Osmo Buller
Encyclopedia
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
Esperantist
Esperantist
An Esperantist is a person who speaks or uses Esperanto. Etymologically, an Esperantist is someone who hopes...
(b. 1950 in Taivalkoski
Taivalkoski
Taivalkoski is a municipality of Finland, it is located in the Province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region.The municipality has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water. The population density is....
, Oulu
Oulu Province
Oulu was a province of Finland from 1775 to 2010. It bordered the provinces of Lapland, Western Finland and Eastern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia and Russia.- Historical Province :For History, Geography and Culture see: Ostrobothnia...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
). He is general director of the World Esperanto Association
World Esperanto Association
The World Esperanto Association is the largest international organization of Esperanto speakers, with members in 121 countries and in official relations with the United Nations and UNESCO. In addition to individual members, 70 national Esperanto organizations are affiliated to UEA...
(known in Esperanto
Esperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
as Universala Esperanto-Asocio or UEA).
Having been an active participant at the 1969 World Congress of Esperanto
World Congress of Esperanto
The World Congress of Esperanto has the longest tradition among international Esperanto conventions, with an almost unbroken run of more than a hundred years. The congresses have been held since 1905 every year, except during World Wars I and II...
(Universala Kongreso de Esperanto), he began a career with the Finnish Esperanto Association. In 1985 he first began working in the World Esperanto Association Central Office. He became board secretary to the Estraro (UEA steering committee) in 1989 but resigned in 1990 to become an Estraro director.
Subsequent to his period of directorship he became UEA general secretary in 1996. In protest at the election of Renato Corsetti
Renato Corsetti
Renato Corsetti is an Italian esperantist who served as president of the World Esperanto Association between 2001 and 2007. He was born in Rome, Italy and is a staunch defender of the idea that the people of the world should be able to communicate in a neutral and easy international language...
as UEA president
President of the World Esperanto Association
The President of the World Esperanto Association is the elected leader of the World Esperanto Association and is chief executive of the UEA steering committee .-History:...
, he resigned his office in 2001 but returned in 2004. He was named Esperantist of the Year
Esperantist of the Year
The Esperantist of the Year is an honorary designation bestowed each year by the editors of the Esperanto-language monthly La Ondo de Esperanto...
in 2001.