Andrus Ansip

Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia

Chairman of the Reform Party and Prime Minister Andrus Ansip has led Estonia’s government since April 2005, when a new coalition was formed between elections. Before this he held the portfolio of Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications. As the leader of the party that won the elections, Andrus was asked to form a government in both 2007 and 2011. From 1998 to 2004 Andrus held the post of Mayor of Tartu. His previous service record goes back to private businesses operating in trade and banking, but he was also one of the founders of Radio Tartu. He is a chemist by education – he graduated from Tartu State University in 1979 and later studied agronomy at the Estonian Academy of Agriculture.

Manizha Bakhtari

Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to Nordic Countries

Manizha Bakhtari was appointed as Afghanistan Ambassador to the Nordic countries in September 2009. Prior to her ambassadorial assignment, Ms Bakhtari was the chief of staff of the Afghan foreign minister and a part time lecturer at Kabul University. She holds a bachelor degree in journalism and a Master degree in Persian Language and Literature from Kabul University. In 2002, she was accredited as lecturer in the faculty of journalism in Kabul University. She has also worked for the Cooperation Center for Afghanistan (CCA) which is a non governmental organization, specializing in gender, human rights and political training for Afghan women as well as providing vocational training for Afghan women and advocacy.

Furthermore, Manizha Bakhtari is the author of two journalistic books: “The interesting World of News” and “Ethics and Law in Journalism” which are currently taught at the Journalism Faculty, Kabul University. She is also the author of a researching book about the contemporary history of Afghanistan’s satire writing "Angabin neshkhand and sharing noshkhand". She is the author of a collection of stories titled "Three Angels", as well. Besides, Manizha Bakhtari was responsible for Parnian Magazine (A Cultural and Literature Quarterly Magazine) as editor in chief.

Uldis Bariss

Member of the Management Board of Latvenergo AS

Spencer Boyer

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, United States

Spencer P. Boyer assumed his duties as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs in August 2009. Mr. Boyer’s work in the bureau focuses on U.S. public diplomacy and public affairs. His bureau portfolio has also covered Western European affairs. Prior to joining the State Department, Mr. Boyer was the Director of International Law and Diplomacy in the National Security and International Policy Department of the Center for American Progress, a Washington-based think tank. At the Center, Mr. Boyer focused on transatlantic relations, European affairs, multilateralism, and international security.

Mr. Boyer is a graduate of Wesleyan University and received his J.D. from New York University School of Law, where he specialized in public international law and the work of international organizations. While at NYU, he also obtained a master’s degree in French Studies, with a concentration in French politics, history, and economy. Mr. Boyer has been a guest analyst with numerous international, national, and local news outlets and is widely published on foreign affairs matters. Among other professional distinctions, Mr. Boyer served on the Independent Task Force on U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations and was a Wasserstein Public Interest Fellow at Harvard Law School.

Fraser Cameron

Director of EU-Russia Centre

Fraser Cameron is Director of the EU-Russia Centre, a Senior Advisor at the European Policy Centre (EPC), and an adjunct professor at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. Born in Scotland, Dr Cameron was educated at the University of St Andrews where he received an honours degree, Master of Arts, in Political Science and History (1970). He then obtained a PhD in International Relations from the University of Cambridge (1973). He was a Research Fellow at the University of Hamburg (1973-74) and a Lecturer in Modern History at the University of Kent (1974-75). From 1975 89, he was a member of the British Diplomatic Service.

Dr Cameron joined the European Commission in 1990 and was closely involved in policy issues related to the external relations of the EU. From 1999 to 2001, he was the Political Counsellor in the EU Delegation in Washington DC. During his service in the EU, he worked on issues such as global governance, transatlantic relations, Asia, CFSP, arms control and enlargement. He joined the EPC on secondment from the Commission in 2002 and retired from the Commission in 2006. Dr Cameron has lectured widely in all continents and is a well-known media commentator. He is an advisor to the BBC and to the UK government’s Higher Education Panel on Europe. Dr Cameron is the author of numerous books and articles on European and international affairs. The most recent include ‘An Introduction to European Foreign Policy’ and ‘US Foreign Policy after the Cold War’.

Edward C. Chow

Senior Fellow on Energy and National Security Program, Centre for Strategic and International Studies

Edward Chow, a senior fellow in the Energy and National Security Program at CSIS, is an international energy expert with 30 years of oil industry experience. He has worked in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, South America, Europe, and the former Soviet Union. He has developed policy and business strategy and successfully negotiated complex, multibillion-dollar international business ventures. He specializes in investments in emerging economies and international oil and gas. He has advised U.S. and foreign governments, major international oil companies, and leading multinational corporations.

