Lorenzo Soria was elected president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for 2015-16 at the organization’s annual election meeting, outgoing president Theo Kingma announced on Tuesday afternoon.
In addition, Meher Tatna, Jorge Camara and Serge Rakhlin were elected vice president, treasurer and executive secretary respectively by the group responsible for the annual Golden Globe Awards.
Soria is Argentinean born, and raised in Italy, where after completing his studies became a journalist for the most prestigious Italian news weekly, L’Espresso. Since 1982, he has lived in Los Angeles, where he continues to work for L’Espresso and also for the daily, La Stampa.
His term as president will commence on July 1. As a member of the HFPA since 1989, he previously served as president in 2003-05.
“I’m humbled to be elected by my peers and colleagues here at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and thank them for allowing me to serve as their president,” Soria said in a statement. “I will continue to be a dedicated member of this outstanding organization; one that works year-round to build a voice for individuals in the arts and entertainment community through promoting journalism around the world, varied programming, contributions to non-profit organizations, and bringing film and television admirers an extraordinary Golden Globes ceremony in January.”
Kingma, elected president in 2013 and re-elected in 2014 after serving at the HFPA for seven years and being a member for 20 years, was a self-described reformer when he was first elected in the wake of the scandal-plagued tenures of his two predecessors, Philip Berk and Aida Takla-O’Reilly.
Kingma tried to push the HFPA in the direction of substantive journalism, with an increased number of press conferences and roundtable interviews that were not part of the studio junkets the HFPA has long relied upon. And while the organization’s small membership is still scoffed at by other awards voters, its Golden Globe nominations over the last two years have been mostly free of the kind of embarrassments that often plagued it in the past.
HFPA rules limit presidents to two consecutive terms, with Kingma transitioning to a seat on the organization’s board.
Soria will preside over the 73rd annual Golden Globes on Jan. 10, 2016. Nominees will be revealed on Dec. 10, a month ahead of the 2016 ceremony, the HFPA announced last month.
NBC will broadcast the event taking place at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills live from coast-to-coast and