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1.	Opening statement — President's remarks
2.	Secretary General’s activity report for 2000-2005
3.	Treasurer’s financial report
4.	Appointment of two auditors
5.	Nominating Committee report: proposals for the 2005-2010 Bureau
6.	Amendments to ICHS statutes
7.	New members
8.	Selection of venue for the 21st Congress for the Historical Sciences in 2010
9.	Miscellaneous

1. President's opening statement and remarks

After welcoming all the members in attendance, President Jürgen Kocka asked the Secretary General to verify the quorum. Present Kocka noted that for the first time in its history ICHS Congress was being held in the Southern Hemisphere, thus marking its commitment to become truly international in scope. As well, the series of regional meetings organised since 2001 was a step in the same direction. He further added that the publication of the English version of K. D. Erdmann’s book on the history of ICHS was important for the life of our Committee.


2. Secretary General's report

Jean-Claude Robert reminded the Assembly of the practice of waiting until the second General Assembly to vote on the important decisions that are taken at the beginning of a new quinquennium. He then presented his general report for 2000-2005, which was too detailed to be read in session. The full report is appended to this document.

Emphasizing a few important points, he began by highlighting the ICHS’s ongoing efforts to pursue its international outreach, renew its leadership and initiatives, and further involve young colleagues in its events. He also pointed out that the ICHS’s membership numbers remain fairly stable. The International Commission on the History of Travel and Tourism has become an Affiliated International Organization, and a new International Association for the study of the Baltic region has been created.

He also described the productive output of the Joint UNESCO-ICHS Committee during the past five years. Some twelve meetings were organized in different parts of the world where ICHS representation is weak. Seven sessions arising directly from the work of the Committee will be held at the Sydney Congress. The negative side was that the Secretary General’s time had been monopolized almost entirely by the work of the Joint Committee these past two years and therefore changes would have to be made.

Lastly, the ICHS’s communications are faring rather well: the Bulletin has been overhauled, it is being published annually since 2000, and the website is being updated. Also of note is the publication of the English translation of Karl Dietrich Erdmann’s book on the history of the International Congresses. The editors - Jürgen Kocka, the late Wolfgang J. Mommsen and Agnes Blänsdorf - condensed the German text and added a new chapter. The book deals with the history of the International Congresses of Historians 1898 - 2000 as well as with the work of the Committee since it was founded in 1926. This book permits the members of ICHS to have a look at the past and gauge the progress that remains to be made.

3. Treasurer's Report

The Treasurer distributed a document entitled Financial Documents to all those present, showing all the profit and loss statements and accounts as well as the audit reports for the 2002, 2003 and 2004 fiscal years (see enclosures). The documents indicate a slow but sure bleed of the ICHS’s financial assets in the wake of mounting operating costs and static inflows. The Treasurer underscored that many National Committees and Affiliated International Organizations are late in paying their dues despite the Committee’s practice of sending out reminders in December before the amount is due, and again in May of the payment year. He asked that the organizations in arrears settle their accounts.


4. Appointment of auditors

As there were no questions arising from the presentation of the Treasurer’s report, the next item was to appoint two auditors. Accordingly, the General Assembly appointed Professor Gregory Kealey (delegate from the Canadian National Committee) and Professor Stephen Fischer-Galati (delegate from the International Commission of Slavic Studies).

5. Nominating Committee

The Nominating Committee was elected during the General Assembly of September 2002, and is composed of seven people—four members delegated by the General Assembly (Ms. Anna Maria Rao, Ms. Janet T. Nelson, Mr. Cha Ha Soon and Mr. Marcel van der Linden) and three members delegated by the Bureau (Ms. Eva Österberg, Mr. Jürgen Kocka and Mr. Jean-Claude Robert). After a call for nominees was extended, the Committee met in Berlin on August 30, 2004, in the company of Mr. Pierre Ducrey, ICHS Treasurer, who attended as an observer. During the meeting, the Committee established some guidelines as well as a partial list of nominees. The Committee pursued its work by correspondence, ultimately adopting the list published in these minutes.

The members of the Committee discussed four main criteria that would guide their choices: first, the need to ensure a geographical balance within the Bureau so that the main areas of Europe and the world would be represented as equitably as possible, as the resources of the ICHS would allow. Accordingly, the Bureau is now composed of 11 members with voting rights (President, Secretary General, Treasurer, two Vice-Presidents and six Assessor Members), in addition to the past President, who sits solely in an advisory capacity. Second, a balance must be maintained among the scientific fields represented within the Bureau. Third, there must be a balance of the sexes. Fourth, it would be important to nominate those who are recognized not only for their expertise but also for their ability to work within a team and develop international contacts.

