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Central European Initiative 1989-2009: 20 Years 
participants in MFA Meeting - 2010 CEI at a Glance
The origin of the Central European Initiative, whose headquarters are based in Trieste, lies in the creation of the Quadrangolare in Budapest on 11 November 1989 whose founding fathers were Italy, Austria, Hungary and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY).
The Initiative aimed at overcoming the division in blocks by re-establishing cooperation links, among countries of different political orientations and economic structures.
At the first Summit in Venice in 1990, Czechoslovakia was admitted and the Initiative was renamed Pentagonale. In 1991, with the admission of Poland it became the Hexagonale.
The Yugoslav crisis in 1991 severely hampered the functioning of the Hexagonale, but it proved its vitality. The organisation was renamed Central European Initiative (CEI) in 1992.
It is now the largest forum of regional cooperation among eighteen Member States of Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe.
Since its establishment in 1996, the CEI Secretariat was headed by:
- Director General Ambassador Paul Hartig (Austria) from 1996 to 2001
- Director General Ambassador Harald Kreid (Austria) from 2002 to 2007
- Secretary General Ambassador Pietro Ercole Ago (Italy) from 2008 to 2009
As of 1 January 2010, Ambassador Gerhard Pfanzelter (Austria) has taken up his duties as Secretary General.
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