Geneva (27 October 2015): After 42 years of work at the Irish Assay Office, 27 years in the Standing Committee (SC) and 9 years as the SC's Chairman, Mr Ronald W.A. Le Bas has decided not to stand for re-election for the position of SC Chairman. Mr Le Bas has been the longest serving SC Chairman in the Convention's history. During his successive terms, which cover the period between 2006 and 2015, the Convention's text was successfully amended and the Convention further expanded to include both the Slovak Republic and Slovenia. Croatia, Italy and Serbia also applied for membership during this period. Mr Le Bas's entire life has been devoted to hallmarking, as did his ancestors. The Le Bas family has a long and proud tradition in the gold and silver business going back as far as 1574.
Ms Dalia Yarom is the first Chairman in the Convention's history to come from a non-European country. She is currently the Head of the Chemistry and Textile laboratories (which includes the Israeli Assay Office and its precious metals laboratory) at the Standards Institution of Israel (SII). Previously she was the Head of the Israeli Assay Office (1999 - 2010) at SII. Ms Yarom holds a master in chemistry from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She is also a certified quality engineer (CQE) by the American Quality Assurance Organization. She has been a Member of the Standing Committee since Israel's accession to the Convention in 2005.