WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Fund for Peace has elected George Lehner as Chair of its Board of Trustees effective January 1, 2014. He succeeds former co-chairs Jeri Thomson and David Morey, who led the Fund for over five years. They will both continue to serve on the Board.

Lehner, a partner in the Washington office of Pepper Hamilton LLP, began his career in the State Department. He was a speech writer and senior aide to John B. Anderson in Anderson's presidential campaign. He is General Counsel to the White House Correspondents' Association and to the International Women's Media Foundation. He has served on the Fund's Board of Trustees for the past twelve years.

Lehner said, "The Fund's work in conflict prevention and threat assessment is well recognized and respected in the foreign policy community. Jeri and David's leadership has helped to strengthen the Fund and position it to make an even greater contribution in the years to come. I look forward to working with the Board and our staff to expand our reach and deepen our impact, particularly in addressing problems of fragile and failing states."

Krista Hendry, Executive Director of the Fund said, "We all look forward to working closely with George as he takes over this leadership position. He shares our strong commitment to working with all our partners to reduce the threat of violent conflict around the world."

The Fund also elected Siobhan MacDermott as Vice-Chair. Siobhan is one of the foremost experts on the future of the Internet, cyber security, privacy and business-government relations globally. She most recently served as Chief Policy Officer at AVG and is the founder and CEO of Takatech, a strategic consultancy.

About the Fund for Peace

For over 50 years and in over 50 countries, the Fund for Peace has worked with governments, NGO's, international organizations, and private businesses to promote sustainable security, prevent violent conflict, and to provide tools for local civil society and senior policy makers to help them address threats to peace and stability. For the past 9 years, the Fund has produced the Failed States Index, an annual ranking of 177 countries across 12 indicators, that is published by Foreign Policy magazine.

The Fund for Peace is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization headquartered in Washington DC.

For More Information

For more information, please contact Krista Hendry, Executive Director, The Fund for Peace at khendry@fundforpeace.org or (202) 223-7940 x 212. See also, www.fundforpeace.org.

SOURCE Fund for Peace