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The General Assembly of CISH has elected a new Board

The General Assembly of the Comité international des sciences historiques (CISH) has elected a new Board

At its congress marking the centennial of its founding on 14 May 1926, the Comité international des sciences historiques (CISH), the international organization of historians, held its General Assembly in the presence of 41 delegates from national committees and affiliated organisations.

In accordance with the association’s constitution, the General Assembly elected a new Board. CISH had received a total of 13 candidatures. All the candidates proposed by the Nominating Committee — composed of Catherine Horel, Edoardo Tortarolo, Katalin Szende, Veronica Zárate, Tomasz Schramm, Radhika Seshan and Olafunke Adeboye — were elected by the General Assembly. With 3 former members of the Board and 11 new Board members the 14 members of the Board offer a large geographic, gender and thematic diversity.

Members of the new Board:

  1. Sacha Zala (President, Swiss Society for History) – former
  2. Katalin Szende (Commission for the History of Towns / Hungarian National Committee) – former
  3. Matthias Middell (German National Committee) – former
  4. Gabriela Pellegrino Soares (Brazilian and Chilean National Committee) – new
  5. Radmila Švaříčková Slabáková (Czech National Committee) – new
  6. Anne Conchon (French National Committee) – new
  7. Tyson Retz (International Committee of the History and Theory of Historiography) – new
  8. Mahmood Kooria (International Consortium for Oceanic History) – new
  9. Joanna Wojdon (International Society for History Didactics / International Federation for Public History) – new
  10. Irene Gaddo (Italian National Committee) – new
  11. Tamar Herzig (The Historical Society of Israel) – new
  12. Milos Vojinovic (Serbian National Committee) – new
  13. Kimberly Welch (American Historical Association) – new
  14. Elina Ziehm (International Students of History Association) – new

The new Board will serve the next term, continuing CISH’s mission of promoting historical scholarship and international cooperation among historians worldwide.

Congrès, Congresses, News

Sacha Zala appointed as CISH President

Sacha Zala

The General Assembly elected Sacha Zala as President.
Zala is Director of the research centre Dodis (Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland) and Professor of History at the University of Bern. He joined the CISH Board as Treasurer in 2017 and served as President of the Swiss Society for History (SSH) from 2012 to 2026. He succeeds Catherine Horel of France, who was elected President of CISH in 2022.

In his acceptance speech and the closing speech to the Centennial Conference in Leipzig, Zala outlined four priorities for his term:

1. Complete CISH’s institutional reform, professionalise its structures and secure the financial resources required for its long-term sustainability.

2. Strengthen cooperation among CISH members, particularly by forging closer ties with National Organisations and deepening collaboration with Affiliated International Organisations.

3. Further develop CISH’s international congresses, making them more dynamic, financially sustainable and attractive to historians worldwide.

4. Defend academic freedom and strengthen CISH’s role as the world organisation representing historians and promoting international scholarly cooperation.

Presse release F/D/I

Congrès, News

Hundred Years CISH

CISH turns 100 today!

One hundred years ago today, on 14 May 1926, the Comité international des sciences historiques was founded in Geneva. A century on, CISH unites 54 national committees and 27 international associations dedicated to historical research across the globe.

For a hundred years, CISH has championed the historical sciences and fostered international scholarly cooperation. To mark this milestone, the CISH Board has declared 2026 the Year of the CISH, culminating in the Centennial Conference in Leipzig, 26–30 August 2026.


👉 Register now.

Congrès, News