Ex President Olusegun Obasanjo Appointed Chairman of World Ex-Presidents

Nigeria’s former President, Chief Mathew Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo has added another feather to his big cap as he was appointed as the co-chairman of the InterAction Council of former Heads of State and Government, IAC.

                                                                                   This appointment was announced during the 32nd annual plenary meeting of the Council held at Newport, United Kingdom on Friday.

Obasanjo was a founding member of the InterAction Council,and took time off for the years when he became President in 1999 till 2007, when he completed his two terms.

The former Chairman,Board of Trustees,BoT of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has governed Nigeria both as the Head of a military administration between 1976- 1979 and again as a democratically elected executive President between 1999 – 2007.

Obasanjo is the first African member to assume the chairmanship position since the establishment of the Council over thirty years ago.

“I am humbled to have been elected as co- chair of the InterAction Council,a position that has been held by some of my great friends,who were also my mentors over the years”, Obasanjo said after his appointment.

“Helmut Schmidt of Germany and the Late Malcolm Fraser of Australia and also to serve alongside my longtime friend, Jean Cheritien,the former Prime Minister of Canada.

“We will continue the Council’s important work but also look at some issues that are of particular concern to me,like youth engagement and employment. Africa has many problems but also great opportunities and the InterAction Council will look at both”,he said.

Obasanjo takes over as co-chair from Franz Vrasutzky,the former Chancellor of Austria between 1986 to 1997,who became co-chair from July 1,2010 till yesterday.

The InterAction Council of former Heads of State and Government was established in 1983 and it is an international organisation,whose objective is to address political,economic and social problems confronting humankind.

The Council membership is comprised of more than thirty former Heads of State,who jointly develop proposals for action and submit them directly to national and international decision makers.

In the Council’s 32 years history, the IAC had been at the forefront of many prominent issues,most notably,the 1997 drafting of the universal declaration of Human responsibilities,a document that counter balances the United Nations universal declaration of Human right;the 2010 Hiroshima declaration,a powerful plea for the abolishment of nuclear weapons and the 2012 report,The Global Water crisis:Addressing an urgent security issue.

Past and present

(1)     Helmut Schmidt of Germany
(2)     Malcolm Fraser of Australia
(3)    Jean Chretien of Canada
(4)     Franz Vranitzky of Australia
(5)     Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria.