Last December 12, UZEI’s General Assembly unanimously appointed Lourdes Auzmendi Aierbe as UZEI’s President.
Lourdes Auzmendi has a long professional career with close links to translation and interpreting, allowing her to gain first-hand knowledge of UZEI and its work and contribution to the Basque language.
In 1987, Lourdes Auzmendi was one of the founders of EIZIE (the Association of Translators, Correctors and Interpreters of Basque Language), an association in which she also served as president at the time. In addition, between 2001 and 2017, she held the position of Professor of Translation at the University of the Basque Country.
In 2009, she was appointed Director for the Promotion of the Basque Language, and later on, Vice-Minister of Language Policy at the Basque Government.
We sincerely hope that this new stage we are embarking on together will also be a successful one. Welcome, Lourdes!

She will take over from Jon Etxabe
We must not forget to mention the former president of UZEI, Jon Etxabe. During the last 20 years, his involvement and commitment have been unwavering, and he has worked tirelessly to strengthen new synergies and launch new business opportunities.
For all these reasons, those of us who make up UZEI would like to express our most sincere thanks to him. Mila esker, Jon, bihotzez!