Honorary membership was added to the 3rd Edition of the FOHNEU Constitution in 2001 at the 14th BM held in Copenhagen.
The Honorary Membership is awarded to a small distinguished group of individuals who have been recognized for their long-term and exceptional contributions to the development of the Federation.
The first Honorary Memberships were awarded to Pina Van Dorpe from the Netherlands who was appointed President at the founding meeting in 1993, and to the first elected President in 1994 - Frances Baker from United Kingdom.
These awards were confirmed during the 31st FOHNEU Board Meeting in Budapest, in 2010.
Pina Van Dorpe
Appointed President of FOHNEU 1993-1994.
In 1993 a symposium was organised in Winsor, United Kingdom by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) with the aim to establish a Federation representing the voice of occupational health nurses within the European Union. The representatives of the 7 countries present at the meeting: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, unanimously agreed to support the nomination of Pina van Dorpe as appointed President until a formal election process could be organised. Pina van Dorpe was a well-known figure within the OHN community with a long- standing commitment to the promotion of occupational health nursing.
Frances Baker
Appointed President of FOHNEU 1994-1995
Elected President of FOHNEU 1995-1998
Francis Baker was the first elected President of FOHNEU and a key figure in the development of the Federation. Her initiatives included establishing a Constitution and the Aims and Objectives of the Organisation. Francis was responsible for the initial successful meeting with the EU Commission securing official EU recognition of FOHNEU. The meeting took place during the 3rd FOHNEU Board Meeting in Luxembourg 1995.
Anne Bostrom (1995-2006)
1997-2000 FOHNEU Secretary (elected)
2000-2003 FOHNEU Secretary (elected)
2003-2006 FOHNEU Vice President (elected)
2005-2006 FOHNEU Secretary (appointed)
Anne Boström joined FOHNEU at the board meeting in Luxembourg 1995 as the first national representative for Finland, following Finland’s accession to the EU January 1995. At the London Board Meeting 1997, Anne was elected as FOHNEU secretary, a position she held for 6 years.
In Liege 2003 Anne was elected FOHNEU Vice President and in 2005 -2006 she performed the duties of FOHNEU Secretary, executing the two Executive positions simultaneously.
Anne was co-author of the 2nd FOHNEU Journal published in 2000, co-organiser of the 3rd FOHNEU International Congress in Helsinki 2003, and co-author of the FOHNEU internal survey 2005 on the work and organisation of occupational health nursing practice in the EU Member and Observer States.
Demonstrating continuous and solid commitment, Anne Boström made a substantial contribution to the development of the FOHNEU Organisation, and promotion of the 5 FOHNEU Aims.
Susan Pierrot (2004-2012)
2006-2009 FOHNEU Secretary (elected)
2009-2012 FOHNEU Secretary (elected)
2012- External FOHNEU Webmaster (voluntary position)
Susan Pierrot was introduced as the National representative for France at the board meeting in Lille 2004.
Susan was elected to the Executive as FOHNEU secretary in 2006 at the board meeting held in Turku, a position she held until 2012. During the six years in office Susan Pierrot continued the work initiated by Anne Böstrom promoting further development of the FOHNEU Organisation.
During this period focus was on the FOHNEU Management structure and Susan played a central role as co-ordinator and communicator, disseminating unified information, including strategy and policy development to all board members, observer members and relevant stakeholders.
Susan Pierrot was responsible for digitalisation of the FOHNEU archives. In 2010 Susan undertook co-responsibility for launching and maintaining the FOHNEU website.
Since resigning as French national representative in 2012, Susan Pierrot has continued her allegiance to FOHNEU in a voluntary capacity as webmaster.
Gurutze Aguirre Alava (2003-2013)
Gurutze Aguirre Alava joined FOHNEU as national representative of Spain, initially representing Asociacion de Especialista en Enfermeria del Trabajo (AET) and later Federación Española De Enfermería del Trabajo (FEDDET).
Gurutze demonstrated a strong passion for occupational health nursing both as a national representative and as a sponsor, and her contagious enthusiasm was valued by all who worked with her.
Gurutze Aguirre was sponsor of the 4th FOHNEU Congress in London 2007 and co-organiser and sponsor of the 5th FOHNEU International Congress in Tarragona 2012.
Professor Panagiota Sourtzi (2003-2016)
Panagiota Sourtzi joined FOHNEU in Liege 2003 as national representative for Greece.
From her initial meeting it was evident that the Federation had secured a representative with both experience in occupational health nursing practice and notable expertise within education.
For 13 years Panagiota was primus motor and coordinator of the FOHNEU Working Group on Education and Research, including the design and implementation of the benchmark surveys on the education of occupational health nursing in Europe, and revisions of the FOHNEU Core Curriculum.
Through her unwavering commitment and engagement, the sustainable contributions of Panagiota Sourtzi are beneficial to all occupational health nurses.
