German Scientist Named New Head of Antarctic Treaty Secretariat
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- Manfred Reinke
- (© Alfred Wegener Institute)
A scientist from the Bremen-based Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research will become the new executive secretary of the Antarctic Treaty system from August 2009.
Manfred Reinke was elected at the conclusion of a recent Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, by a majority of the 28 members entitled to vote for the new executive secretary of the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat, which is seated in the Argentinean capital of Buenos Aires.
Dr. Reinke is a longtime employee of the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), part of Germany's Helmholtz Association network of research centers, where he currently holds the post of scientific associate to the directorate.
The 56-year-old scientist studied biology and chemistry at the University of Kiel and computer science at the University of Hagen. His doctoral thesis at the Institute for Polar Ecology in Kiel related to polar research. He also has several years of experience in various committees of international Arctic and Antarctic research and is a recognized expert in science management.
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- Neumayer Station III
- (© Alfred Wegener Institute/Ude Cieluch)
"I congratulate Manfred Reinke on his election," said Karin Lochte, scientific director of the Alfred Wegener Institute, about the appointment of one of her closest staff members for a position which is central to manage international Antarctic affairs.
"It is of course first of all a personal success, but it also shows the trust and appreciation of the international community for German polar research," she added.
The Antarctic Treaty of 1959 permits the peaceful use of the Antarctic, guarantees freedom of scientific research, and prohibits any measures of a military nature. Existing demands for sovereignty are frozen by the treaty. Since 1991, it has been supplemented by the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.
Germany has belonged to what are currently 48 parties of the Antarctic Treaty since 1979. It is one of the 28 member states entitled to vote because of its own Antarctic research.
The 50th anniversary of the Antarctic Treaty was celebrated on April 6 in Washington, DC with a ministerial declaration. The Secretariat in Buenos Aires is the infrastructural backbone of the international Antarctic Treaty system.
Reinke follows Johannes Huber from the Netherlands as executive secretary. His term in office lasts four years.
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- The AWI's Peter Lemke introduces German Research Minister Annette Schavan and Helmholtz Association President Jürgen Mlynek to the new Antarctic research station.
- (© Alfred Wegener Institute/David Ausserhofer)
New Antarctic Research Facility
The Alfred Wegener Institute carries out research in the Arctic and Antarctic as well as in the high and mid latitude oceans. It coordinates German polar research and makes available to national and international science important infrastructure, including the research ice breaker Polarstern and research stations in the Arctic and Antarctic.
On February 20, 2009, German Education and Research Minister Annette Schavan inaugurated a new Antarctic AWI research facility, the Neumayer Station III, which serves as a base for scientific observatories as well as a logistic center for inland expeditions and polar aircraft.
The Neumayer Station III was constructed during a seven-month period spanning two Antarctic summer seasons. It offers accommodation for up to 40 people. Nine people ensure the year-round operation of the station.
The construction project of about 40 million euros was financed by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and it was realized within the framework of the International Polar Year.
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