Bureau
Joao Soares (Portugal)
was first elected President of the Assembly in July 2008 at the Annual Session in Astana and re-elected for another one-year term in 2009 in Vilnius. Prior to that, he served two years as Vice-President. Mr. Soares has been particularly active in OSCE PA election observation missions.
Currently a Member of the Committee on National Defence, Mr. Soares was first elected to Parliament in 1987 and has also served as a Member of the European Parliament, including as a Member of the EP Bureau. From 1995 to 2002, Mr. Soares was Mayor of Lisbon, during which time he also served as a Member of the State Council.