Geneva, Switzerland,
Anda Filip is to become the 10th Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on 1 July 2026, the first woman and the first Eastern European to hold the post in the Organization’s 137-year history.
She succeeds Martin Chungong of Cameroon, whose third and final term ends on 30 June 2026 – the anniversary of the IPU’s foundation in 1889, which is now marked as the International Day of Parliamentarism.
Anda Filip was elected at the 152nd IPU Assembly in Istanbul in April 2026, where she secured 72% of votes in a single round, with hundreds of lawmakers from the IPU’s global membership exercising their full voting rights.
A Romanian national, Anda Filip has worked at the IPU for more than 20 years and has served as Director for Member Parliaments and External Relations since 2011. From 2003 to 2011, she was the Permanent Observer of the IPU to the United Nations in New York, working to develop the parliamentary dimension to global governance.
Before joining the IPU, Anda Filip held senior diplomatic posts in the Romanian Foreign Ministry, including Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the International Organizations based in Geneva, Minister Counsellor at the Romanian Embassy in Washington, D.C., and Ministry Spokesperson.
New direction for the IPU
As she takes office, Anda Filip will guide the implementation phase of the IPU’s new Strategy for 2027–2031.
The Strategy was shaped through a seven-month consultation process from October 2025 to April 2026 against a backdrop of global uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and growing pressure on multilateralism.
It focuses on three overall objectives:
- building strong and inclusive parliaments;
- facilitating parliamentary diplomacy, dialogue and joint action to help prevent conflict and build peaceful and inclusive societies; and
- strengthening the IPU as a democratic, responsive and accountable organization, and deepening engagement and ties within the parliamentary community.
The new direction builds on the IPU’s existing work defending the human rights of parliamentarians, advancing the digital maturity of parliaments, improving parliamentary oversight of key international agreements, and promoting gender parity, youth participation, the Sustainable Development Goals and climate action.
It reflects the Organization’s long-standing aim of supporting democratic parliaments that work together to improve people’s lives.
The IPU is the global organization of national parliaments. It was founded in 1889 as the first multilateral political organization in the world, encouraging cooperation and dialogue between all nations. Today, the IPU comprises 183 national Member Parliaments and 15 regional parliamentary bodies. It promotes peace, democracy and sustainable development. It helps parliaments become stronger, younger, greener and more gender-balanced. It also defends the human rights of parliamentarians through a dedicated committee made up of MPs from around the world.
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