Geneva (ICRC) - The Assembly of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has co-opted three new members, Mrs Gabrielle Nanchen, Mr André von Moos and Mr Olivier Vodoz, to sit on its Committee. This brings the membership of the Committee, which is composed exclusively of Swiss nationals, to 21.

Mrs Gabrielle Nanchen, of Aigle in the canton of Vaud and Icogne in the canton of Valais, was born in 1943. She holds a degree in Social Science from the University of Lausanne and is a qualified social worker with a diploma from the Lausanne School of Social Studies. Mrs Nanchen was formerly a member of the Swiss National Council. Active in the fields of social welfare and development as President of the Swissaid Foundation, Delegate for North-South dialogue of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation at the Council of Europe, and a member of the Executive Council of the North-South Centre in Lisbon, Mrs Nanchen is also a member of the governing board of the Geneva Graduate Institute of Development Studies.

Mr André von Moos of Lucerne was born in 1949. He is a Doctor of Laws of the University of Zurich and holds degrees in economics from the University of St Gallen and Harvard Business School. Formerly Chairman of the von Moos Group, he is now an independent industrialist.

Mr Olivier Vodoz, of La Tour-de-Peilz in the canton of Vaud, was born in 1943. He has a law degree from the University of Geneva and practised at the Geneva Bar from 1971 to 1989. Mr Vodoz served as a Deputy in the Geneva Grand Conseil (cantonal parliament) from 1977 to 1989 and as a member of the Conseil d'Etat (cantonal government) of the Republic and Canton of Geneva from 1989 to 1997.