The Standing Commission of the Red Cross and Red Crescent and its Member Biographies updated 11 January

Hon. Pär Stenbäck
2011-2015
Hon. Pär Stenbäck was a member of the Standing Commission between 2011 and 2015. He
began his Red Cross career as the Secretary General of the Finnish Red Cross from 1985 until
his appointment as Secretary General of the IFRC in 1987. During his tenure as Secretary
General and with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, he successfully managed to expand the
geographical reach of the Movement’s activities. He also promoted the creation of
permanent regional delegations that would support the work of National Societies. 128 Hon.
Stenbäck also improved cooperation with the UNHCR and set the foundation for the
Movement’s work on refugees. In the 1980s, prior to joining the Movement, he served in the
Finnish government as both Minister of Education (1979-1982) and Minister of Foreign
Relations (1982-1983). After leaving the Federation, Hon. Stenbäck returned to his National
Society as the President and also became a member of the Executive Board of the
International Crisis Group. In 2009 he received the Henry Dunant Medal. He was born on
August 12 th 1941 in Porvoo, Finland and is married with two children. 129130131
128 Finnish Red Cross
129 Standing Commission
130 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A4r_Stenb%C3%A4ck
131 http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/about/board/par-stenback.aspx
81