Her objectivity and experience were recognised in the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), where she was active since its inception and was elected first Vice-Chair. Through her work, Ms. Puhar contributes to consolidating ECRI as a key body of the Council of Europe.

She has been at the heart of the United Kingdom’s efforts to advance the rights of women and girls around the world. Ending gender-based violence is core to those endeavours. She played a leading role in the United Kingdom’s ratification of the Istanbul Convention.

As the Executive Director of the European Wergeland Centre (EWC), since the very beginning in 2008, she has contributed significantly to education for intercultural understanding, human rights, and democratic citizenship.

She has been key to the reform of the criminal justice system in Moldova and served as a member of the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture. She conducted numerous monitoring visits in police and prison establishments across the European region. 

As Judge and Vice-President of the European Court of Human Rights, a member of the Venice Commission, and Judge at the Constitutional Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina, she actively engaged in strengthening rule of law and human rights, and building bridges between East and West.

She was the first female Permanent Representative of Finland to the Council of Europe where she served from 2002 to 2007. She played an instrumental role in advancing the Istanbul Convention and contributed substantially to the promotion of the rights of the Roma and travellers.

In her role as Jurisconsult of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), she is dedicated to facilitating universal access to the invaluable body of Convention case-law. She led the development of the Court’s Knowledge Sharing platform, which has revolutionised access to, and the impact of, the Convention.

As President of the Conference of International NGOs of the Council of Europe, from 2015 to 2021, she significantly increased the dialogue with civil society and public authorities. She started a programme to exchange views on national NGOs’ role in public decision-making processes.

The second woman to hold this position, she presided over the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from 2014-2016. Her term saw many initiatives to strengthen cooperation between Member States and promote women's rights. At the end of her presidency, she was Ambassador for the No Hate Speech movement.

A doctor of law and lawyer at the Versailles bar, Ms. Nègre is a campaigner for women's rights, who has led a major campaign on behalf of European women. She has filed 15 collective claims on equal pay and equal opportunities for women in the workplace.

In 1973, as the Swedish Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe delegate, she initiated a motion urging Member States to abolish the death penalty. Her work led to the adoption of the sixth protocol to the European Convention of Human Rights prohibiting capital punishment, which became a precondition for Council of Europe membership.

The first woman to be elected Secretary General of the Council of Europe, a post she held from 1989 to 1994, Catherine Lalumière was also a Member of Parliament and Minister in France and Vice-President of the European Parliament. She is the Honorary President of the Maison de l'Europe in Paris. She is the President of the Fondation Pierre et Catherine Lalumière, which she founded in 2021.

As the Ambassador of Moldova to the Council of Europe, she advanced the anti-trafficking and human rights agenda and enabled the creation of the platform of cooperation with IT companies and the prioritisation of Artificial Intelligence with the Ad hoc Committee on AI (CAHAI).

Her long involvement in the language work of the Council of Europe played an important part in the creation of the European Centre for Modern Languages in 1994 in Graz. Presently, 36 States have joined this unique Enlarged Partial Agreement of the Council of Europe.

Her commitment to work on human rights, the rule of law and constitutional justice enabled Lithuania to effectively implement the standards of the Council of Europe, including the protection of women and the LGBTI person’s rights. She also actively supported the ratification of the Istanbul Convention.

Elected Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in 2021, she became the first woman to hold this post. Promoting gender equality has been one of her key priorities. Thanks, in part, to procedural changes introduced during her tenure, the Assembly is now approaching gender parity.

Since her first appearance in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in 2000, she has fulfilled various prominent roles, including serving as Vice-President of the Assembly, Chairperson of the Greek delegation to the Assembly and Chairperson of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy.

She was the first woman to hold the post of Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe. Her tireless efforts in promoting freedom of expression and media pluralism, ensuring journalists’ protection and combatting hate speech, earned her recognition globally.

