The British Veterinary Association (BVA) elected Peter Harlech Jones as president for 2012/13 during its recent AGM at the Merseyside Maritime Museum in Liverpool.
Mr Jones, an international consultant on veterinary medicines, was born and raised in North Wales. He qualified from the University of Liverpool Veterinary School in 1971 and spent time in practice in Wales, London and Canada before joining the pharmaceutical industry.
After spending 20 years in the animal health business, both at home and abroad, Mr Jones was appointed the first head of the Veterinary Division at the newly created European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA) in London.
His last post before entering semi-retirement in 2008 was as head of the global animal health industry association, the International Federation of Animal Health (IFAH).
Within the BVA, Mr Jones has served as a member of the Veterinary Policy Group and as chair of the Medicines Group. He participates in the work of the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) and acts as a consultant to GALVmed.
Commenting on his election, Mr Jones remarked: “My background is in pharma research and international regulatory affairs and I am confident that my experience will be useful as we anticipate the new EU Animal Health Law and medicines legislation but I am driven to do much more for the veterinary profession than just in those fields.
“The word ‘value’ really began to resonate for me when I started thinking of my theme for the year ahead as President of BVA.
“In whatever role we play, vets are adding value in so many areas of our professional lives to society at large in a huge and significant contribution to the public good. I firmly believe that we, as an association and as a profession, must use every opportunity to reinforce the message about the value we give in all aspects of our work, and to believe in ourselves.
“I want to see a greater appreciation for what we do and what we contribute, and BVA will lead from the front.
“Looking ahead it will be a busy year for all of us. But I am confident that we have the teams in place – through our committees and council, our regional representatives, our divisions and beyond – to do our wonderful profession proud.
“I am certainly very proud to be standing here today and I am committed to working hard for all our members as their President.”
