ICN elects new President, José Luis Cobos Serrano, a new Board of Directors, and announces 2027 Congress venue
At the closing ceremony of ICN Congress 2025, ICN announced that it has elected Dr José Luis Cobos Serrano to be its 30th President, following an election by its Council of National Nursing Association Representatives, at a meeting in Finland, just before Congress started.
Dr Cobos Serrano is currently Third Vice President of Spanish General Council of Nurses.
Speaking after his election, Dr Cobos Serrano said his vision would be to empower ICN as a global health actor, strengthen ICN’s National Nursing Associations, and empower every nurse around the world.
Dr Cobos Serrano, at times speaking in English, French and Spanish, to emphasize the global nature of the whole nursing family, announced that his presidential watchword is ‘empowerment’, In his speech he said: “My watchword word is empowerment, because we are more than 30 million nurses worldwide, we are the largest group of healthcare professionals, and yet, we are often not recognized for all that we contribute.
‘But think about this: if one person alone can change the course of the world in just a few hours… imagine what 30 million nurses can achieve when we work together.”
He said he would ask every nurse to ask themselves every morning what they can do to change the world, and at night, to reflect on what they had done to fulfil that purpose.
“But let me be clear: I have not come to change ICN. I have come to continue the great work led by Dr Pamela Cipriano and her team. There is a clear roadmap, and together with the new Board of Directors, we will follow that path.”
Dr Cobos Serrano said he plans to listen to every voice and called on nurses everywhere to seize the day: “Today, my fellow nurses of the world - we are ready. This is our moment. Let’s seize it. Empower nurses. Lead the future.”
Outgoing President Dr Pamela Cipriano, in her farewell address said how honoured she has been to serve as President of ICN , describing it as the pinnacle of her career.
“I have marvelled at the undaunted courage of nurses around the world – the dedication and creativity is unparalleled. The solidarity and caring for humankind has no limits.
‘Today I close a chapter on my professional career, one that I will cherish forever. It has been a privilege and an honour to be your president. Every ending has a new beginning so I leave this role knowing we have made great progress together. And I look forward to seeing the work the new Board will do to lead the profession into the future.”
The final act of the Congress was the handing over of the baton to the Taiwan Nurses Association, which will hold ICN’s 31st Congress in Taipei on 8-11 July 2027.
ICN’s new board of Directors
The ICN Board of Directors comprises the President, three Vice Presidents and eight members, elected on the basis of ICN voting areas. All members must meet the ICN definition of a nurse and be in good standing in an ICN member association. Each Board serves as the agent of the Council of National Nursing Association Representatives (CNR) and establishes and carries out policy consistent with the framework established by the CNR. Members of the ICN Board of Directors are elected to represent nurses and nursing worldwide.
The full Board of Directors is as follows:
- President José Luis Cobos Serrano
- Africa Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo
- Eastern Mediterranean Myrna Abi Abdallah Doumit
- North and Eastern Europe Sineva Maria Ribeiro
- West and Central Europe Emily McWhirter
- Southern Europe Ricardo Correia de Matos
- North America and Caribbean Sylvain Brousseau
- Central and South America Nora E. Barahona De Peñate
- South East Asia T. Dileep Kumar
- Asia Megumi Teshima and Ching Min Chen
- Pacific and Eastern Asia Debra Thoms
The three Vice-Presidents will be chosen by the Board at a later date.