She has always had a strong commitment to environmental issues and the defence of women’s rights. She presides over the Network of Contact Parliamentarians for a healthy environment and is a member of the Parliamentary Network Women Free from Violence. She is current the Chair of the Portuguese delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

As the United Kingdom’s first female Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe, she led a successful initiative to strengthen the selection procedure for Secretaries General. During the United Kingdom’s chairmanship she chaired negotiations leading to Protocols 15 and 16 of the European Court of Human Rights.

She was the first female ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany when she headed the Representation to the Council of Europe. She was thus a pioneer for an equal foreign policy, in which diplomacy is not just a ‘man’s job’.

The first woman Chair of the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism, she contributed to the negotiations and adoption of its Strategy for 2023-2027. She promoted the Council of Europe’s work in preventing and combating money laundering and terrorism financing at the global and European level.

She is a well-known scientist, university professor, and a world-renowned expert on deadly prion diseases, such as the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Ms Mitrová was also a diplomat and the first female Ambassador of the Slovak Republic in 1993, when she became the first Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic to the Council of Europe.

Known as an advocate for women’s rights and gender equality, she was one of the key players in the negotiation process for the drafting, entry into force and implementation of the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention. She served as Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women from 2003 to 2005.

She is a member of the Irish Senate and of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. She prepared the report “The Reykjavik Summit of the Council of Europe: United around values in the face of extraordinary challenges,” setting out the Assembly’s proposals for the historic Council of Europe’s fourth Summit.

She is the former Vice-President of the European Court of Human Rights, a tireless advocate of human rights and an inspiration to us all. Her contribution to the influence of the European Convention on Human Rights has been extraordinary.

Elected Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe in 2012 and re-elected in 2015, she has ensured that the Organisation’s activities have maximum impact in advancing democracy, human rights and the rule of law in its Member States.

Austrian politician committed to promoting democracy and citizen participation at local level, she was elected as the first female President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe in October 2016.

She is a lawyer, human rights defender, and academic teacher. Ms. Machińska is active in Poland, where she was the first director of the Council of Europe office in Warsaw (1991-2007), and co-organised the Third Summit of the Council of Europe. Recently, she finished her mandate as Deputy Ombudsman in Poland.

She is a politician, lawyer, diplomat, university professor, and one of the first female representatives of Poland to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. She has also been a member and vice-chair of the Venice Commission, of which she is Honorary President since 2016.

Much of Severinsen’s distinguished political career has been devoted to the promotion of liberal democracy in Europe. She was the Rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for Ukraine from 1995 to 2008. Her passion for democracy has led to her involvement in promoting reforms in Ukraine.

She served as the Swiss judge at the European Court of Human Rights. She has frequently appeared as an expert before the Council of Europe and served the Court as a judge with an unwavering commitment to upholding human rights and the rule of law.

A lawyer and politician, she was a member of the Danish Parliament (1950-1971) and distinguished herself as an advocate of prison and penal reform and the promotion of the legal status of women. She was the first woman judge on the European Court of Human Rights (1971).

Following the Principality's accession to the Council of Europe on 5 October 2004, she became the first judge elected in respect of Monaco to the European Court of Human Rights. Her commitment to fundamental rights led her to be appointed Section President by her peers in 2012.

She was a member of the French Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for more than 25 years. During this time, she prepared an impressive number of reports, focusing, in particular, on strengthening co-operation with the Maghreb and on the evaluation of the partnership for democracy.

She started as a young lawyer at the meetings of the European Committee on Legal Co-Operation. In 2006, she was ad hoc judge at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and, four years later, elected as a judge at the ECHR where she served until 2020. She was the first female president of the Consultative Council of European Judges of the Council of Europe.

She was the first Permanent Representative of Estonia to the Council of Europe in the years 1995-1999. Her role in representing her own country and helping other countries to become members of the Council of Europe cannot be underestimated.

She has actively implemented the European Court of Human Rights’ case law in her capacity as a judge of the Supreme Administrative Court and the Constitutional Court, as well as a Czech academic. She served in the Venice Commission and is now the first Czech female judge of the European Court of Human Rights.

