Élisabeth Decrey Warner née Reusse-Decrey (born 1953) is a Swiss

peace activist A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world p ...

and politician. In 1998 she founded the humanitarian organization

Geneva Call Geneva Call is a non-governmental organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. It is currently focusing its efforts on banning the use of anti-personnel mines, protecting children from the effects of armed conflict, prohibiting sexual violence in ar ...

which set out to involve armed

non-State actor A non-state actor (NSA) is an individual or organization that has significant political influence but is not allied to any particular country or state. The interests, structure, and influence of NSAs vary widely. For example, among NSAs are non-pr ...

s in banning the use of

landmine A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, whi ...

s. She served as the organization's executive president until late 2017. Decrey Warner has been widely recognized for her peace efforts. She was nominated for Switzerland as one of the 1,000 women for the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

in 2005, in 2012 she was awarded the Hessian Peace Prize, and in 2013 she received the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

Biography

Born in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

on 16 October 1953, Elisabeth Reusse-Decrey was raised in the Haute-Nendaz municipality in the

Canton of Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

. She initially worked as a

ski instructor Skis are runners, attached to the user's feet, designed to glide over snow. Typically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partially secured heel. For climbing slopes, ski skins can ...

but then trained as a

physiotherapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...

. From 1989 to 2001, she represented the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

on the

Grand Council of Geneva The Grand Council of Geneva () is the legislature of the canton of Geneva, in Switzerland. Geneva, styled as a 'Republic and Canton', has a unicameral legislature. The Grand Council was established in its present form and with 100 seats in 1 ...

, serving as vice-president from 18 November 1999 and president from 16 November 2000 to 1 November 2001. In 1997, Reusse-Decrey was a member of the Swiss delegation sent to

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

in 1997 to sign the United Nations Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. Believing that the treaty should be supplemented by the possibility of negotiating with armed non-State actors, in 1998 she founded the NGO Geneva Call. The organization embarked on meaningful activities with the Swiss Campaign to Ban Landmines in March 2000. Decrey Warner remained the organization's executive director until November 2017 when she resigned in favour of Alain Délétroz. Decrey Warner has served on the boards of several related organizations, including the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining and the

Geneva Centre for Security Policy The Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) is an international foundation that was established in 1995 under Swiss law to "promote the building and maintenance of peace, security and stability". The GCSP was founded by the Federal Departmen ...

. She is also a board member of the French organization Leaders pour la Paix and of

Terre des hommes Terre des hommes (; ), also capitalized as Terre des Hommes, is an international children's rights charitable humanitarian umbrella organization under the aegis of the International Federation of Terre des Hommes (TDHIF), with independent organ ...

in Switzerland.

Marriage

In 2007, Reusse-Decrey married the American-born Daniel Warner, director of the CIG (Centre pour la gouvernance internationale) at the

Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (, abbreviated IHEID), commonly referred to as Geneva Graduate Institute, is a graduate-level research university in Geneva, Switzerland dedicated to international relations, dev ...

in Geneva. The couple have six children.

Awards

Élisabeth Decrey Warner has received several awards including the following: *2005: nominated for Switzerland as one of the 1,000 women for the

in 2005 *2012: Hessian Peace Prize *2013: French Legion of Honour *2015: honorary doctorate, University of Geneva

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Decrey Warner, Elisabeth 1953 births People from Lausanne Pacifist feminists Swiss pacifists Swiss anti-war activists 21st-century Swiss women politicians 21st-century Swiss politicians 20th-century Swiss women politicians 20th-century Swiss politicians Academic staff of the University of Geneva Recipients of the Legion of Honour Living people

Biography

Marriage

Awards

See also

References