Leadership Changes At Free Software Foundation Europe

Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), a high-impact nonprofit organisation focussed on access to software in the broader scope of participation in the digital society, this week named named new leadership for the first time in nearly a decade since its inception.

The new president is Karsten Gerloff, a scholar and free software expert in recent years at the United Nations University associated with the University of Maastricht, Netherlands. Gerloff has been a frequent attendee and blogger at intellectual property policymaking events in Geneva such as at the World Intellectual Property Organization.

He succeeds an FSFE legend, Georg Greve, who has been involved in the organization since its founding in 2001. Greve, who will remain associated with FSFE on a voluntary basis, said in a blog that he made a decision last year to step down as president to allow organisational change to occur, as foreseen by the founders. “Our goal was to build an organisation that will survive every individual member,” Greve said.

The timing was right for change at the top, Greve added, as the foundation is financially stable, operating smoothly internally, and has done solid work with “significant political capital and contacts.” Greve is weighing several options for his next move, but also will do some consulting, he said.

The group has representation across Europe, and works for competition in software, and the furthering of free software, defined by the freedoms to use, study, modify and copy, it says.

Also named at the FSFE General Assembly in Miraflores de la Sierra, Spain, were: Fernanda Weiden, vice president; Christian Holz, executive director; Adriaan de Groot, freedom task force coordinator, and Matthias Kirschner, coordinator of the Fellowship and the German team.

“The new team will continue FSFE’s highly successful work with the same long-term vision,” Gerloff said in a statement. “We will work hard to justify the trust which the Free Software community is putting into FSFE.”