Alexander Ignatiev became the first head of the International Barents Secretariat when the office was opened in January 2008.
The need for a permanent secretariat for the Barents cooperation arose from the situation where the rotating governmental and regional chairmanships disrupted the continuity of operational work. The International Barents Secretariat was therefore established to make the Barents cooperation more effective. The Secretariat’s office is located in the Barents Center in Kirkenes, where the Norwegian Barents Secretariat also is located .
Ignatiev will now move back home to Moscow where he will start working for a new Russian magazine called The Arctic herald. Ari Siren from Finland has from the 16th of January taken over as Head of the International Barents Secretariat and will continue Ignatievs work for strengthening the regional activities of the committees and councils in the Barents Region
