Bjørn Berge (Norway) was elected today by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) as the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe by 185 votes to 112 for the other candidate, Leyla Kayacik (Turkey). He will take up office on 1 March 2021 for a period of five years and replaces Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni.
Bjørn Berge is currently Director General and Secretary to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. He previously served over seven years as Director of the Private Office of the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General. Before that he worked as a Norwegian diplomat, including as Senior Adviser on international issues to the Norwegian Prime Minister.
Mr Berge studied international relations at the Johns Hopkins University of Washington D.C, where he was a Fulbright Scholar, and studied Chinese language and culture at the University of Science and Technology of Chengdu. He has published several books and articles.
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
