The General Assembly of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) was held in Berne, Switzerland, on 29 and 30 September. Representatives from 42 of the 49 Member States took part in the General Assembly which, among other matters, elected the Secretary General for a three year term of office. Two candidates presented their applications: Mrs Leodolter and Mr Davenne. Following the vote, a large majority re-elected Mr Davenne to head to Secretariat of OTIF.
Mr Davenne graduated from the École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications d’Evry in 1988 and from the École Nationale d’Administration in 1999. He has always promoted interdisciplinarity as a key factor for success. After experience in international satellite telecommunications, his first assignments were in the housing sector and required strong financial and legal skills.
After three years in the French Transport Ministry working on railway safety and regulation, Mr Davenne was elected Secretary General of OTIF in 2012, where, since 1 January 2013, he has promoted interdisciplinary working methods and partnership building to expand uniform regulations for international carriage by rail.
His re-election is an endorsement of the activities he has been carrying out since 2013 and enables the changes that have taken place within the Secretariat to be continued.
The principal objective of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) is to develop unified law for the transport of goods by rail in Europe, Asia and Africa. Its aims are to:
- Develop a unified legal regime for the carriage of passengers and freight in international rail traffic (CIV and CIM Uniform Rules for passengers and freight/goods respectively)
- Develop and edit the Regulation concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID)
- Improve the security and (in particular technical) interoperability (ATMF and APTU Uniform Rules)
UIC warmly congratulates Mr François Davenne on his re-election as Secretary-General of OTIF and looks forward to the further development of close cooperation and effective synergies between our international organisations.
(Source: OTIF News)
