Pierre Louette
Born in 1962, Pierre Louette studied political sciences and law and is a graduate of the National School of Administration (ENA), France's senior civil service academy. While a student, he spent a year in Jakarta and in Tokyo. From 1989 to 1993 he worked in the French General Accounting Office, and in that position he acted as rapporteur for the committee that oversees the finances of Agence France-Presse and also as an auditor in Germany and in Hong Kong.
From 1993 to 1995, Pierre Louette was adviser for communication, youth and sports to Edouard Balladur, then French prime minister. He helped launch the national Information Highways project - a precursor of the Internet - with Thierry Breton, then minister of economy and finance, and with Gérard Théry, France's top telecommunications engineer.
In 1995, Pierre Louette was appointed secretary general and director for communications to the group France Televisions and in that capacity he helped launch its Television By Satellite network.
He was also founder and CEO from 1996 to 1999 of Connect World, an Internet communications agency within Havas Advertising and from 2000 to 2003 vice-president of Europatweb, the Internet investment fund set up by Bernard Arnault.
In November 2003, Pierre Louette was appointed deputy CEO of Agence France-Presse. He was elected CEO on December 13, 2005.
He is the co-author of a book published in 1990, "The return of capital", dedicated to M & A.
in memoriam : Peter Mackler
J.S. Tissainayagam, a Sri Lankan reporter, is the first winner of the Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism, which honours the memory of one of the original board members of the AFP Foundation.
On August 31, Mr Tissainayagam was jailed for 20 years on charges of supporting terrorism.
The award was made by the Paris-based organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which issued a statement saying:
"This country (Sri Lanka) needs journalists who are determined and concerned with finding the truth. J.S. Tissainayagam is one of those and should never have been imprisoned. Sri Lankans have the right to be informed about what is happening on their island."
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