Re-elected chair and new members on the board of Civil Rights Defenders
Today, on 29 May, Civil Rights Defenders’ Annual Meeting was held in Stockholm. The current chairperson, Hanna Gerdes, was re-elected for another two years, and the board of directors welcomed two new members. At the same time, two previous members were thanked for their service. Civil Rights Defenders’ non-profit board consists of nine members.
Hanna Gerdes is a human rights lawyer, educator, and author of several books and writings on human rights. She has been the chairperson of Civil Rights Defenders since 2022 and was re-elected at the annual meeting to serve until 2026. Hanna has extensive experience in board work and has worked nationally and internationally for over 20 years to strengthen the protection of human rights and influence societal development.
“It feels very rewarding to be trusted to lead the strategic development work of Civil Rights Defenders together with the board for another term. The past two years have been a tumultuous journey. Democracy is in decline globally, and I am enormously proud of what we have achieved together with partners and colleagues to become more visible, clear, and active in mobilisation and engagement! This work now needs to continue to be prioritised, while we also need to increase the pace in diversifying our funding and improving our ability to measure the results and impact of our human rights work,” says Hanna Gerdes.
New Board Members
Two new board members were elected at the annual meeting, Théo Jaekel and Mårten Lundberg.
Théo Jaekel is a lawyer, specialising in business and human rights and international law. His previous experiences include leading the global legal human rights team at Ericsson, establishing and leading the human rights work at the law firm Vinge, and conducting investigations on corporate responsibility at Swedwatch. Théo has extensive experience in board work within organisations such as Transparency International Sweden, UN Global Compact Sweden, and the Global Network Initiative. Théo now works as an independent advisor on business and human rights.
Mårten Lundberg has a background in various international CHRO positions, has been responsible for sales and marketing for 10 years and has served as interim CEO. He is employed at Loomis AB since 2014 and is a member of the group management as CHRO / CMO. Mårten works with international business development and its effects on organization, leadership, and relevant HR areas. He is also the founder and CEO of ML Consult AB whose area of service is consulting within the above.
New Nominations Committee
The annual meeting also elected a partially new nominations committee, consisting of Marcela Mieres Eneroth (newly elected), Carin Norberg (re-elected), Catharina Mannerfelt (re-elected), and Seher Yilmaz (newly elected). Marcela Mieres Eneroth was elected as the convener for the 2025 annual meeting.
The Current Board in Its Entirety
- Hanna Gerdes, chairperson (until 2026)
- Ulla Andrén, member (until 2025)
- Noura Berrouba, member (until 2026)
- Théo Jaekel, member (until 2026)
- Mårten Lundberg, member (until 2026)
- Anne Ramberg, member (until 2025)
- Lena Svensson, member (until 2025)
- Caroline Thunved, member (until 2026)
- Christian Åhlund, member (until 2025)
Outgoing board members Lars Häggström and Niclas Kjellström-Matseke were thanked for their service.
