Vania Freitas has been appointed by the Executive Board as Secretary General of the Assembly of European Regions (AER).
Previously in charge of institutional relations and advocacy for the AER, Vania Freitas brings to the network over fifteen years of experience in developing political priorities and strategies for membership-based organisations in international contexts. After a transition period as interim Secretary General, Ms. Freitas takes over from Christian Spahr, who led the daily work of AER from 2020 until 2024.
Vania Freitas has gained extensive experience in institutional relations, advocacy, and outreach, at European and global level. As Institutional Relations and Advocacy Coordinator for the AER since 2017, Ms. Freitas has been committed to driving policy influence for sustainable impact at pan-European level.
Announcing Ms. Freitas’ appointment as Secretary General, AER President Albert Castellanos said: “The Executive Board is delighted to confirm Vania Freitas as our new Secretary General. Her deep knowledge of our network, commitment to supporting and giving a voice to European regions, and extensive experience in European member-driven organisations will serve as major assets to successfully lead our network.”
Vania Freitas’ appointment takes place in the aftermath of the approval of the AER Strategy 2024-2031, which underscores the role of the AER as driver of policymaking close to citizens, of a sense of belonging to value-based democratic regional communities, of cohesion among citizens and political actors in wider Europe, and of socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable development.
Speaking of her appointment, Vania Freitas said: “I am delighted to be taking on the role of Secretary General. Working alongside all of our members and partners, our team, and the Executive Board, I look forward to building on the AER legacy and developing our new vision and strategy.” Ms. Freitas will take up the post on 1 September.
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The Assembly of European Regions is the political platform of regional governments in wider Europe, with direct membership of public authorities from 30 countries. As the largest independent network of its kind, AER promotes the regions as key players in the European project, as well as democracy and good governance.
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