USA
The Open Society Foundations announced Binaifer Nowrojee has been appointed the new president with Mark Malloch-Brown stepping down from his role in June 2024.
The OSF Board of Directors unanimously voted to appoint Binaifer Nowrojee, who currently serves as the vice president of Programs. “She embodies the spirit of OSF, past and present. I am confident she will ably lead OSF into the challenging next phase of our work,” said Alex Soros, chair of OSF.
“When I established the Open Society Foundations, I wanted them to be truly global,” added George Soros, founder of OSF. “At the outset, that was merely an aspiration. But now I feel that this ambition has been fulfilled with Binaifer Nowrojee as president of the Foundations, supported by an international team. I am grateful to Mark Malloch-Brown for all he has done, and for laying the groundwork for us to reach this goal.”
Nowrojee brings over three decades of experience and dedication to her new role. Previously, she has held a range of senior positions at OSF, including East Africa Foundation director, regional director for Asia Pacific, and vice president for Organizational Transformation. Prior to her tenure at Open Society, Nowrojee also served as legal counsel at Human Rights Watch and as a staff attorney at the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights. She has worked extensively on prosecuting sexual violence under international law and testified as an expert witness at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Nowrojee holds a juris doctor from Columbia Law School and a master of laws degree from Harvard Law School, underscoring her strong academic foundation and expertise in international law and human rights.
In conjunction with the Board of Directors, Malloch-Brown decided that the timing was right to hand over the leadership after having largely completed the transformation of the Open Society Foundations. “I am proud of what we have done to prepare the organization for a future very different from its past,” stated Malloch-Brown. “It is one where all the apparent certainties of the international liberal order have been turned on their head and we have had to reinvent how we promote human rights and open society.”
“Heading this remarkable institution, the world’s largest funder of human rights, at a time when justice and compassion are under siege, is by far the biggest, and best, challenge I have ever faced. I am proud to be president and stand ready to join my colleagues in the fight,” said Nowrojee.
– Press Release
