HRF Mourns the Passing of Charles Hoeflich

NEW YORK (November 29, 2011) — The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is saddened by the passing of Charles H. Hoeflich, founding director of HRF. Charlie, as we knew him, died yesterday morning at the age of 97, at his home in Bedminster, Pennsylvania.

Hoeflich played an essential role in HRF from its start in 2006 until the present. Along with Eduardo Mendoza he provided the first donation toward HRF’s creation. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Hoeflich became a remarkably successful banker—a career he pursued from the day after he graduated university in 1936 until the summer of 2011, with only a brief interruption as a U.S. Air Force pilot during World War II. His career included heading Pennsylvania’s Souderton Bank as well as Union National Bank and Trust Co., which he joined in 1962. He served as chairman of the Corporation and Bank until his retirement in 1986. Although retired, Charlie did not rest. He remained dedicated to Univest Corporation and his passion for banking, relationship building, and helping individuals in need. Univest named him chairman emeritus of the Board. Univest Corporation has continued to be successful, growing from total assets of $14 million in 1962 to $2.2 billion today. His illustrious career was recently profiled in the Wall Street Journal.

“At a time of moral ambivalence in the financial sector Charlie had a sterling reputation as one of the longest serving bank directors in American financial history,” said Thor Halvorssen, president of HRF. “The toughest decisions made at the Human Rights Foundation always included a telephone call or a visit to Charlie’s home. He was a father figure, a mentor, and a beloved friend. He is irreplaceable and he will be missed terribly by everyone at HRF.”

Hoeflich was especially fond of HRF’s work addressing the plight of the victims of human trafficking and that of the numerous political prisoners that languish in jails around the world. He encouraged HRF to pursue its principles and mission with vigor and integrity and he was instrumental in the move to the foundation’s current offices at the Empire State Building. We celebrate his life and will honor his legacy by continuing our work with the same devotion that made him so thankful.

HRF is an international nonpartisan organization devoted to defending human rights. It centers its work on the twin concepts of freedom of self-determination and freedom from tyranny. These ideals include the belief that all human beings have the rights to speak freely, to associate with those of like mind, and to leave and enter their countries. Individuals in a free society must be accorded equal treatment and due process under law, and must have the opportunity to participate in the governments of their countries; HRF’s ideals likewise find expression in the conviction that all human beings have the right to be free from arbitrary detainment or exile and from interference and coercion in matters of conscience. Chaired by Vaclav Havel, HRF’s International Council includes former prisoners of conscience Vladimir Bukovsky, Palden Gyatso, and Elie Wiesel.

 Contact: Human Rights Foundation, (+212)246.8486, info@thehrf.org