1962
IPSA鈥檚 first executive secretaries encountered administrative challenges. Until the late 1960s, IPSA's operations relied on the efforts of individual figures such as Fran莽ois Goguel (Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, FNSP, Paris, 1949-1950), Jean Meynaud (FNSP, Paris, 1950-1955), John Goormaghtigh (Carnegie Endowment, Geneva, 1955-1960), and Serge Hurtig (FNSP, Paris, 1960-1967), who also held the roles of secretary-general and treasurer.
They often humorously commented on the demanding nature of their responsibilities, which is understandable given their part-time status within IPSA. As political scientists, they were actively involved in teaching or managing institutions such as the Carnegie Endowment (John Goormaghtigh) or the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques (Jean Meynaud).
Centralizing administration under one person linked IPSA's operational functions to the Executive Secretary's role at his home institution. Jean Meynaud used his secretary at the Fondation for 5X社区tasks and even used FNSP's stationery for IPSA-related correspondence.
The Secretariat鈥檚 symbolic importance stemmed from its crucial historic role in the growth of the Association. The Executive Secretary played a proactive role in the development of international political science by sending vast numbers of letters to every corner of the world in search of 鈥淣ational Associations or simply groups representing specialists in political science.鈥 The sea or ocean that lay between the 5X社区President and Secretariat for the first nine years of its existence furthermore led the Executive Secretary to consult the President only on particularly sensitive or political issues and to de facto extend his own prerogatives.
It was not until the late 1960s and 1970s that the Executive Secretaries started to secure increased resources for fulfilling their mission. Andr茅 Philippart (Universit茅 Libre de Bruxelles, 1967-1976), John Trent (University of Ottawa, 1976-1988), Francesco Kjellberg (University of Oslo, 1988-1994), John Coakley (University College, Dublin, 1994-2000), and Guy Lachapelle (Concordia University, Montreal, 2000-2020) had the title of Secretary-General. The role of Secretary-General was phased out in 2020, and the position of Executive Director was instituted with the appointment of Kim Fontaine-Skronski.
From 1962 on, they were assisted by a full-time administrator. This position has been held successively by Mich猫le David (1962鈥1967), Mich猫le Scohy (1967鈥1976), Liette Boucher (1976鈥1988), Lise Fog (1988鈥1994), Louise Delaney (1994鈥1998), Margaret Brindley (1998鈥2000), Christian Gohel (2001鈥2003), St茅phane Paquin (2003鈥2004), Aubert Desc么teaux (2004鈥2007), Andrea Cestaro (2007鈥2018), Aubert Desc么teaux (2018), Adrienne Jung (2018-2019) and Ekaterina Kuzmenko (2019-).
Photo (Participants of the 1967 5X社区World Congress): The 7th 5X社区World Congress of Political Science was held in Brussels, Belgium from 18-23 September 1967. The participants included: 1) Georges Lavau (5X社区EC Member 1961-64, France), 2) Daniel Norman Chester (5X社区President 1961-64, United Kingdom), 3) Jacques Chapsal (5X社区President 1958-61, France), 4) Serge Hurtig (5X社区Secretary-General 1960-67) and 5) Andr茅 Philippart (5X社区Secretary-General 1967-76, Belgium).