Chow spent 20 years with Chevron Corporation in the U.S. and on overseas assignments and he was head of international external affairs at its headquarters in California. He played a leading role in negotiating the international commercial agreement to build a $2.6-billion oil pipeline from Kazakhstan on the Caspian to the Russian Black Sea coast. While he was Chevron’s principal international representative in Washington, he worked closely with the White House, Capitol Hill, federal departments and agencies, foreign governments, international financial institutions, and the foreign policy community on international economic policy affecting worldwide energy investments. Between 1989 and 1991, he was based in Beijing as Chevron’s country manager for China. Chow is a graduate of Ohio University with a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in international affairs. He has published articles in leading academic and foreign policy journals on global energy developments, spoken on energy at conferences in the United States, Europe, and Asia, and has appeared in major international media.

Marek Dabrowski

President of the Management Board, Center for Social and Economic Research, Poland

Professor of Economics, Founder, then Chairman of the Supervisory Council and President of CASE - Center for Social and Economic Research (until July 31, 2011), Member of the Scientific Council of the E.T. Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy in Moscow; Former First Deputy Minister of Finance (1989-1990), Member of Parliament (1991-1993) and Member of the Monetary Policy Council of the National Bank of Poland (1998-2004); Since the end of 1980s he has been involved in policy advising and policy research in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Egypt, Georgia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Syria, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Yemen, as well as in a number of international research projects related to monetary and fiscal policies, currency crises, international financial architecture, EU and EMU enlargement, perspectives of European integration, European Neighborhood Policy and political economy of transition; World Bank and UNDP Consultant; Author of several academic and policy papers, and editor of several book publications.

Rob de Wijk

Director of the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies

In 2007 Dr. Rob de Wijk assumed the position of Director of the The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. He is also Professor of International Relations at the University of Leiden and Chairman of the National Security Think Tank, advising the Government on defence and national security issues, including contingency plans for crisis management and Columnist for Trouw. From 1999 to 2008 he was Professor in the field of International Relations at the Royal Netherlands Military Academy (RNMA), Breda. From 2000 to 2003 he was Director of the Research Centre of the RNMA.

Rob de Wijk started his career in 1977 as a freelance journalist. In 1980 he became editor-in-chief of a publishing company specialising in journals and scientific publications. From 1985 to 1989 he worked at the University of Leiden’s Political Science Department. He was a lecturer in international relations, focusing particularly on international security. At the same time he worked as a journalist. In October 1989 Rob de Wijk was appointed Head of the Defence Concepts Division of the Defence Staff at the Netherlands Ministry of Defence. He advised the Chief of the Defence Staff and the minister of defence in matters relating to strategic plans and policy. He was also responsible for the development of strategic management methods at the Ministry of Defence. In September 1997 he acquired a secondment with the Clingendael Institute for International Relations in The Hague to study security and defence. In 2003 he established the Clingendael Centre for Strategic Studies. Additionally, in 2005 he became the director of the Clingendael Security and Conflict Program. His main fields of expertise are (national and international) security, defence, and terrorism. Rob de Wijk studied Contemporary History and International Relations in Groningen, and wrote his dissertation on NATO’s strategy of Flexibility in Response at the Political Science Department of Leiden University (1989). He was born in 1954, Dordrecht, the Netherlands.

Hüseyin Diriöz

Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning, NATO

Ambassador Hüseyin Diriöz is NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning. He is the Secretary General’s primary advisor on defence policy and planning issues and is a member of the Secretary General’s senior management team. The Defence Policy and Planning Division, which he directs and manages, has the lead on defence related issues such as defence transformation, defence capabilities, defence planning, logistics and missile defence.

Ambassador Diriöz is a career diplomat who served his country for 30 years before he joined the NATO International Staff as Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning on 18 October 2010. He first joined the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1978 and served in Kabul and Strasbourg before attending the NATO Defence College in Rome in 1987/88. He then returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a further year before joining the Turkish Delegation to NATO for four years. In 1993, Ambassador Diriöz joined the NATO International Staff as Head of the Defence Policy Section and in 1996 he returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ankara. From 1998 to 2000 he was Minister-Counsellor in the Turkish Embassy, Washington DC, and on his return he became the Spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 2004 to 2008 he was Turkey’s Ambassador to Jordan after which he returned to the Ministry in Ankara for a year before becoming the Chief Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of Turkey, Abdullah Gul. Ambassador Diriöz is a graduate of Ankara University, where he studied Political Sciences, and the University of Virginia, where he gained his MA.

Valdis Dombrovskis

Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia

Valdis Dombrovkis was appointed as Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia in March 2009, now serving his second term in the office. During his political career he served as Minister of Finance (2002-2004), Advisor to the Minister of Economics (2004-2006), MP of the European Parliament, Head of the Latvian delegation in ETP-ED group (2004-2009), and Minister for Children, Family and Integration Affairs (2009). Prior to joining politics in 2002, he occupied various positions at the Bank of Latvia (1998-2002). He is also a member of the Board for the political party “Unity”.

