Lee Weingarten – In Memoriam

20 July 1929 – 2 February 2026

It is with much regret that we have learnt of the demise on February 2, 2026 of Lee WEINGARTEN, who was the first full employee of CoNGO already back under the presidency of Robert Harris (1994-1997) and Afaf Mahfouz (1997-2000), 30 years ago.

Lee would have been 97 in July, and spent many decades dedicated to serving NGOs in Geneva, above all in her collaboration with the International Peace Bureau (IPB), and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) where she closely cooperated with her dear friend Edith Ballantyne, included in the photo above, before, during and after Edith’s presidency of CoNGO from 1976-1982. The second photo is of Lee at the IPB Congress in Egypt.

Lee served on several CoNGO Substantive Committees in Geneva, being for many years Treasurer of the Geneva CoNGO Committee on Human Rights, a post in which I saw first-hand her meticulous attention to ensuring responsible NGO finances. Before retiring, Lee was also committed to safeguarding the CoNGO archives, and tirelessly assured the labelling and storage of the CoNGO Geneva archives in the UN Geneva Library.

And when in 2012 during my Presidency, CoNGO had to relocate offices, I was grateful and moved when Lee mobilised her family to transport furniture and equipment!

Lee welcomed many CoNGO leaders and collaborators to her home in the suburbs of Geneva, until increasing ill-health forced her to move a decade ago to a care home. Her public commitment to the values of CoNGO never wavered. She was a model of probity and efficiency.

A Memoriam for Lee will take place on the 11th of April 2026 at 4pm the Restaurant of the Onex Tennis Club, 111 route de Chancy, 1213 Onex, Switzerland in the park across from the home she lived in. All of Lee’s friends and colleagues are welcome.

Cyril Ritchie
CoNGO First Vice President and former CoNGO President
February 2026