Our structure
Mental Health Europe is an international non-profit organisation established in 1985 and recognised under Belgian law.
MHE is a European NGO and representative organisation of associations and organisations active in the field of mental health at local, national, regional and European level. This includes NGOs, (ex)users of mental health services, their families and carers, professionals, research and educational institutions and volunteers.
MHE decision-making bodies reflect the diversity of the MHE membership. They are composed by representatives of organisations which are actively supporting people with mental health problems, their families and carers. They guarantee a proper handling of all the key themes permeating the issue of mental health and well-being.
The MHE Board, Executive Committee and President are elected every three years.
Together with the General Assembly, they form the pillars of the organisation and guarantee its democratic decision-making process:
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the General Assembly is MHE's highest authority and is responsible for formulating the organisation’s policy;
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the Board is the body elected by the General Assembly to develop a strategy for implementing the organisation’s policy;
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the Executive Committee is elected by the Board and is responsible for the daily management of the organisation and for supervising the work of the Secretariat.
MHE Committees are set up to support the work of MHE in specific policy areas: human rights and non-discrimination, women and gender equality, ethnic diversity and minority ethnic communities.
View the organisation chart of Mental Health Europe
The General Assembly
It is MHE’s highest decision-making body, composed of all the MHE full members and voting individual members. Associate members and the other individual members can participate but have no voting right.
It adopts MHE’s annual work programme and sets policy guidelines and priorities for the organisation. It adopts the annual accounts, balance and budget and grants discharge to the Board.
Download:
- the MHE annual report 2008, in English or French
- previous MHE annual reports
The Board
The Board is composed of 15 members representing the full member organisations and voting individual members.
The Board is elected by all the members who have voting rights for a 3 year period (2006-2009) to develop a strategy for implementing MHE's objectives.
MHE Board for the period 2009-2012
- Tamas Barnabas, Hungary
- Preben Brandt, Projekt UDENFOR, Denmark
- Hristo Dimitrov, Public Health Association, Bulgaria
- Rita Donabauer, Pro Mente Austria, Austria
- Martine Dutoit, Advocacy France, France
- Brian Howard, Mental Health Ireland, Ireland
- Vicente Ibañez Rojo, AEN, Spain
- Malgorzata Kmita, United Kingdom
- Nace Kovac, SENT, Slovenia
- Pino Pini, AISMe, Italy
- Marita Ruohonen, the Finnish Association for Mental Health, Finland
- Dimitris Tataridis, Society of Social Psychiatry and Mental Health, Greece
- Jan Van Speybroeck, Flemish Association for Mental Health, Belgium
- Svetlana Varjun,Estonian Mental Health Society, Estonia
- Colette Versporten, Belgium
The Executive Committee
The Executive Committee is made up of 5 members. It is headed by the President of MHE, and includes a Vice-President, a Treasurer, a Secretary and a fifth member without portfolio.
Its responsibility is to execute decisions taken by the Board as well as to supervise the work of the Secretariat.
MHE Executive Committee for the period 2009-2012
- President: Nace Kovac
- Vice-President: Rita Donabauer
- Treasurer: Colette Versporten
- Secretary: Pino Pini
- Member without portfolio: Brian Howard
The Secretariat
The Secretariat provides support to all the MHE bodies and informs them about relevant EU policy developments. The Secretariat is also in charge of developing and implementing the work programme, organising meetings, facilitating networking between the MHE members and developing external partnerships and alliances.
The Director is responsible for the general coordination of the MHE Secretariat.
The Membership and Accreditation Committee
The Membership and Accreditation Committee (MAC) consists of five representatives of the membership elected by the Board for a period of 3 years.
The MAC makes recommendations to the Board regarding new candidatures and applications to the change of category, as well as recommendations for reducing or waiving the membership fee.
The Membership and Accreditation Committee for the period 2009-2012
- Chair: Josée Van Remoortel, Senior Policy Adviser MHE
- Athena Frangouli, Greece
- Mariano Hernandez, Spain
- Inge Schöck, Germany
- Vesna Svab, Slovenia
