-- Moderator

Dr. Gunnar Stålsett, Moderator of the European Council of Religious Leaders, is Bishop Emeritus of Oslo, Church of Norway. He serves the Council together with five co-moderators, supported by the secretariat, located in Oslo.

Bishop Stålsett is an International President of the World Council of Religions for Peace and a member of its Board.

He is currently co-chair for the XVI International AIDS Conference.

Dr. Stålsett has served i.a. as General Secretary of The Lutheran World Federation (Geneva) from 1984 to (1994). He has also been a member of the Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches. For a period in the 1970s, he held offices as deputy member of the Norwegian Parliament, State Secretary for Education, Culture and Church Affairs, and member of the City Council of Oslo. He has served as an advisor to the Norwegian government on issues, including arms control, disarmament, and peace and reconciliation. He has participated in numerous Special Assemblies of the United Nations related to disarmament, the rights of children, and AIDS.

Dr. Stålsett has served for 14 years as a member og the Nobel Peace Prize Committe.

Dr. Stålsett has been and is actively engaged in struggles for independence and in peace process efforts, including in Namibia, Guatemala, East-Timor, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kosovo and Iraq. He participates in a number of national and international inter-faith programmes. Additionally, he serves i.a. as a senior advisor to Norwegian Church Aid and a member of the Council of 100 of the World Economic Forum. He actively participates in public debates, both nationally and internationally, for maintaining the role of religion in all spheres of life, and for upholding religious institutions as a unique dimension of civil society.

Contacts

E-mail: ecrl@rfp-europe.eu