Key Dates

• 9 July 2025: Voting rights eligibility deadline
• 9 January 2026: Call for candidates
• 9 February 2026: Deadline to submit applications
• 30 March  2026: Announcement of candidates and opening of the voting platform
• 24 April 2026: Second round of online voting (if needed)
• 11 May 2026: The official announcement will be made at the HFA General Assembly (GA) at HF 2026

Open positions

Executive Board

• 1 President-Elect
• 1 Secretary
• 1 Treasurer
• 1 Coordinator of the Basic Science Section
• 1 Coordinator of the Clinical Science Section
• 1 Coordinator for the National Heart Failure Societies and Working Groups

Ordinary Board

• Ordinary Board members (8 positions, including at least one position for Nurses & Allied Professionals)

Nominating Committee

• 5 Ordinary Committee members

If you have any questions, please contact the HFA at hfa@escardio.org

HFA Rules of Governance: eligibility criteria

As announced during the HFA General Assembly held in May 2023, rules of governance have now replaced the HFA constitution (validated by the ESC Board on 25 August 2023). ESC Associations rules of governance are included in Annex V of the ESC Bylaws, approved by ESC Board in December 2024. As a result of a 2-year review as approved by the 2022-2024 ESC Board, they were revised and approved by the ESC Board on 28 August 2025.
The HFA election application process and voting will be carried out in accordance with the ESC bylaws.

Voting Rights

The minimum seniority for HFA Members to obtain voting rights is 6 months before the opening of the call for application. Only HFA members having settled their dues by 9 July (6 months before the call for candidates opens on 9 January 2026) and with a valid membership subscription at the time the voting starts will have voting rights.

Application Process

Applications are now open and must be submitted by 9 February 2026, 23:59 CET.
The list of candidates will be published on 30 March 2026.

Who can apply

Only HFA members originating from an ESC member Country with an active HFA membership and in good standing, holding voting rights at the date of the opening of the call for applications, are eligible to become a Board or Nominating Committee member. The minimum seniority for HFA Members to obtain voting rights is 6 months before the opening of the call for applications.

• Candidates for the position of President Elect must be a member in good standing of one of the ESC National Societies of Cardiology, a FESC and a Fellow of the HFA, currently serving or have served in the immediate previous HFA Board or in the pre-previous Board as voting or appointed members. The elected candidate will automatically become President two years later.
• Candidates for the positions of Secretary and Treasurer must be currently serving or have served on a previous or current full Board or as previous Committee member, Committee Chair, Committee Co-Chair or Coordinator.
• An HFA Board member may not hold more than three leadership positions at the same time. Sitting on the nucleus of an ESC Working Group or Council or Association is counted as one leadership position. A candidate who already holds three offices may therefore not stand for election or be proposed as a candidate, except if one of its term of office expires before the new function starts.
• Ex-officio Board members are eligible for elected HFA Board positions, under the condition that they held another position (not as ex-officio) in previous mandates as described herein.

Individuals not eligible

• Representatives and employees from healthcare industry companies are not eligible to HFA Board positions and Nominating Committee positions.
• Members of the current (2024-2026) Nominating Committee cannot be candidates for the elections organised in 2026.

Before applying please

• Check the Full rules and eligibility criteria above
• Read the job description and profiling document for each elected position: 
  • HFA Board
  • HFA Nominating Committee
• Read the ESC statutes
• Read the ESC bylaws and HFA rules of governance
• Read the code of conduct for elections for ESC & ESC Constituent Bodies (Article 7.1 of ESC bylaws) -
• Read the ESC Ethical Conduct Policy
• Read the ESC Declaration and Management of Conflict of Interest Policy
• Read the ESC Gender Policy

Additional Requirements

• Proficiency in English
• An active professional career at the time of taking office

Apply now

For more information, refer to the ESC Bylaws or please contact HFA at hfa@escardio.org if you have any questions.