip is international officer and international program

manager for VVD, the ruling party of the Netherlands. He
executes the VVD Political Party Development Program in the
Arab World, The Caucasus and Eastern Europe. He is VVD
liaison for Liberal International, the leading global federation for
liberal organizations. In that capacity, he is responsible for
maintaining relations with liberal organizations around the
globe. Mr. Rip graduated in European Studies (Bachelor) and
Middle Eastern Studies (Master) at the University of Amsterdam.
Additionally, he took courses at the London School of
Economics, University of Damascus and McGill University,
Montreal.

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Leon Saltiel Deputy Director of UN Watch (Greece)

Leon Saltiel is deputy director of Geneva-based UN Watch, where he

is responsible for outreach and advocacy on UN human rights issues.
Recently, he organized the 7th Geneva Summit for Human Rights and
Democracy, an annual conference sponsored by a coalition of 20
human rights NGOs from around the world. Projects initiated by Saltiel
include a campaign to freeze the assets of the North Korean regime in
Swiss banks and a civil society statement in support of free speech.
Saltiel recently served as Vice-President of the NGO Committee on
Human Rights in Geneva and often lectures to civil society and
student groups. He was a Fulbright Scholar at Georgetown University,
earning a Masters of Science in Foreign Service degree, and holds a
B.A. in international relations from the University of Macedonia in
Thessaloniki, Greece. He is currently working on a PhD in Modern
Greek history.

Baroness Margaret de Vos van Steenwijk President of INLW, VVD (The Netherlands)

Baroness de Vos van Steenwijk is the President of the

International Network of Liberal Women as well as an
active member of the VVD Liberal Womens Network and
VVD Party Committee Foreign Policy and Development
Aid. She previously held various diplomatic positions at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands. The
Baroness holds a bachelors degree from Universit de
Lausanne and completed a post doctorate program in
International Relations from the Graduate Institute for
International Studies in Geneva.

Elizabeth Wong - Peoples Justice Party (Malaysia)

Hon. Elizabeth Keat Wong is the State Minister of the Selangor State
Government, in charge of Tourism, Environment, Green Technology and
Consumer Affairs since 2008. During her term, she had introduced a 25-
year moratorium on logging in the state of Selangor and tabled the first
Freedom of Information law in Malaysia.

She is a member of the Peoples Justice Party since 2004 and the Central
Leadership Council. Prior to her involvement in electoral politics in 2008,
she was the Secretary-General of the National Human Rights Society and
the Secretariat member of the leading human rights NGO, SUARAM.
Wong had previously worked with trade unions and social justice NGOs in
the region including as the Research, Advocacy and Lobbying head of a
leading Nepal NGO Rural Reconstruction Nepal.

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LI Secretariat

Tamara Dancheva Head of Human Rights Programme (Bulgaria)

Ms. Dancheva has served as the Head of LI Human Rights Programme

since 2011. The program operates based on a renewable three year
project cycle and currently focuses on the advancement and promotion
of womens rights, LGBTI rights, responsibility to protect principle, and
freedom of belief. She is tasked with all organization, planning, and
day-to-day work pertaining to the programme and its Human Rights
Committee and Working Groups. Ms. Dancheva holds a Masters
Degree in Politics and Government in the European Union from the
London School of Economics and a Bachelors Degree in International
Business from Rockhurst University, Kansas City, MO, USA.

Email address: tamara@liberal-international.org

William Townsend Communications and Political Projects Adviser (United Kingdom)

Mr. Townsend has served as the Communications and Political

Adviser since 2013. He is responsible for all of Liberal
Internationals communication towards conventional and online
media, and produces LIs public relations material. Prior to joining
LI, William worked for the Royal Africa Society and Liberal
Democrats. He has a Masters Degree in conflict, security, and
development from Kings College, London.

Email address: wiliam@liberal-international.org

Robert Wintraecken Political Advisor (The Netherlands)

Mr. Wintraecken has served as the Political Advisor since 2012. He is in

charge of all political issues, the content of statutory events including
Bureau Meetings, Executive Committee Meetings, Congresses, and
Study Visits, and issues relating to current (and potential future) members
and co-operating organizations and partners. Mr. Wintraecken holds a
Bachelors Degree in Political History and International Relations from
Utrecht University.

Email address: robert@liberal-international.org

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