Åke Lindqvist New IFR President

The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) elected unanimously Åke Lindqvist, ABB, as new President and Junji Jay Tsuda, Yaskawa Electric, as new Vice President at its Executive Board Meeting on 16th October 2008 in Seoul. The biannual meeting of IFR Executive Board members was held in Seoul on the occasion of the International Symposium on Robotics (ISR). The incumbent President, Stefan Müller, Kuka Roboter, retired following his successful twoyear presidency. Müller was pleased about the election: "The election of Åke Lindqvist and Junji Tsuda respectively represents a sensible next step which also reflects the importance of their respective markets. I would hope to see countries such as China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Russia working together with us in the IFR in the near future, giving them representation in the only world-wide federation for industrial and service robots. In this and all their other undertakingsI wish my successors and the entire IFR Executive Board every success."