General Committee on Political Affairs and Security
The First General Committee focuses on the politico-military aspects of security, principles guiding relations among participating States, as well as military confidence-building measures.
Karl-Georg Wellmann (Germany) - Chair
Karl-Georg Wellmann (Germany) was re-elected Chair of the Committee on Political Affairs and Security at the 2011 Belgrade Annual Session. He was first elected chair in 2010. A Member of the German Bundestag since 2005, he has served on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, specifically focusing on Poland, Central Asia, the Baltic States, Ukraine and Russia.
Since 2005 has been a Member of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly since 2005 and is a substitute member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. In addition to serving on the Assembly's First Committee, he also serves as Deputy Head of the German Delegation.
Susanne Bratli (Norway) - Vice-Chair
Susanne Bratli (Norway) was elected Vice-Chair of the Committee on Political Affairs and Security at the 2011 Annual Session in Belgrade. She has served as a member of the Norwegian delegation to the OSCE PA since 2009.
In the Storting (Norwegian Parliament) Ms. Bratli serves on the Committee on Transport and Communications. Since 1993, she has been an active member of the Norwegian Labour Party. She has also served as a member of the Nord-Trondelag County Council for six years. Ms. Bratli has a business intelligence degree in training in board governance from the Norwegian School of Management.
Vilija Alknaite Abramikiene (Lithuania) - Rapporteur
Vilija Aleknaite Abramikiene (Lithuania) was elected Rapporteur of the Committee on Political Affairs and Security at the 2011 Annual Session in Belgrade. A Member of the Seimas (Parliament) of the Republic of Lithuania since 1992, she has served as Head of Delegation of Lithuania to the OSCE PA since 2008. She also is a member of the OSCE PA Ad Hoc Committee on Transparency and Accountability and the Ad Hoc Working Group on Belarus.
Ms. Aleknaite Abramikiene is a Member of the Committees on Foreign Affairs, European Affairs, Legal Affairs, Social Affairs and Labour, Environment Protection and the Commission on Family and Child Affairs of the Lithuanian Seimas. She holds a law degree from the Mykolas Romeris University in Vilnius.