Valdis Dombrovskis was born on 5 August 1971 in Riga, Latvia. He graduated from the University of Latvia, Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, (1993), and Riga Technical University, Faculty of Engineering and Economics  (1995). In 1996, he accomplished his Master studies at the University of Latvia, Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. He also holds Professional Master’s degree in customs and tax administration from the Riga Technical University.

Peter B. Doran

Senior Policy Analyst of the Center for European Policy Analyses (CEPA)

Peter B. Doran is Senior Policy Analyst at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in Washington, DC. At CEPA, he leads the Eastern Lights program, which examines strategies for democratic reform and transformation among the EU’s Eastern neighbors: Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. Mr. Doran is a frequent commentator in the press and writes extensively on the dynamics of global politics, energy and security, contributing articles for The Guardian, Foreign Policy and the Journal of Energy Security among others. Previously, he worked at the Jamestown Foundation and at Freedom House as an East-Central Europe Analyst for Freedom in the World. He has also served as a Foreign Affairs Fellow in the U.S. Congress and as a William H. Donner Fellow at the Organization of American States.

Anas El Gomati

Libyan Political Analyst

Mr Anas El Gomati is a Libyan political analyst and activist, and founder of the Sadeq Institute, the first indigenous and independent Policy Institute and Think-Tank in the MENA region. He holds both a BA in Politics & French from Loughborough University (UK), and most recently completed a course in leadership at the London School of Economics and Political Science (2011). He has published and advised various European think tanks during the recent Libyan revolution, most recently having published ‘Freedom or Survival?’ (EUISS - 2011) - on non-violent solutions to the Libyan conflict. He has also been a frequent commentator on Al Jazeera English, France 24 (English, French and Arabic), Russia Today and Sky News amongst others. Anas's primary research areas and interests include the role of Islam and state, post-conflict security and foreign policy.

Mark C. Fischer

Director of Major Conferences, German Marshall Fund of the United States

Mr. Mark C. Fischer began his career as a communications expert in the JG 71 “Richthofen” Fighter Squadron of the German Air Force before undertaking his studies in law and international relations at the universities of Bonn and Hamburg in Germany. Upon completion of his degree focusing on European Security and Defence Policy, Mr. Fischer worked as a policy analyst and subsequently as Deputy Director for the European Office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Brussels. Since November 2005 Mr. Fischer works at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, most recently as a Program Director with responsibilities for the annual Brussels Forum and other initiatives that require the coordination of input from the different GMF offices and policy programs in Europe and the United States.

Joanne Jacobs

London based Social Media Consultant

Joanne Jacobs is a London-based consultant in emergent technologies and has advised on security and technology to private and government organisations. She is also COO of online arts film company, Hibrow, and she is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Queensland University of Technology in Australia, and Asia International College in Singapore. In her consultancy work Joanne focuses on user led technologies, providing advice to a range of firms on how to generate benefits from emerging technologies, as well as developing strategies to guard against breaches in data security. She has developed university curriculum in technology and business and technology-mediated education for colleges around the world, and she has a long history in university teaching, lecturing extensively in strategic use of information technology and strategic internet marketing. She was co-editor of the book, Uses of Blogs, published in 2006. Joanne speaks on a variety of topics for professional associations, strategy events, conferences and professional development seminars in the technology and communications sphere, as well as acting as a business advisor, marketer and technology problem solver for social media.

Ojārs Kalniņš

Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Latvia

Currently, Ojārs Kalniņš is a member of the Latvian Parliament from the political block „Vienotība” and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Latvia. From 2000 – 2011, Ojārs Kalniņš was the director of the Latvian Institute, a government-funded, non-profit agency promoting Latvia's image at home and abroad through education. From 1993-1999, Kalniņš served as Latvia's ambassador to the United States and Mexico. During his tenure, Ambassador Kalniņš played a vital role in the strengthening of bilateral ties, including US support for Russian troop withdrawal in 1994, the destruction of the Soviet military radar post in Skrunda and hosting President Bill Clinton's Riga visit. Kalnins also served as a counselor minister and DCM in the Latvian Embassy in 1991-1992. From 1985-1990, he handled press and public affairs for the American Latvian Association in Rockville, Maryland. Kalniņš also served as an advisor to the Latvian National Front (1988-91), the Latvian National Independence Movement (1988-1991), and many others.

Jyrki Katainen

Prime Minister of the Republic of Finland

 Jyrki Katainen is the Prime Minister of Finland and leader of the National Coalition Party. Prior to his appointment as Prime Minister in June 2011, Mr Katainen served as Minister of Finance in 2007-2011. He was first elected as Member of Parliament in 1999. Mr Katainen has also been the Vice-President of the European People's Party, EPP, since 2006 and before that he was the Vice-President of the Party's youth organisation, YEPP, in 1998-2000. Prime Minister Katainen was born in 1971 in Siilinjärvi, Finland. He holds a Master's degree in Social Sciences from the University of Tampere.

