CEC Secretariat Executive Director Resigns

The Executive Director of the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), Victor Lichtinger, today informed the CEC Council that he will resign, effective March 1, to pursue other opportunities. CEC Secretariat Director Janine Ferretti, a Canadian, will be appointed interim Executive Director upon Mr. Lichtinger's departure and will assume all duties and responsibilities of the Executive Director.

"I'm very proud of the work accomplished here at the CEC," says Lichtinger, who recently entered his second-term as Executive Director. "The CEC is entering a new phase of its development which calls for new ideas and fresh leadership."

In accepting the resignation, representatives to the CEC Council (composed of environmental ministers or their cabinet equivalents from Canada, Mexico and the United States) recognized the important role Mr. Lichtinger has played in the formation and first years of operation of the CEC Secretariat. They also acknowledged his valuable contribution to the creation of a non-partisan institution, with the mandate of promoting stronger environmental protection efforts in the three NAFTA countries.

Mr. Lichtinger, a Mexican citizen, was the first Executive Director of the CEC Secretariat. He accepted the position in July 1994. Prior to joining the CEC, Mr. Lichtinger was General Director of ICF Kaiser in Mexico. He has also served as General Coordinator for Natural Resources and Environment in the Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretariat, where he organized Mexico's participation in several international bodies and meetings, including the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992.

Created by an environmental side accord to NAFTA, the CEC is equally funded by the governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States. Based in Montreal, it has an annual budget of US $9 million.