The International Transport Forum is an intergovernmental organisation within the OECD system. Its currently 52 member countries are committed to tackling mobility issues for the 21st century. The International Transport Forum acts as their platform to advance transport policy and practice, with a view to ensuring transport's contribution to economic growth, environmental protection, social inclusion and the preservation of human life and well-being. The cornerstones of this work are the International Transport Forum's annual summit and the Research Centre.

The roots of the organisation lie in the creation in 1953 of the European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT), which met until 2007, when the scope and geographic reach was widened and the format emerged as the International Transport Forum. The International Transport Forum continues to manage the ECMT's system of multilateral licences for international road transport on the European continent. It also makes available an important legacy of policy analysis and Ministerial Resolutions and Recommendations from the ECMT era that remain relevant and can be accessed on this website.

		Peter Ramsauer was appointed as Germany's Minister for Transport, Building and Urban Development on 28 October 2009. A trained master miller, Ramsauer obtained a doctorate in business studies from Munich university in 1985. He joined the Christian Social Union (CSU) in 1973 and was elected to the German Parliament in 1990. From 2005 until his ministerial appointment, he served as a First Deputy Leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary party and leader of the Bavarian CSU members at parliament. Visit the Ministry's website Visit Peter Ramsauer's personal website Read the German Ministry's latest press releases

		Magnjhild Meltveit Kleppa is Norway's Minister of Transport and Communications since 2009 and holds responsibility policy related to transport of passengers and goods, telecommunications and postal services. Before this appointment, she served as Minister for Local Government and Regional Development (2007-09) and previously as Minister of Social Affairs (1997-2000). A trained biology and social studies teacher, Magnjhild Meltveit Kleppa has also been the Centre Party's parliamentary leader from 2005 until her appointment to the cabinet. She was first elected to the Storting, Norway's parliament, in 1993. Read the Ministry's latest press releases

		José Blanco López is Spain's Minister of Public Works and Transport (Ministerio de Fomento) since 7 April 2009. In this capacity he holds the presidency of the 2011 International Transport Forum. José Blanco Lopez was first elected as a Senator in 1989 and has been re-elected as a member for Lugo of the Congress of Deputies since 1996. In 2008 he was made Deputy Secretary General of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE). His Ministry is responsible for preparation and implementation of government policy on land transport infrastructure, air and maritime jurisdiction of state and control, management and regulation of administrative services transport, management and direction of all postal and telegraph services. It also co-ordinates state services related to astronomy, geodesy, geophysics and mapping and investment planning for these services. Read the Ministry's latest press releases

		Philip Hammond is Britain's Secretary of State for Transport. He previously held a number of shadow portfolios, most recently as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Raised in Essex, Mr. Hammond read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at University College, Oxford. Prior to his election to the House of Commons as the Member of Runnymede and Weybridge for the Conservative Party in 1997, he followed a business career in small and medium-sized companies in manufacturing, consultancy, property and construction and oil and gas, both in the UK and abroad. As Secretary of State for Transport, his portfolio includes overall responsibility for transport strategy including economic growth and climate change, spending review, transport security, and high speed rail. Read the latest press releases from the Department for Transport Visit the website of the Department for Transport

		Ray LaHood became U.S. Secretary of Transportation on January 23, 2009. He leads an agency with more than 55,000 employees and a $70 billion budget that oversees air, maritime and surface transportation missions. LaHood primary goals in transportation policy include safety across all modes, restoring economic health and creating jobs, sustainability, shaping the economy of the coming decades by building new transportation infrastructure, and assuring that transportation policies focus on people who use the transportation system and their communities. Before becoming Secretary of Transportation, LaHood served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 14 years, representing the 18th District of Illinois. Read RayLaHood's official blog, Fastlane Visit the website of the U.S. Department for Transport