Craig Kennedy

President, the German Marshall Fund of the United States

Craig Kennedy has been president of the German Marshall Fund since 1995. Under Mr. Kennedy’s leadership, GMF has focused its activities on bringing North Americans and Europeans together on foreign policy, economics, immigration, urban policy and the environment. GMF has also expanded programs in Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans. In 2003 the Balkan Trust for Democracy was launched, a $27 million grantmaking initiative to strengthen civil society and democracy, in partnership with the Mott Foundation and other American and European donors. In 2007, GMF launched with Mott Foundation support the Black Sea Trust, a public private partnership aimed at encouraging regional cooperation and development. GMF also operates several other large, multi-donor collaborations related to climate change, comparative domestic policy and Belarus.

Prior to joining GMF, Kennedy was with the Joyce Foundation of Chicago from 1980 to 1992, serving as president of that institution for six years. From 1992 to 1995, he managed a consulting firm focused on public and nonprofit clients including the City of Chicago, the Environmental Defense Fund and National Audubon Society.

Karel Kovanda

Deputy Director-General (ret.), External Relations, European Commission

Amb Karel Kovanda retired on January 1, 2011, from the European Commission where he served as Deputy Director-General of External (Relex). His broad portfolio of responsibilities included Europe’s multilateral relations and human rights. He simultaneously served as the European Commission’s Political Director, both bilaterally as well as in the G8 context. From 1991 to 2005, Amb Kovanda worked as a senior diplomat in the Czech Foreign Service. He served as ambassador to NATO (1998-2005) and to the UN (1993-1997), including representing his country on the UN Security Council (1994-95).

Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia

Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis is an experienced Latvian politician and, since 3 November 2010, the current Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia. In the course of his career in public administration and politics, Mr. Kristovkis has occupied a number of key positions both at the national and European level. In the early 90s the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia charged Mr. Kristovskis with the task of establishing the National Guard of Latvia and appointed him as the first commander. This experience qualified Mr. Kristovskis for the posts of the Minister of the Interior, a member of Defence and Internal Affairs committees for three parliamentary periods, and as the Prime Minister's advisor on Defence and Security Affairs, which all resulted in Mr. Kristovskis being appointed Minister of Defence of the Republic of Latvia from 1998 to 2004.

Having won seats in six Latvian parliaments from 1990 to 2010, Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis gained broad political experience. During his tenure, he was also a member of the European Affairs Committee in the Latvian Saeima. From July 2004 to July 2009, Mr. Kristovskis was Member of the European Parliament (UEN), serving as Vice-Chairman of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, member of the Committees on Foreign Affairs, International Trade, and Development. Before becoming member of the 10th Saeima and Foreign Minister, Mr. Kristovskis was opposition deputy (Citizens Union faction) in the Riga City Council, where he dealt with development and finance matters.

Minister Kristovskis was born on 19 February 1962 in Ventspils, Latvia. Having graduated from the Riga Technical University, Faculty of Architecture and Construction, he resumed studies at the University of Latvia and in 1998 obtained a Master's Degree in Law. Mr. Kristovskis is currently on an intermission of studies at the Political Science Doctoral Degree programme. Besides this, Mr. Kristovskis has completed an International Defence Management Course at the Defence Resources Management Institute, Monterey, CA, U.S.

Andrius Kubilius

Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania

Andrius Kubilius graduated from Vilnius States University, Faculty of Physics, in 1979, and continued his studies at the same University, receiving a PhD in physics in 1984. In 1988, he joined Sajūdis – Reform Movement of Lithuania, later gaining the post of Executive Secretary. In 1992 Mr. Kubulius was elected to the Parliament. From 1996 until 1999 he served as First Deputy Speaker of the Seimas, and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on European Affairs. In the period of 1999-2000 he served as Prime Minister of the 10th Government of Lithuania. He returned to the Parliament in 2004 elected within the Antakalnis constituency (Vilnius). In October 2006 he was became Deputy Speaker of the Seimas, and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on European Affairs. On November 28, 2008 by Presidential Decree he was appointed as Prime Minister of Lithuania.

Mr. Kubilius pursues wide-ranging interests: he is interested in political science, history, and the knowledge economy; he is a Chairman of the Policy Committee of the Knowledge Economy Forum. He was also Chairman of the Knowledge Society Council under the President of the Republic of Lithuania in 2001-2003. Kubilius has been a member of the international Advisory Board of the Baltic. He is an author of several books, among them “Why Basketball is More Fascinating than Politics in Lithuania” (2004) and “The Conservative Community” (2006).

