Fellows: Then and Now

RUTH BADER GINSBERG

Then: Judge of the United States Court of Appeals
for the District of Columbia Circuit
NOW: Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court
SESSIONS ATTENDED: S. 232 – July 1984; S. 359 – August 1998;
Fifth Annual Cutler Lecture on the Rule of Law – November 2014

Ruth Bader Ginsberg first came to Salzburg as part of the faculty in 1984, when she was Judge of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, prior to her appointment to the US Supreme Court. Justice Ginsberg returned to Salzburg in 1998 and has remained involved as a member of the Advisory Council of the Lloyd N. Cutler Center on the Rule of Law. She will host the annual Lloyd N. Cutler Lecture in November 2014.

HEINZ FISCHER

Then: Member of the Austrian Parliament
NOW: President of Austria
SESSIONS ATTENDED: S. 208 – August 1981;
Annual Board of Directors Weekend – June 2007

President Heinz Fischer came to Salzburg as a faculty member long before taking office in July 2004. President Fischer had been a member of the Austrian parliament and the National Council since 1971. He went on to serve as Minister of Science from 1983 to 1987 and as President of the National Council of Austria from 1990 to 2002. He returned to Schloss Leopoldskron as a keynote speaker at the 2007 Board of Directors Weekend.

STEPHEN L. SALYER

Then: Associate to John D. Rockefeller 3rd
NOW: President and CEO, Salzburg Global Seminar
SESSIONS ATTENDED: S. 153 – 1974

Long before becoming President and CEO of Salzburg Global Seminar, Stephen L. Salyer first came to Schloss Leopoldskron as a Fellow. There he heard the phrase “non-profit entrepreneur,” which was what he decided he wanted to become. Over 25 years, Salyer launched a fleet of public television and radio programs, built business models that kept them afloat, and went on to become President of Public Radio International. Since becoming Seminar Global’s president, he has led projects on strengthening independent media and founded a global media academy with Salzburg as its hub. He lectures regularly on “using media to motivate global action” and on “persuading investors to support your media start-up.”

DAVID WRIGHT

Then: Principal Administrator at
the Official Commission of the European Communities
NOW: Secretary-General of the International Organization of
Securities Commissions (IOSCO)
SESSIONS ATTENDED: S. 275 – June 1989;
S. 492 – August 2012; S. 516 – August 2013

David Wright first came to Salzburg in 1989 in his role with the Official Commission of the European Communities, the precursor to the European Commission. He returned to Salzburg over 20 years later for the second session of the Salzburg Global Forum on Finance in a Changing World, the advisory committee of which he is a member. He has formed part of the faculty for two Finance in a Changing World sessions in his current capacity as Secretary-General of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

NOELEEN HEYZER

Then: Director, United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
NOW: Special Adviser of the United Nations Secretary General for Timor-Leste
SESSIONS ATTENDED: S. 353 – February 1998;
S. 406 – March 2003; S. 433 – September 2006; S. 483 – November 2011

Multi-time Fellow and faculty member Noeleen Heyzer first came to Salzburg in 1998 in her role with UNIFEM. She continued to be involved with Salzburg Global Seminar throughout her time in this role and also as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, a position she held from 2007 until January 2014. She was appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in June 2013 as Special Adviser of the United Nations Secretary General for Timor-Leste.

WENDY KOPP

Then: Founder and President, Teach for America
NOW: CEO and Co-Founder, Teach For All
SESSIONS ATTENDED: S. 348 – July 1997

When Wendy Kopp first came to Salzburg she presented on her organization Teach for America, the model for which has since been replicated the world over to encourage exceptional young graduates into teaching and education policy work. Kopp returned to Schloss Leopoldskron in 2013 as the guest of honor at the graduation celebration of the second cohort of Fellows of Teach for Austria, a Salzburg Global Seminar partner.

For interview, please see: salzburgglobal.org/news-media/article/wendy-kopp-there-is-so-much-potential-there

Kofi Annan

Then: Secretary-General of the United Nations
NOW: Chairman of The Elders
SESSIONS ATTENDED: IN 0408 – May 2008

During his tenure as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006, Kofi Annan was a constant advocate for human rights, the rule of law, the Millennium Development Goals and Africa. His continued role in African development led to his invitation as a keynote speaker at the special initiative session in 2008. He continues to support Salzburg Global as the honorary president of the Salzburg Initiative on Holocaust Education and Genocide Prevention, which he personally helped to “kick-start.”

Ewald Nowotny

Then: Doctoral Student, University of Vienna
NOW: Governor of the Austrian National Bank
SESSIONS ATTENDED: S. 98 – June 1968;
S. 462 – April 2009; S. 478 – March 2011; S. 492 – August 2012

Ewald Nowotny first came to Salzburg as doctoral student in 1968. He joined the Board of Directors 40 years later and, in addition to attending various Board of Directors events, he has also taken an active role in the Salzburg Global Forum on Finance in a Changing World, attending three finance-focused sessions. He is currently serving as the Governor of the Austrian National Bank, having previously served as CEO at BAWAG P.S.K. and as Vice President and member of the Executive Board at the European Investment Bank.

VAIRA VIKE-FREIBERGA

Then: President of Latvia
NOW: President, Club of Madrid
SESSIONS ATTENDED: S. 388 – June 2001;
S. 543 – August 2014

Vaira Vike-Freiberga was already the sixth (and first female) President of Latvia when she first came to Salzburg in 2001, having been elected in 1999. She completed her second term in office in 2007, during which time she was instrumental in achieving membership of both the European Union and NATO for her country. Today she is the President of the Club of Madrid, an independent organization of more than 90 former democratic statesmen, which seeks to strengthen democratic leadership and governance, especially in countries of transition.

KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA

Then: Major Assistant Professor in Economics
at the Higher Institute of Economics,
Department of Political Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria
NOW: EU Commission Vice-President for Budget and Human Resources
SESSIONS ATTENDED: S. 284 – June 1990;
Annual Board of Directors Weekend – June 2013

When Kristalina Georgieva came to Salzburg as a Fellow in 1990, it proved to be a turning point in her career. Upon meeting a professor from MIT at the session, she moved to the US as a Fulbright scholar and undertook research that would eventually lead to a 20-year career at the World Bank, starting as an environmental economist and eventually rising to Vice President and Corporate Secretary of the World Bank Group in 2008. In 2010, she joined the European Commission as the Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response and was promoted to Vice-President for Budget and Human Resources in 2014. She returned to Salzburg in 2013 as the keynote speaker at the Annual Board of Directors Weekend.

For “Faces of Leadership” video profile, please see: youtu.be/9fcGGFfueqU