The General Assembly of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) elected Mr Wolfgang Küpper from Germany as the new Secretary General of the Organisation. His term of office will start on 8 April 2019 and end on 31 December 2021.

This extraordinary 14th session of the General Assembly, which was held on Wednesday 27 February 2019, was chaired by Lithuania in the shape of Hid Excellency Dr. V. Naudužas. 43 of the 50 Member States were represented at the
meeting.

Mr Küpper is a fully qualified lawyer with more than 28 years experience in the fields of national and international railway policy, most recently as Head of Division at the German Ministry of Transport, where he is responsible for the entire sphere of national, European and international railway policy, as well as for relations with the railway industry. As the head of OTIF he will continue to build on the Organisation’s successful strategy and promote the further unification of international railway law.

Mr Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, UIC Director General, said: “The links between UIC and OTIF have developed in a very collaborative way in recent years, based on a common understanding and the will to improve international rail interoperability in the technical, administrative and legal areas. I congratulate the new Secretary General Mr Wolfgang Küpper and hope that our associations can continue to work closely in efficient and friendly cooperation.”

Mr François Davenne, UIC Deputy Director General and former Secretary General of OTIF, said: “OTIF for governments and UIC for the sector are providing complementary multilateral platforms for international railway development. I congratulate the new Secretary General Mr Wolfgang Küpper and I am convinced that our two organisations will continue to closely collaborate to foster interoperability on the largest possible scale.”

(Source: OTIF)