For immediate release                                                                                                19 February 2007

PRESS COMMUNIQUE - COMMUNIQUE PRESSE

JOSÉ LELLO NEW PRESIDENT OF THE

NATO PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

José Lello of Portugal has been appointed to replace Bert Koenders as President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, following Mr Koenders’ selection last week as the Netherlands Minister for Development Cooperation.

Mr. Lello, a member of the Portuguese Parliament since 1983, currently serves as President of the Parliament Management Committee and member of the National Defence Committee. He has been a Secretary of State and a cabinet Minister in the Portuguese government from 1995-2002. He has been Vice President of the NATO PA since 2005.

Bert Koenders had been elected President of the Assembly in November 2006 in Québec, Canada. 

For further information, please contact

 e-mail: Press@nato-pa.int

NATO Parliamentary Assembly

Place du Petit Sablon 3, 1000 Brussels, Belgium

Tél: (32) 2 513 28 65 | Fax: (32) 2 514 18 47 |

website: http:// www.nato-pa.int |

Background

 The NATO Parliamentary Assembly, founded in 1955 with a Brussels-based secretariat,

brings together 248 national parliamentarians from the 26 NATO countries.

In addition, 13 associate delegations from Central and Eastern Europe, Ukraine and Russia;

4 Mediterranean Associate delegations: Morocco, Algeria, Jordan, Israel

and 8 Parliamentary Observer delegations participate in Assembly activities and meetings.