As the Ukrainian Government Commissioner for Gender Policy and a member of the Council of Europe’s Gender Equality Commission (GEC), she contributed significantly to Ukraine’s ratification of the Istanbul Convention in 2022 amidst the challenges posed by the war and escalating violence against women.

Gender equality is and has been one of the priorities of her government. She has initiated legal amendments and put in place policies to implement and enforce various Council of Europe agreements and recommendations, e.g. in relation to the Istanbul Convention and the recommendation on combating hate speech from 2022.

Chair of the drafting group for the 2022 Council of Europe Recommendation on Human Rights and the Protection of the Environment. She chaired the Steering Committee for Human Rights, which was the first Committee to replace “droits de l’homme” with “droits humains” in French language documents.

She was the first female Permanent Representative of Lithuania to the Council of Europe, and successfully served as the Chair of the Rapporteur group Democracy for two years. During her tenure, Ms. Jurevičienė actively promoted the creation of a Group on the Safety of Journalists, which she held close to her heart.

She was the first woman to become President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in 1996. In 1997, she represented the Assembly at the Second Council of Europe’s Summit, which she co-presided with Jacques Chirac, President of France, and Daniel Tarschys, Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

In her different roles in the Council of Europe, she contributed to advancing human rights, including social rights, and the rule of law. In her role as Special Representative of the Secretary General on migration and refugees, she was committed to promoting standards and tools to protect those in vulnerable situations.

As President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe between 2018 and 2020, she put her energies into strengthening activities in key areas: joint procedures with the Committee of Ministers, anti-corruption, zero tolerance of harassment, promotion of gender equality.

As a Dutch Member of Parliament, she was among the Dutch parliamentary delegation that attended the inaugural meeting of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe in August 1949. Scientist and teacher, she was active in the Dutch resistance during the Second World War.

She served as a member of the House of Commons between 1945 and 1970. As a member of the delegation of the United Kingdom to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, she participated in the Assembly’s very first session in 1949. She was the first and only woman representative accredited to this session.

The Netherlands’ first female Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe (1956-1963), Maria Witteveen, was also the first Dutch female ambassador. Having taken many steps to ground the Dutch presence in Strasbourg, her story also shows the impediments women had to overcome at the time.

She has served the European Convention on Human Rights’ system for more than three decades. In September 2020, she was elected Registrar by the Judges of the European Court of Human Rights and is the first-ever woman to hold this position. She hopes that many more will follow.

She is the first woman doctor on the GREVIO monitoring group. Convinced that committed women make history, she continues her commitment to this Group, which she sees as one of the best places to fight for the right to a life free of violence, for all women.

Elected to be the Secretary General of the Council of Europe from 2019 to 2024, she led the Organisation during challenging times and put it at the centre of Europe’s political landscape. She is currently only the second female to have held that role.

As an international human rights lawyer, she contributed to standard-setting initiatives in the Council of Europe, including the Additional Protocol 6 to the European Convention on Human Rights on the Abolition of the Death Penalty and the Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.

She was a pioneer in her time, being one of the first Spanish women to enter the diplomatic career, in 1973. She contributed to the work of the Council of Europe in her capacity as Deputy Permanent Representative and as Permanent Representative of Spain between 2007 and 2011.

Lady Arden was the first female judge of the High Court of Justice Chancery Division. She identified the relationship between national and European Court of Human Rights judges as key to implementing the Convention. This led to meetings, which became the norm for this shared responsibility for safeguarding Convention rights.

She is the first woman President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Her contribution to the work of the Council of Europe spans over three decades and can be seen at both domestic and international level.

She was the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe from 2002 until 2012, during which she dedicated herself to the prevention of violence against women, domestic violence, and human trafficking, and to the protection of the rights of children.

She developed and deepened the cooperation between the European Union and the Council of Europe, with a focus on open dialogue, exchange of good practices, synergies and involvement of candidate countries, as well as young people.

