Lucerne, Switzerland, July 31 - August 1, 1994
The President opened the Assembly at 10 a.m. on July 31, 1994
The address given by the President is found in Appendix 1. He also emphasized that every effort had been made to send the delegates all necessary information beforehand. This information is collected in Bulletin No. 36, Special Number for the General Assembly.
The Agenda was accepted in a modified order.
The following committees were appointed:
The Group of Adherence of Chile and Iran were raised from I to II. The change will take effect on January 1, 1995. Concerning Israel, the General Assembly approved a raise from Group III to Group IV, as of January 1, 1995.
Bulgaria had its Group of Adherence lowered from II to I, on its own request. The change has taken effect as of January 1, 1994. The Secretary emphasized t hat this change will be reversed as soon as Bulgaria's economic situation improves, without another ballot. The presidente asked Prof. B. Sendov, a delegate from Bulgaria, to tell the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Union's appreciation of the scientific work in that country.
The Secretary informed the Assembly that the situation is satisfactory, as no country has dues arrears for more than 4 years.
The activities of the Union for the years 1990-1993, as well as the complete financial reports, including audited ones, had been reviewed in the Bulletin No. 36, Special Number, 1994.
The reports in the Bulletin covered symposia and conferences supported by IMU, IMU lectures, ICMS activities, CDE activities, ICHM activities, the IMU Bulletin, and the World Directory of Mathematicians. They were approved.
The 10th edition of the World Directory of Mathematicians compiled and printed by the American Mathematical Society under the supervision of Professor David Mumford , will be available at the ICM in Zurich.
Prof. J. Palis, Chairperson of the Committee, reported on
the work of the Committee.
This report is printed in Appendix 2.
The discussion was interupted for lunch at 12:30.
The 2nd session started at 2 p.m. Prof. J. Timourian proposed a resolution on the "Turn of the Century" activities. The Assembly decided to transfer this proposal, as well as several others, to the Resolution Committee.
Prof. D. Mumford presented the three specific points of his proposal.
The text is presented in Appendix 3.
It was decided that the topic should be the subject matter of some
resolution of the General Assembly to be discussed for approval in the
next day.
The President announced that the Site Committee recommends Berlin as the Site for the 1998 International Congress of Mathematicians. The Assembly decided unanimously that the 1998 Congress be held in Berlin. Prof. F. Hirzebruch thanked the General Assembly and promised the mathematical community a good conference. He assured that there will be no visa problems and announced the date as August 18 to 28, 1998.
Prof. J. L. Lions told the Assembly that bids to host the Congress 2002 must be received by the Executive Committee by November 1996. The decision will be made by the E.C. by May, 1997, subject to a final deliberation by the General Assembly in August, 1998.
The second session was closed at 4 p.m.
The third session started at 10:10 on August 1.
The Nominating Committee had met in the early morning, from 8:00 to 9:00. The Committee had received two names for members of the Executive Committee from the floor. Prof. Lions explained the voting procedure. The IMU Executive Committee, elected by ballot, for the years 1995-1998, consists of:
The Past President, J.L.Lions, will be an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee.
elected unanimously, for the years 1995-1998, consists of:
The ex-officio members are: the President of IMU, Prof. David Mumford, the Secretary of IMU, Prof. Jacob Palis and the Past President of ICMI, Prof. J.P. Kahane.
elected unanimously, for the years 1995-1998, consists of:
Professors Laura Toti Rigatelli and Karen V.H. Parshall were elected as IMU Members to the Executive Committee of the Joint International Commission on the History of Mathematicians for the years 1995-1998.
The IMU representatives to ICSU bodies elected by acclamation are:
Professor Jacob Palis was re-elected to represent IMU at ICSU in the years 1995-1998
Professor J. L.Lions, was re-electerd to represent IMU at COSPAR in the years 1995-1998
The IMU representatives at these organizations should report to the General Assembly of their activities.
Professor C. Terng, Chairperson of Committee for Finance and Dues reported on the work of the Committee. Her report is presented as Appendix 5.
The Committee recommended the approval of the financial reports for the years 1990-1993 and the audited accounts. They were unanimously approved by the General Assembly.
The budget for 1995-1998 had been prepared on the basis of about ten per cent increase on the dues of the Union.
The Committee recommended the acceptance of the budget proposed.
The budget was approved unanimously by the General Assembly. It is printed as Appendix 6.
The Resolution Committee presented proposals of resolutions for approval of the General Assembly.
After discussion of these and some other proposals presented from the floor, the following ones were approved:
The General Assembly resolves that the next meeting of the Assembly be held at a time and place conveniently linked to the International Congress of Mathematicians in Berlin, Germany, in 1998.
The General Assembly thanks the Turn of the Century Committee for its report. The General Assembly asks the new Executive Committee to proceed with the planning of World Mathematical Year 2000, and to organize and coordinate activities such as
The General Assembly recommends that the name of the Chair of the Programme Committee be made public on appointment.
The General Assembly recommends that the Programme Committee explores ways of involving more effectively mathematicians from applied areas in the next Congress, including the possibility of introducing sessions co-sponsored with other scientific bodies.
The General Assembly recommends that the Programme Committee schedule some less formal scientific events of broad interest during the Congress.
The EC is asked to redraft the electoral procedures to improve them in the light of the points that have been made in the discussion at the General Assembly, and the recommendations be sent to the national committees before the end of 1995.
The General Assembly expresses its gratitude to UNESCO and ICSU for the help and support that these organizations have provided for various mathematical activities, in particular those carried out in cooperation with the Commission for Development and Exchange (CDE) and the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) of the IMU.
The 12th General Assembly expresses warm thanks to the Executive Committee of the IMU for the work done during the period 1991-1994.
The General Assembly gives special thanks to Professor J.L. Lions for his important contributions, first as Secretary, and then as President of the IMU, assisted by Mme Renault and Mme Theis, and to Professor J. Palis for his considerable and dedicated work as the Secretary of IMU, with the help of Mme Lima and Mme Dold. The General Assembly recognizes with gratitude the generous support provided by the Collège de France and IMPA to the IMU Secretariat.
The General Assembly expresses its gratitude to the Swiss organizers of the 1994 Congress, for its hospitable reception, and for the excellent arrangements for this meeting of the Assembly.
The German delegation invited the General Assembly to meet on August 15-16, 1998 at a place linked to the International Congress of Mathematicians to take place in Berlin, Germany.
The President thanked the Assembly for its work and declared the 12th General Assembly of IMU closed at 1:00 p.m.
The report of the Credentials Committee is presented as Appendix 4, the list of participants as Appendix 7.