FSFE elects new President and Vice President
Matthias Kirschner and Alessandro Rubini are FSFE's new President and Vice President. They were elected last week in Bucharest during FSFE's General Assembly, while Reinhard Müller was re-elected as Financial Officer. They will serve FSFE in those positions for the upcoming two years.
Matthias Kirschner is an FSFE employee since 2009. He started using GNU/Linux in 1999 and realised that software is deeply involved in all aspects of our lives. Matthias is convinced that this technology has to empower society rather than restrict it. While studying Political and Administrative Science he convinced the FSFE to accept him as the FSFE's first intern in 2004. Since then he has been helping other organisations, companies and governments to understand how they can benefit from Free Software -- which gives everybody the rights to use, study, share and improve software -- and how those rights help to support freedom of speech, freedom of press, or privacy.
Matthias loves spending time with his baby son, and in his spare time assists in wilderness first aid seminars, enjoys comics like XKCD and Transmetropolitan, Monty Python, and Die Ärzte.
Alessandro Rubini is an electronic engineer and holds a Ph.D. in computer science. He installed Linux 0.99.14, is an active Free Software user and developer, and author of the book "Linux Device Drivers". After his Ph.D. he left the university as he did not want to just write articles. He now works as an independent consultant in the area of industrial use of GNU/Linux, mainly on device drivers and embedded system as well as on microcontrollers and PCB design. Recently he has been working with CERN within the White Rabbit project, aimed at sub-nanosecond synchronisation of I/O cards. He enjoys working with CERN, as they have a policy to publish all their work as Free Software and Free Hardware.
Alessandro was already a member of the Free Software Foundation Europe from 2001 to 2006 and recently joined FSFE again. He felt that FSFE is the right place to have positive and constructive discussions about Free Software. Beside his volunteer engagement in FSFE and in other Free Software organisations, he is an active boy scout, likes cycling, is father of two children, and listens to white noise during work.
"I am happy to welcome both Matthias and Alessandro to their new roles," says Executive Director Jonas Öberg, "both have been instrumental in shaping the organisation into its current form and I look forward to the expertise they will bring as we go about empowering users to control technology."