She was elected as first chair of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Committee on Equality, the first ever body of the Assembly dedicated to equality issues. She continued her fight for the establishment of a full Committee, achieved a year later.

Her work at the European Court of Human Rights and different positions at the Council of Europe since 1997, when Croatia joined the Council of Europe, show her commitment to the rule of law and human rights protection. Ms. Vajić is the current Chair of the Administrative Tribunal of the Council of Europe.

She is a Mexican activist who promoted the creation of a law against digital harassment in Mexico. She is the founder of a non-profit organisation called Frente Nacional para la Sororidad. Ms. Coral Melo is inspired by the Council of Europe’s work on the digital dimension of violence against women.

Active in the Committee responsible for negotiating and drafting the Convention on Money Laundering, Search, Seizure, and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and Financing of Terrorism (CETS 198) which entered into force on 1 May 2008. In 2023, she was elected as the President of the Conference of the Parties to CETS 198.

As the current Finnish judge at the European Court of Human Rights and former President of the Supreme Court of Finland, she has been proactive in promoting awareness regarding fundamental rights and human rights both in national and European judicial systems.

She is the third female European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM) Director, embodying a 30-year tradition of women leaders. She strives to establish the EDQM as an internationally recognised organisation active in many sectors of public health protection in Europe and beyond.

She is one of the leading European experts in the field of diversity management through minority rights, serving on the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, twice elected as President. She has been actively promoting Council of Europe norms across member states and in other international institutions.

She was a Norwegian politician of the Labour Party, and became Minister of Social Affairs of Norway from 1953 to 1955. She was one of the first ten women members of the Parliamentary Assembly accredited in 1949.

She took the lead as Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Rapporteur on the abolition of the death penalty. Europe is death penalty-free, but too many countries still impose the death penalty. Wohlwend advocates that the Council of Europe has a role to play on this.

Síofra O’Leary served as the 17th President of the European Court of Human Rights and was the first female Judge to be elected to this position. She devoted her Presidency to seeking the provision of sustainable resources for the Court, increasing judicial output and rolling out necessary procedural reforms.

She is the Founder and President of the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence, a non-governmental organisation which aims to educate young Serbian politicians, Members of Parliament and party leaders, in order to facilitate Serbia’s transition toward democracy and European Union membership.

Her commitment as General Rapporteur on children in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) enabled Cyprus’ ratification of the Lanzarote Convention in 2014. As a staunch defender of human rights, she was rapporteur on numerous reports on the rights of women, children, and patients. In 2017, she was elected PACE President.

She has devoted almost her entire diplomatic career to working on Council of Europe issues, making her one of the most prominent Council of Europe experts in her country. She is known for her strong commitment to the values and standards of the Organisation and advocates for full implementation at the national level.

Former president of Finland, she functioned as a Deputy-Chair of the Finnish Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly during 1991–1995. At her initiative, a monitoring system known as the "Halonen Order” was established within the Council of Europe.

Her work in the Council of Europe over several decades focused particularly on the rule of law and protection of human rights. Her dedication to leading negotiations with the European Union regarding its accession to the European Convention of Human Rights, and participation in the negotiations regarding access to documents (Tromsø Convention), is noteworthy.

She directed the Council of Europe's country-specific cooperation programme from 2012 to 2022. Through her leadership, these programmes evolved into the “third sector” of Council of Europe activities, complementing standard setting and monitoring.

For over 25 years, Vesna Crnić-Grotić has continuously shaped the monitoring process of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. As Chair and Member of its Committee of Experts since its beginning, she contributed to the protection and promotion of minority languages in Europe.

The world's first democratically elected female president, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, left an indelible mark on human rights. During her presidency (1980 to 1996), she championed equality and women's rights, paving the way for future generations of female leaders. The Vigdís Prize for Women's Empowerment rewards outstanding initiatives, which promote the empowerment of women in all their diversity.