Berit Lindeman is Secretary General.
She is responsible for the committee’s overall operations.
For almost 30 years, Berit has worked on democracy-building and human rights issues, primarily in Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia, but also through assignments in Asia and Africa. She has extensive experience with international election observation and as an election expert, and she is a passionate human rights defender.
Berit has worked with most of the Helsinki Committee’s core countries but has generally been responsible for Azerbaijan and Belarus. She has also been our communications manager for many years.
“Over the years, I have experienced that many of my friends and colleagues, in countries such as Belarus, Azerbaijan and elsewhere, have been harassed, imprisoned and forced into exile to do a job very similar to mine. It fills me with a sense of duty, a need to show solidarity, and at the same time a deep gratitude for how well Norwegian democracy works, she says”
Berit has a law degree, specialises in foreign law, and has also learned Russian and French. She started her career in public administration, but later worked with the OSCE, IFES, and the Human Rights House Foundation before joining NHC in 2003. She has lived for long periods in Ukraine, France and Russia. She has also spent a three-year sabbatical in Mali, West Africa.
Berit has been the Secretary General since 2022.
