Sofia Walan Appointed as New Executive Director of Civil Rights Defenders

The Board of Civil Rights Defenders has appointed Sofia Walan as the new Executive Director. She will lead the organisation’s work to protect democracy and support human rights defenders worldwide. Sofia Walan will assume her new role on 8 May.

“I am proud and grateful for the trust placed in me to help lead such an innovative and influential human rights organisation as Civil Rights Defenders. We are living in a time when democracy and the rights that so many have fought for—often at great personal risk—are being pushed back. That makes the work of Civil Rights Defenders more crucial than ever, with a unique team of leading experts working every day to protect democracy and support human rights defenders,” says Sofia Walan.

She continues:

“As Executive Director, my ambition is to create the best possible conditions for our work and to build a strong and sustainable organisation for the future.”

Extensive Experience in Civil Society Leadership

Sofia Walan brings broad and extensive experience in leadership and management, with a strong focus on building high-performing teams and results-driven operations in complex, globally dispersed organisations. She joins Civil Rights Defenders from Bris, where she is currently part of the leadership team, and from her role as Chair of Fairtrade Sweden.

Previously, she served as Secretary General of the Swedish Fellowship of Reconciliation (SweFOR), working to support human rights defenders in Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico. She has also worked on issues related to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank’s role in democracy-building.

The Board: “Sofia is a courageous and inclusive leader”

Hanna Gerdes, Chair of the Board of Civil Rights Defenders, comments on the appointment:

“We are living in a time when democracy and the human rights-based world order are being challenged like never before. To counter this, we need to work together. That is why we, as a board, are very pleased that Sofia has accepted this role. She is a leader whose strong reputation precedes her, known for her courageous, inclusive, transparent, communicative, and stable leadership,” says Hanna Gerdes, Chair of Civil Rights Defenders.

Sofia Walan steps in with a clear mandate to build a long-term and sustainable Civil Rights Defenders, with a strong focus on the most important resource—the employees. Another key aspect of her role will be to future-proof and diversify revenue streams while creating even more clearly measurable results in our human rights work.

Until Sofia Walan takes office on 8 May, John Stauffer will continue as Interim Executive Director and Karin Ancker as Deputy Executive Director.