Žaneta Ozoliņa

Professor of the University of Latvia

Žaneta Ozoliņa has been Professor in the Department of Political Science, University of Latvia, since 2002 and was Head of the Department during 2004-2008. Her research interests focus on European integration, EU and NATO enlargement, international and regional security, as well as security in the Baltic Sea Region. Žaneta Ozoliņa is the author of more than 80 scholarly articles and editor of several books, including “Latvia’s View of the Future of the European Union” (2007), “Latvia-Russia-X” (2007), “Rethinking Security” (2010). She was a chairwoman of the Strategic Analysis Commission under the Auspices of the President of Latvia (2004-2008). She serves on the European Research Area Board (European Commission), the Foreign Affairs Council of the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Baltic Development Forum. She regularly delivers lectures at foreign universities. She is also one of the authors of the Report “Global Governance of Science” published by the European Commission.

Artis Pabriks

Deputy Prime Minister for EU Presidency, Defense Minister of Latvia

Dr. Artis Pabriks graduated from the University of Latvia, Faculty of History and continued his studies in the University of Aarhus, Denmark, receiving Ph.D. in political science in 1996. As an academician, the main fields of his research activity are political theory, ethnic policy, multiculturalism, foreign and security policy. He is also the author and co-author of numerous publications on the previously mentioned topics.  In 1996 Dr. Artis Pabriks became the first Rector of Vidzeme University College, later becoming a professor there. He has also worked as a policy analyst and researcher in several NGOs. In 2004 Dr. Artis Pabriks was elected as a Member of the Parliament of Latvia, and later in the same year appointed as a Minister of Foreign Affairs. He served as a Minister until 2007. Between 2007 - 2010 he was a Member of the Parliament and since November 2010 Dr. Artis Pabriks has held the post as Minister of Defence of the Republic of Latvia.

John Peet

Europe Editor, The Economist

John Peet, Europe Editor of The Economist, was previously Business Affairs Editor (from 1998), responsible for the business, finance, economics and science & technology coverage of the paper. Prior to this he also had positions as Brussels Correspondent, Executive Editor, Surveys Editor, Finance Correspondent, Washington, DC, Correspondent and Britain Correspondent. Before joining The Economist he was a civil servant, working for the Treasury and the Foreign Office from 1976 to 1986.

Alexei Pikulik

Analyst of the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies

A graduate from the Belarusian State University (diploma in information and communication), he holds an M.A. in Politics from the Central European University in Budapest (2005). Alexei worked extensively in the field of information, communication, advertisement, and NGO development. Since 2009, Alexei Pikulik has worked as an analyst at the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies. He hold a Ph.D in Political and Social Science (European University Institute, Florence), Master of Research in Political and Social Science (European University Institute, Florence), and an MA in Sociology (Central European University, Budapest). Hos research interests include: political economy of reforms, political economy of oil, economic regulation. Since 2006 he has taught at the European Humanities University (Vilnius) and since 2010 at the European University at Saint-Petersburg.

Jia Qingguo

Associate Dean of the School of International Studies, Beijing University (Beida)

Jia Qingguo is Professor and Associate Dean of the School of International Studies of Peking University. He received his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1988. He has taught at the University of Vermont, Cornell University, University of California at San Diego, University of Sydney in Australia as well as Peking University. He was a research fellow at the Brookings Institution between 1985 and 1986, a visiting professor at the University of Vienna in 1997 and a fellow at the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution in 2001 and 2002. He is a member of Standing Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and a member of the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the China Democratic League. He is also the Vice President of the Chinese American Studies Association and board member of the China National Taiwan Studies Association. He is serving on the editorial board of several established domestic and international academic journals. He has published extensively on U.S.-China relations, relations between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, Chinese foreign policy and Chinese politics.

Pauls Raudseps

Commentator, Magazine “IR”

Pauls Raudseps is one of Latvia's leading journalists and commentators. He writes on a wide variety of topics, including economics, politics, international affairs, and history. Born in the United States, Mr. Raudseps received a degree in Russian and Soviet Studies from Harvard University. In 1990 he moved to Latvia to work for the Popular Front. He was one of the founders of Diena, which for many years was Latvia's leading daily newspaper. Having worked for almost 19 years at the newspaper as managing editor and editorial page editor, he left Diena in October, 2009, to found the weekly news magazine and website "Ir", where he is both a commentator and chairman of the advisory board.

Alan Riley

The City Law School, City University London

Professor Alan Riley has written extensively on EU and Russian energy markets. He focuses principally on the interaction of energy liberalisation and the impact it can have on energy security. His recent papers include, The Russian Gas Deficit: Consequences and Solutions (2006) CEPS Brussels; Out of Gas (with Frank Umbach) DGAP Berlin 2007; Energy Security, Gas Market Liberalisation and our Energy Relationship with Russia (2007) European Parliament, Foreign Affairs Committee paper; Nordstream and Economic and Market Analysis of the North European Pipeline Project (2008-2009) European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee paper; EU-Energy Liberalisation-Coming to a Member State Near You (2008) Competition Law Review; De-Weaponising the Energy Weapon, House of Commons Defence Select Committee (2009); Can Nordstream and Southstream Survive in a Changing Gas Market? OGEL Special Issue EU-Russia Relations (2009); The Yukos Decision: Profound Implications for the EU-Russia Energy Relationship? (2009) CEPS Brussels. He is currently writing a book on energy security and market liberalisation.

