The results of the latest round of ERS Leadership Elections were announced during the 2023 ERS General Assembly meeting, which was held virtually on 20 September. The event was attended by ERS members and senior leaders and offered a platform to recap the last 12 months alongside highlighting the priority areas in the coming year.
The General Assembly is the body responsible for adapting the statutes of the Society, deciding the annual membership fees, reviewing proposed amendments to the ERS Constitution and By-Laws and checking and approving the accounts.
During the meeting the ERS Vice President for the 2023–2024 period was confirmed as Prof. Joanna Chorostowska-Wynimko (Poland). Prof. Chorostowska-Wynimko, who has most recently undertaken the Secretary General role, will now successively become ERS President Elect in 2024/25 and then ERS President in 2025/26.
Five new Assembly Heads will also commence their mandates following the General Assembly. Congratulations to Prof. Sophia E. Schiza (Assembly 4: Sleep disordered breathing), Dr Apostolos Bossios (Assembly 5: Airway diseases, asthma, COPD and chronic cough), Prof. Ane Johannessen (Assembly 6: Epidemiology and environment), Prof. Dr Alexander Möller (Assembly 7: Paediatrics) and Prof. Raquel Duarte (Assembly 10: Respiratory infections). The full list of election results for this period are available on the ERS website. Thank you to all ERS members who took the time to vote in elections this year, and to competing candidates for their participation.
As part of the annual General Assembly activities, ERS members also voted on amendments to the ERS Constitution and By-Laws presented by the Secretary General, Prof. Judith Garcia-Aymerich. Notable amendments, which are now ratified in the constitution following approval by the ERS membership, include:
- The shadowing years as Officers-Elect within the Management Group are considered as regular positions and should not overlap with other mandates.
- ‘Appendix II FERS Terms of Reference V4‘ has been approved as an addition to the ERS By-Laws.
- The staff representative of the Ethics and Integrity Committee has a mandate of three years. This is not renewable.
- The Congress Committee has been dissolved.
- The seven-year service limit on the Executive Committee has been removed.
- A seven-year service limit has been introduced for the Management Group.
To conclude the meeting, Prof. Carlos Robalo Cordeiro, now Past President, officially welcomed Prof. Monika Gappa as ERS President 2023/24. Before stepping aside, Prof. Cordeiro acknowledged the last 12 months as a truly rewarding experience and he thanked the ERS staff, members, officers and the Core Management Group for their support and hard work during his remit.
Prof. Gappa commenced her role by thanking Prof. Cordeiro for leading the society over the past year, acknowledging that it is both an honour and a challenge and she is looking forward to the next 12 months as ERS President. Prof. Gappa noted that she was keen to continue the important initiatives already in progress, such as global advocacy projects, the International Respiratory Coalition, the ERS Respiratory Channel and ERS’s commitment to sustainable developments. She also added that as a paediatric pulmonologist, she aimed to bring her expertise to put into focus childhood and early origins of disease, noting that this area is “relevant to us all”.