While emphasizing that no country could lay claim to a permanent seat on the Bureau, the members felt that the representation achieved was a good balance for the Bureau. They nominated the following eleven people during the General Assembly.

In accordance with a suggestion made at the Oslo Congress, the Bureau distributed a list of candidates along with their abbreviated curriculum vitae to help delegates study the proposals. The candidates’ curriculum vitae is available at the Congress registration office.

Vice-President Eva Österberg read the list, beginning with the names of the new candidates:

President:	Prof. José Luis Peset (Madrid, Spain), formerly an Assessor Member
First Vice-President:	Prof. Koichi Kabayama (Japan), formerly an Assessor Member
Second Vice-President:	Prof. William Chester Jordan (United States), formerly an Assessor Member
Secretary General:	Prof. Jean-Claude Robert (Montréal, Canada)
Treasurer:	Prof. Pierre Ducrey (Lausanne, Switzerland)
Assessor Members:	Prof. Shahid Amin (New Delhi, India) Prof. Sorin Antohi (Budapest, Hungary) Prof. Dr. Mikhail Bibikov (Russia) Prof. Michael Heyd (Israel) Prof. Marjatta Hietala (Tempere, Finland) Prof. Hilda Sabato (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
Counsellor:	Prof. Jürgen Kocka (Germany) ICHS President from 2000 to 2005

Eva Österberg reminded the members of the provisions of article 5 of the constitution, which reads as follows: “…Nominating Committee … shall present its proposals at the first of the two General Assemblies which take place at each quinquennial Congress. Counter-proposals may be submitted to the Board between the first and the second Assembly. To be admissible, a counter-proposal has to be signed by the representatives of five National Committees of International Affiliated Organizations. The Board shall be elected at the second of the two General Assemblies held at the quinquennial Congress.” If a counterproposal is presented, the curriculum vitæ of that candidate must be made available to the members of the General Assembly.


6. Amendments to the statutes of the ICHS

During its regular meeting in Berlin in 2004, the Bureau proposed two minor amendments to the statutes of the ICHS. In accordance with its regulation, the amendment proposals were announced to all the National Committees and Affiliated International Organizations two months before the first General Assembly was held. Here is the text of the proposals:

Article 1, last sentence: "It shall defend freedom of thought and expression in the field of historical research and teaching, and is opposed to the misuse of history and shall use every means at its disposal to ensure the ethical professional conduct of its members."

Article 5, third paragraph: "Past Presidents of the ICHS shall also be members of the Board, as Counsellors-Members without vote, for a period of five years beginning on the day their presidential office expires, without consideration of age."

The proposed amendments were adopted unanimously by the General Assembly.


7. New members

Jean-Claude Robert took the floor again to present two requests for affiliation with the ICHS:

1.	The International Commission on the History of Travel and Tourism, created at the General Assembly in Amsterdam, asked to become an Affiliated International Organization, with full voting rights at the General Assembly.
2.	An International Commission, known as the International Commission for the History of the Baltic Sea, composed of historians and groups researching the history of the region, was seeking membership as an Internal Commission for a limited term of five years. The statutes, prepared by Professor Hain Rebas of the University of Kiel, conformed to the requirements of the ICHS.

Having received the unanimous approval of the General Assembly, President Jürgen Kocka admitted the two applicants by acclamation as members of the ICHS and invited them to take part immediately in the work of the General Assembly.


8. Selection of venue for the 21st Congress for the Historical Sciences in 2010

The cities of Amsterdam and Paris submitted their candidacies as venues for the 2010 Congress. The Secretary General prepared a list of specifications setting out the ICHS’s requirements for the quinquennial Congress, with both cities agreeing to the terms. In accordance with ICHS practices, the two candidate committees were given 20 minutes each to present their candidacy. The final vote will be taken during the second General Assembly (July 7). The candidates were presented in alphabetical order.

The application from the city of Amsterdam was presented by Prof. Hans Blom, a former President of the Netherlands National Committee, and President of the Nederlands Instituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie (Netherlands Institute for War Documentation), who was accompanied by Mr. H. Wals, Assistant Director of the Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis (International Institute of Social History), and Prof. P. den Boer, of the University of Amsterdam.

The application from the city of Paris was presented by Prof. Jean-François Sirinelli of the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris, who is President of the French National Committee, and Mr. Pascal Cauchy, of the Institut d’Études politiques de Paris.

After the presentations were made, a question period followed, allowing members of the General Assembly to clarify certain points with the representatives of both cities.


9. Miscellaneous

As there was no further business, President Jürgen Kocka adjourned the meeting after thanking the members of the General Assembly for their attention.