Christian Schmidt

Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Defence of Germany

Christian Schmidt was born in Obernzenn in the district of Neustadt an der Aisch-Bad Windsheim on 26 August 1957. He is married to Dr. Ria Schmidt with two children. After graduating from grammar school he served as a conscript in the 1^st Mountain Infantry Division. He then studied law in Erlangen and Lausanne. Having completed his education in 1985 with the second state examination in law he worked as a lawyer specializing in labour and competition law.

Between 1984 and 1990 Christian Schmidt was a community and district councillor. In 1990 he was elected to the Federal German Parliament. There he served as spokesman of the CSU parliamentary group for foreign and security policy and as a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. From 1994 he was a deputy member of the Defence Committee. From 1999 he was a member of the Coordination Council of the German-Czech Consultation Forum and chairman of the German-British group of parliamentarians. From October 2002 Schmidt was the defence policy spokesman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group and served as a member of the Defence Committee and as deputy member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Since 23 November 2005 the defence expert Christian Schmidt has been Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Defence.

Simon Serfaty

Zbigniews Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, Senior Adviser, Europe Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Professor Simon Serfaty is a prolific writer on transatlantic and intra-European issues. Some of his most recent books include Architects of Delusion: Europe, America, and the Iraq War (2008), Vital Partnership: Power and Order (2005), La tentation impériale (2004), and many others. He is also the editor and principal author of many other books prepared by various groups of American and European experts and personalities he gathered to work on major issues of vital interest to the United States and the states of Europe. These include, most recently, A Recast Partnership? Institutional Dimensions of Transatlantic Relations (2008) and Visions of the Atlantic Alliance (2005). Professor Serfaty is currently writing a book on the post-Western world and its implications for U.S. and European interests and policies. An occasional witness for the U.S. Congress and some legislative bodies in Europe, including the European Parliament, he holds a PhD in political science from the Johns Hopkins University. Born in Casablanca, Morocco, and a naturalized U.S. citizen since 1965, Professor Serfaty was made a Knight of the Legion of Honor by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in July 2008. The first holder of the Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geopolitics at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, where he previously directed the Europe Program (1994-2004), Dr. Serfaty is also a professor of US foreign policy and Eminent Scholar at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

James Sherr

Senior Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Program at the Royal Institute of International Affairs

James Sherr is Head of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) in London. Between 1995 and May 2008, he was a Fellow of the Advanced Research and Assessment Group (formerly Conflict Studies Research Centre) of the Defence Academy. He is also a member of the Faculty of Social Studies of Oxford University. Over the past ten years, he has been a consultant to NATO on Ukraine and regularly advises the British government and parliament as well as others inside NATO about Russia and security problems in the Black Sea region. In Ukraine, he collaborates closely with official bodies and NGOs and is a regular contributor to Zerkalo Nedeli and Den'. He has spoken at the NATO-Russia Council and delivered papers at the first and second official NATO-Russia workshops in Moscow. He is a frequent contributor to Nezavisimaya Gazeta, and has published in the journal, Russia in Global Affairs, most recently in April 2008. In addition, he is a regular participant at the Wilton Park conferences on Russia, Ukraine and NATO, the Harvard Russia Security Programme, the Harvard Black Sea Security Programme and the workshops and seminars of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Andris Teikmanis

State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia

Mr. Andris Teikmanis was born in 1959 in Riga, Latvia. In 1978 he studied law studies at the Latvian State University. He speaks fluent English, German, French and Russian. After obtaining a diploma from Latvian State University he joined the Riga City Home affairs administration as an investigator where he served from 1983-1988, until he was elected as the judge of the Riga district. In 1989 Mr. Teikmanis was elected as the chairman of the Riga City People’s Deputy Council. In 1992 after the Riga municipality reform and establishment of the Riga City Council he was elected as the Chairman of the Riga City when he left the post in 1994.

As a judge he was the first person to exonerate the accused member of „Helsinki - 86” for an illegal demonstration in 1988. Later on he was among the founders of the Popular Front of Latvia. He was elected and became an active member of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia from 1990 to 1993. In July, 1994, Andris Teikmanis  was appointed the Special Assignments Ambassador to the European Council in Strasbourg. When Latvia was admitted into the organisation in 1995 he was then appointed as the special representative of Latvia to the European Council until 1998 when he was appointed as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Federal Republic of Germany. After his four-year service in Germany he returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia as the Deputy State Secretary. In 2005 he took the strategically important and complex task to be the Ambassador of Latvia to the Russian Federation. In 2008 Mr. Teikmanis returned to the central apparatus of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia as the State Secretary.

