Beatrice Fihn, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, the campaign that has worked with the diplomats of supporting states to establish the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)1 which entered into force as a UN treaty in January 2021, is to step down from her role.
When ICAN was awarded the Nobel Peace Price in 2017, Beatrice accepted the award along with Setsuko Thurlow, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. Beatrice has led the campaign during these key early years of the TPNW. She said:
“Together, we got a treaty that’s growing in membership and a public that is waking up to the threat of nuclear weapons. I have so much confidence in this movement to lead the world into a safer place without nuclear weapons. The progress we are making is real, I promise. All the work you are doing is making a huge difference. I know some days it might not feel like it, but we’re shifting the debate and we’re building support for this treaty and for nuclear disarmament every day.“
Beatrice visited Scotland in 2018 meeting campaigners at the gates of the Faslane nuclear weapons base and parliamentarians2 at a special meeting at the Cross-Party Group on Nuclear Weapons. Picking up her role on an acting basis will be Daniel Hogsta. Daniel is an alumnus of Edinburgh University and is well known to Scottish campaigners, in particular through his co-ordination of the ICAN network in Europe.
ICAN’s liaison person in Scotland, Janet Fenton said:
“Beatrice has done a terrific job for the movement in helping to give the TPNW its growing international credibility. We thank her for the encouragement she has given us here in Scotland. We are delighted that Daniel will be the key person in this time of transition and we look forward to continuing to work with him.”