The International Society for Human Rights has elected Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher, ambassador for Human Rights of the World Evangelical Alliance as its new president.

WEA said in a statement earlier in May that Schirrmacher, a German academic was elected president of the Frankfurt-based ISHR at its annual conference in Bonn.

The ISHR is a non-profit organization not tied to any government, political party or religious group that seeks to promote international understanding and tolerance in all areas of culture and society.

It seeks to promote international understanding and tolerance in all areas of culture and society and has active branches or working groups in 37 countries on all continents.

The society said that later this year the ISHR will publish a book on "Corruption and Human Rights" written by Thomas Schirrmacher and his son David Schirrmacher.

Thomas Schirrmacher studied theology from 1978 to 1982 at STH Basel in Switzerland and he later turned to Cultural Anthropology and Comparative Religions at Bonn State University.

The World Evangelical Alliance is a platform for more than 600 million Christians.

Schirrmacher took over the presidency from the president of the ISHR section in Uzbekistan, Prof. Marat Zakhidov, who was a caretaker president of the ISHR for one year.

Zakhidov did not run for the presidency this time but wanted to continue as vice-president.

Thanking Zakhidov, Schirrmacher said he is evidence that many national sections of the ISHR grew out of illegal underground organizations in the era of the Soviet Union and were founded in the follow up states of the Soviet Union after 1990.

As a human rights activist who has been active and suffering under communism and is still active in a country where it is not without danger to speak up for all human rights, Zakhidov is a fitting representative for ISHR.