Horst M. Teltschik

former Foreign Policy Adviser to the German Chancellor Helmut Kohl

International Consultant; Expert on Foreign Policy and Security Affairs; Member of the Board of the German – Russian Raw Material Forum; Member of Boards and Advisory Boards of German and US companies; inter – governmental institutions and charitable organizations. Former Positions: Chairman, Munich Conference on Security Policy, Munich; Honorary Professor, Faculty for Economics, Technical University, Munich; President, BOEING Germany, Berlin; Member of the Executive Board, BMW Group, Munich; Director-General, Central and Eastern Europe, Asia and Middle East, BMW Board, Munich; Chairman of the Executive Board, BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt, Munich; Executive Director, Bertelsmann Foundation, Guetersloh; Director General, Foreign and Domestic Relations, Development Policy and Foreign Security, Federal Chancellery (National Security Advisor to Chancellor Helmut Kohl) Bonn; Deputy Chief of Staff, Federal Chancellery, Bonn; Chief of Staff of the Chairman of the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) Parliamentary Group, Bonn; Executive Undersecretary, State Chancellery, Mainz; Director General, Foreign, German and Security Policy, CDU Federal Office. Assistant Professor for International Affairs, Free University Berlin.

Bruno Tertrais

Senior Research Fellow, Foundation for Strategic Research, France

Dr. Tertrais graduated from the Institut d'études politiques de Paris in 1984. He also holds a Master’s degree in Public Law of the University of Paris (1985), and a Doctorate in Political Science of the Institut d'études politiques de Paris (1994). In 1990-1993, he was the Director of the Civilian Affairs Committee, NATO Assembly. In 1993, he joined the Policy Division of the French Ministry of Defense. In 1995-1996, he was a Visiting Fellow at the RAND Corporation. From October 1996 until August 2001, he was Special Assistant to the Director of Strategic Affairs at the French Ministry of Defense. He is now a Senior Research Fellow at the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique (FRS). In 2007-2008, He was a member of the Presidential Commission on the White Paper on Defense and National Security and a member of the Ministerial Commission on the White Paper on Foreign and European Policy. Bruno Tertrais is also a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), and a member of the editorial board of the Washington Quarterly. In 2010, he was awarded the Vauban Prize for his distinguished career. His latest book in English is War Without End (The New Press, 2005).

Dimitrios Triantaphyllou

Director of the Center for European Studies, Kadir Has University, Istanbul

Dr. Dimitrios Triantaphyllou is, since September 2010, the Director of the Center for European Studies at Kadir Has University in Istanbul where he also teaches international relations. He holds a BA in Political Science and History from the University of California, Berkeley and an MA and Ph.D. in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. He was previously Director General of the International Centre for Black Sea Studies (ICBSS) and Assistant Professor of International Relations at the University of the Aegean, Rhodes (2006-2010). He was also Special Advisor at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic (2004-2006); Senior Research Fellow at the Hellenic Observatory of the European Institute at the LSE (2003-2004); Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Security Studies of the European Union, Paris (2001-2003); Research Fellow at the Institute for Security Studies of the Western European Union, Paris (1999-2001); Deputy Director of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), Athens (1996-99) and Foreign Policy Advisor to a member of the European Parliament (1995). He has written and edited a number of books and articles pertaining to European security, developments in the Black Sea and South-Eastern Europe and Greek Foreign Policy. He is also Associate Editor of the Journal of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, a member of the Greek-Turkish Forum, a member of the Governing Board of the European Studies Institute (ESI) at MGIMO University, Moscow and co-convener of the Commission on the Black Sea.

Donald Tusk

Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland

Born on 22nd April 1957 in Gdańsk. Graduated from the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Gdańsk, where he read history. At University, he co-founded the Students’ Committee of Solidarity in response to the murder of Stanisław Pyjas by the Security Service. He co-operated with the Free Trade Unions of the Coastal Region by organizing self-study groups and distributing underground press and literature. He was also a co-founder of the Independent Students’ Union in Gdańsk, a head of the Solidarity movement in Wydawnictwo Morskie publishing house, and a journalist of "Samorządność" (Selfgovernance) weekly of the Solidarity. For 7 years he was a physical worker of "Świetlik" co-operative.

He was one of the founders of the Liberal and Democratic Congress ( KLD). In April 1994 he became one of the deputy chairmen of the Freedom Union (UW), created by the merger of the KLD and the Democratic Union. In 1997 he was elected to the Senate, as a representative of the UW. He became Deputy Speaker of the Senate of the 4th term. He was also Deputy Speaker of the Sejm (the lower house of the Parliament) of the 4th term in 2001-2005. He was a member of parliament in the Sejm of the 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th term and since April 2003 he has held a role as Chairman of the Civic Platform (PO).

Vygaudas Ušackas

Special Representative and Head of the EU Delegation to Afghanistan

Mr Ušackas, was named the European Union Special Representative and Head of the European Union Delegation after attaining the approval of the 27 Member States in March 2010. He joined the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs after completing his degree in Law from the Vilnius University followed by postgraduate studies from Denmark and Norway in 1991. He was the Foreign Minister of Lithuania between 2008 and early 2010.

