Professor Bertil Andersson proposed as next ESF Secretary General

Professor Bertil Andersson (born 1948), Professor in Biochemistry and President of Linköping University, Sweden, is set to become the next Secretary General of the European Science Foundation. The ESF Governing Council has recommended the election of Professor Andersson at the next General Assembly, November 2003, as the successor to Professor Enric Banda, whose term of office runs out by the end of this year.     

Professor Bertil Andersson  made his Ph.D. (1978) in Biochemistry at the University of Lund, Sweden. He spent a post-doctoral period at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Canberra. He was head of the Dept. of Biochemistry (1987-1995), Dean of the Faculty of Chemical Sciences and pro-dean of the Science Faculty, (1996-1999) at the University of Stockholm.

His other appointments include: Member of the Board of the Nobel Foundation, 2000 - ; Member (and chairman) of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry 1989-1997, (1997); Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and President of the chemical section; Member of Academia Europaea, since 1990; and many other scientific bodies. He has been a Visiting Professor at Imperial College, London since 1990.

 Professor Andersson has published a total of 275 papers in photosynthesis research, biological membranes, protein and membrane purification, and light stress in plants. In addition he has served on several Swedish and international research councils. In 1998 he made a comprehensive evaluation of the Swedish participation in the EU Framework Programme 4. He was a member of the ESF High Level Working Group for investigating the case for a European Research Council.

Announcing the recommendation the ESF President and chair of the Governing Council, Reinder Van Duinen comments: “I am confident that we have found a very capable and competent candidate to fill in the post as Secretary General of the ESF.  He will be able to push ESF forward from the high level of success it has gained under the guidance of Professor Enric Banda during the last five years”.

For more Information contact : Mr. Jens Degett

Category: Media Centre, Press Releases 2003