At summit, Transport Ministers elect new head of global transport policy body

The International Transport Forum is a global platform for transport policy issues. It acts as a think tank for member countries and organises an annual summit, at which ministers debate strategic issues of the sector with business leaders, top academics and representatives of civil society. Short has led the organisation and its precursor, the European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT), since 2001.

Spanish Transport Minister José Blanco López announced the decision in Leipzig, Germany, after a vote at the Ministerial session of the 2011 summit. Spain currently holds the rotating presidency of the International Transport Forum.

“I would like to express my congratulations to Ms. Carole Coune on being elected as new Secretary General of the International Transport Forum”, said Minister Blanco López. “I am fully convinced she is going to do a great job in a crucial time for the expansion of this organisation, and would like to offer the full support of Spain all the way through this new period.”

Blanco added: “Of course, we cannot forget the fundamental contribution of the outgoing Secretary General, Mr. Jack Short, whom I wish to thank for his excellent work during his leadership, which will remain as an example of dialogue and professionalism for many years to come.”

The new Secretary General-elect, Ms Carole Coune, said: “I am honoured to be elected Secretary General of the International Transport Forum, an organisation with acknowledged independence and competence. I am certainly looking forward to the challenges ahead in the transport sector which is becoming ever more globalised.”

“Carole Coune is an able leader with broad experience and a profound understanding of the complex issues that transport faces”, said outgoing Secretary General Jack Short. “In her, the International Transport Forum will have a Secretary General who will be able to build on what has been achieved and take forward the evolution of a leading global platform for serious and open dialogue for transport issues of global importance. She will have the asset of working with countries who believe in engaging in such a dialogue, and a superb staff in the secretariat that is truly dedicated to this cause.”

For Germany, which has hosted the International Transport Forum’s annual summits since 2008, Peter Ramsauer, the Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Development, said: “I am convinced that the International Transport Forum will be managed well in new hands, as the transport experts’ platform for discussion and for innovation. Transport concerns all of us – globally. Together we need to develop ideas that promote and shape mobility in intelligent ways. There are great challenges – we only need to think of hot topics like the paradigm change in energy, fuels and alternative drivetrain technologies, and of course the expected growth in traffic until 2050. Germany will be at the forefront of these issues."

Biographical information Carole Coune
Carole Coune earned her stripes with the Belgian National Railway (SNCB), where, amongst others, she was Secretary to the Management Board and led the Department of International Affairs. After several years’ experience in the policy cell of the Belgian Minister for Transport and the Minister for Public Transport respectively, Coune became Director General for Land Transport of the Belgian Ministry of Transport (known as FPS Mobility and Transport) in 2005. In 2008 she became the President of the Management Board of FPS. In this capacity she guided the Ministry through a very successful Presidency of the European Council of the EU. She holds a law degree from the Université de Liège. In her free time Carole Coune enjoys cycling and reading.
 
Biographical information on Jack Short
Jack Short joined the European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) in 1984 and was Deputy Secretary General from 1993 to 2001, when he became Secretary General. Previously he worked for the Ministries of Transport and Finance in Ireland, as well as in transport research. In 2006/7 he played a key role in the transformation of ECMT into the International Transport Forum and shaped its profile as a global, intermodal, open transport policy platform. Mr. Short was educated at University College, Cork, and Trinity College, Dublin, where he obtained Masters Degrees in Mathematics and Statistics. He has also played on the national cricket teams for two countries – Ireland and France – including captaining the French team.

Quelle: OECD