Congress president Congress president


Leendert Verbeek (The Netherlands, SOC/G/PD) was elected President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe on 23 March 2021 for a mandate of two years and a half. He is currently the King's Commissioner for the Province of Flevoland in the Netherlands and he had previously held office as President of the Monitoring Committee of the Congress.

Chamber of Local Authorities Chamber of Local Authorities

Bernd Vöhringer,

President of the Chamber of Local Authorities

Bernd Vöhringer (Germany, EPP/CCE) was elected, on 23 March 2021, President of the Chamber of Local Authorities of the Congress, for a two-and-a-half-year term of office.

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President's role President's role

The President's role is to direct the political activities of the Congress and its Chambers, to carry out Congress policy and to represent the Congress vis-à-vis other international organisations, within the context of the Council of Europe's general policy on external relations.

The President of the Congress ensures that decisions taken by the Congress are implemented and reacts on behalf of the Congress to current developments. He or she also presents the activities of the Congress and the texts that it has adopted to the Parliamentary Assembly and Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.  

Chamber of Regions Chamber of Regions

Harald Sonderegger,

President of the Chamber of Regions

Harald Sonderegger (Austria, EPP/CCE) was elected, on 23 March 2021, President of the Chamber of Regions of the Congress, for a two-and-a-half-year term of office.