The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is the principal institution of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) dealing with the "human dimension" of security. The office, originally named Office for Free Elections, was created in 1990 by the Charter of Paris and established in 1991. The name of the office was changed in 1992 to reflect the broadened mandate it received at the 1992 Helsinki Summit.

The ODIHR, based in Warsaw (Poland) is active throughout the 56 participating States of the OSCE. It assists governments to live up to their commitments as participating States of the OSCE in the areas of elections, human rights, democracy, rule of law, and tolerance and non-discrimination. The office also hosts the organisation's Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues.

The ODIHR is best known for its role in observing elections. It has observed over 150 elections across the OSCE region and has deployed some 35,000 observers.

The office organises the annual OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw, Europe's largest human rights conference.

Janez Lenarčič (born November 6, 1967) is a Slovenian diplomat and the current Director of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

He began his diplomatic career in 1992 with the Foreign Ministry. His first oversees posting 1994-1999 was at the Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the United Nations in New York.

From 2000 to 2001 he worked as adviser to the foreign minister and prime minister of Slovenia.

From 2002 to 2003 he served as State Secretary in the Office of the prime minister.

Lenarčič was Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Slovenia to the OSCE in Vienna from 2003 to 2006, and chaired the Permanent Council in 2005 when Slovenia held the rotating chairmanship of the Organization.

From 2006 to 2008 he was State Secretary for European Affairs.

Lenarčič holds a degree in international law from the University of Ljubljana, 1992.

He received France's highest award, the Légion d'honneur.

Heidi Tagliavini (born 1950 in Basel) is a Swiss diplomat noted for her service with international aid and peacekeeping missions; a 2003 profile in the monthly magazine of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung called her "Switzerland's outstanding diplomat". She was charged with leading the European Union investigation into the causes of the 2008 South Ossetia War.

After joining the Swiss diplomatic service in 1982, Tagliavini served in the Directorate of Political Affairs of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and was posted to The Hague. She was a member of the first Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Assistance Group to Chechnya in 1995. In 1996, she served as Minister and Deputy Head of Mission of the Swiss embassy in Moscow. From 1998 to 1999, she was the Deputy Head of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (Unomig). Returning to Switzerland in 1999, she was appointed head of Human Rights and Humanitarian Policy in the Department of Foreign Affairs.

After a stint as Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the Caucasus from 2000 to 2001, Tagliavini served as Swiss Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2001 to 2002, and was asked by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to head Unomig in 2002. She served in that position until 2006, when she returned to Berne to assume the position of deputy head of the Directorate of Political Affairs in the Department of Foreign Affairs. Late 2009/early 2010 Tagliavini lead the OSCE Election Observation Mission during the 2010 Ukrainian presidential elections.

Menduh Thaçi (born 3 March 1965) is the president of DPA (Democratic Party of Albanians).

Thaçi was born in Tetovo (Macedonia), his parents were both from Kosovo, he is the fifth of six children. He attended primary and secondary school in Tetovo and graduated from the University of Pristina.

He has been an active politician for 20 years. He started as vice-president of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Albanians (PDPA). In 1997 a merger was formed between the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Albanians (PDPA) and the People's Democratic Party (NDP).

He was vice-president until the year 2006, at that time he was chosen President of the Party, after Arben Xhaferi resigned.

Gagik Kolyai Tsarukyan (Armenian: Գագիկ Ծառուկյան),, is an Armenian politician and a businessman. He is seen as the most influential of Armenia's government-connected "oligarchs" and key business partner of Kocharyan owning over a dozen big businesses and living in a very large villa on a hilltop overlooking the northern outskirts of Yerevan.

Tsarukyan is the founder and current leader of Prosperous Armenia Party and also the president of Armenia's National Olympic Committee (was reelected on December 4, 2008).

Tsarukyan graduated from Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture in 1989, had achievements in sports, was engaged in boxing, wrestling and arm wrestling. In 1996 Gagik Tsarukyan was given a title of world champion in arm-wrestling, and in 1998 champion of Europe.

Since 1989 Tsarukyan has been engaged in entrepreneurship. In 1995 he founded and presided "Multi Group" concern which now includes more than 30 enterprises: "Kotayk" beer factory in Abovyan, Yerevan Chemical Pharmaceutical Company, "Mek" Network of Furniture Stores, Yerevan Ararat Brandy-Wine-Vodka Factory, etc. Tsarukyan is accused of depriving ownership rights of foreign investors in Yerevan Ararat Brandy-Wine-Vodka Factory. Currently there are several court hearings pending. The largest one is launched from a German investment firm that accuses Tsarukyan of having illegally taken their stake. See Ownership of NOY in question