Westminster Foundation for Democracy
The Westminster Foundation for Democracy is a state funded organisation working to promote democracy overseas.
The Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) was established in March 1992 to provide assistance in building and strengthening pluralist democratic institutions overseas.
It receives a grant-in-aid from the Government which is currently around £4 million. It accounts to Parliament for the resources through the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. It also undertakes selected extra-budgetary technical assistance projects, and seeks contributions from the private sector and other funding organisations. WFD is independent of the Government in setting its priorities and its choice of projects.
The three main UK political parties are each represented on the Board of Governors, and are appointed by the Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs after consulting the parties. There is also a representative from the smaller political parties, and non-party figures drawn from business, the trade unions, the academic world and the non-governmental sector.
(all from [1])
Its priority areas are Central and Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent (CIS) and Anglophone Africa.
Patrons
The Speaker of the House of Commons
- Rt Hon Tony Blair MP
- Rt Hon Ian Duncan Smith MP
- Rt Hon Charles Kennedy MP
- David Trimble MP
- Ieuan Wyn Jones MP AM
- John Hume MP MEP
- Alex Salmond MSP
- Dr Ian Paisley MP MEP
"Promoting democracy"
Governors
- Chairman: Michael Gapes MP
- Vice-Chair: Nik Gowing
- Vice-Chair: Michael Moore MP
- Vice-Chair: Michael Trend MP
Governors:
External links
- William Robinson, Promoting Polyarchy: Globalization, US Intervention and Hegemony, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. For a quick summary
- Interview with William Robinson by Jonah Gindin, The Battle for Global Civil Society, June 13, 2005.