He has had a distinguished career in the foreign services and has served as the Ambassador of Lithuania to the Court of St. James during 2006-2008 and was the Ambassador to the United States of America and to the United Mexican States during 2001-2006. He has also served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania during the period 1999-2000 and was Chief Negotiator for Lithuania’s Accession to the European Union. During the course of his career, he has received numerous awards such as Order for Merits to Lithuania, Cross of Commander, State awards of Georgia, Greece, Norway, France, Spain, and Ukraine, award for merits to the city of Utena and Member of honour of Lithuanian Students’ Union. In 2010 he was awarded the Honorary citizenship of his home town Skuodas.

Grigol Vashadze

Foreign Minister of the Republic of Georgia

Grigol Vashadze was born in Tbilisi, on 19 July 1958. He graduated with honours from Moscow State Institute of International Relations, faculty of international law 1981. From 1981 until 1988 he worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, Department of International Organisations, Department of Cosmos and Nuclear Weapons. In 1990 he graduated from the Diplomatic Academy as a post-graduate student. From 1990 until 2008 he was engaged in private business and headed the companies founded by himself: 'Georgia Arts Management' and 'Gregory Vashadze and BR'. On November 1, 2008 he was appointed Minister of Culture, Monument Protection and Sport and on February 6, 2008 he was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.

Nathalie Vogel

Eastern Europe Editor, World Security Network Foundation

Nathalie Vogel is a German political scientist born to a French father and a Russian mother of Cossack origin. She is a graduate of the Institute of Political Sciences of the University of Innsbruck in Austria. Until 2005, she taught international relations at the University of Bonn, Germany. She served as a project officer and consultant for youth and civil society at the NATO Office in Moscow (2005/06). Nathalie Vogel is a political consultant for youth branches of political parties and student movements in the Balkans, Eastern Europe and Latin America. She is an advisor to Pro-Lider (Guatemala) and the Global Youth Union Foundation (Armenia). Her main fields of expertise are intercultural communication and grassroots movements in challenging environments. Until 2011, she headed the Prague Office of the World Security Network Foundation. Nathalie Vogel serves as a reserve officer in the German Air Force with the rank of Captain. She works and lives as a political analyst in Berlin and Washington D.C.

Kurt Volker

Managing Director, Center for Transatlantic Relations, J.Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Washington DC

Kurt Volker is Managing Director, International, for BGR Group, as well as a Senior Fellow and Managing Director at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Wall Street Fund and a Trustee of the Institute for American Universities in Aix-en-Provence, France. He has taught Transatlantic Relations at the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs and is a Member of the Strategic Advisors Group at the Atlantic Council.

Ambassador Volker was a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, with over 23 years of experience working on European political and security issues under five U.S. Administrations. He served as Ambassador of the United States to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) from 2008 to 2009. Prior to his service at NATO, Ambassador Volker served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, from 2005 until 2008, where he was responsible for U.S. policy on U.S.-European Union relations, NATO, the OSCE, and numerous bilateral relationships. Ambassador Volker had previously served as Acting Senior Director for European and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council (NSC), as Deputy Director of the Private Office of then-NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson, as a Legislative Fellow for Senator John McCain, and in a variety of State Department positions in Washington and Europe.

Konstantin von Eggert

International Affairs Commentator, Kommersant FM Radio, Moscow

Konstantin von Eggert is a Russian analyst, consultant and journalist. He is an international affairs commentator for “Kommersant FM” radio in Moscow. He also writes a weekly column for the ‘RIA Novosti’ website. In 2009-2010 he worked as Vice-President for Public and Government Affairs for ExxonMobil Russia Inc., having been in charge of relations with the Russian Government, communications, political and economic analysis and charity projects. In 1998-2009 Mr. von Eggert was Senior Correspondent, and then Editor-in-Chief of the BBC Russian Service Moscow bureau. He also presented “Utro na BBC” (“BBC Morning”), the Russian Service flagship morning news and current affairs program. In 1992 - 1998 Mr. von Eggert was Diplomatic Correspondent, and later Deputy Foreign Editor of Izvestia daily. His assignments included, among other areas, the Middle East, Iraq, Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and the Balkans. He also wrote on Russia-related issues for the "International Herald Tribune", “The Times” of London, "Atlanta Journal and Constitution", "Milliyet", "Helsingin Sanomaat", and “La Croix” and appeared on CNN, BBC, ARD and other major TV networks.

Mr. von Eggert started his career in the media in 1990 as a reporter for the Moscow daily “Kuranty” after discharging from the national army service. He has spent his army years (1987-1990) as an Arabic translator with the Russian military advisors’ mission in Sana’a, Yemen. Konstantin von Eggert is a member of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (London); member of the Editorial Board of “Pro et Contra”, the Carnegie Moscow Centre journal; member of the editorial board of the “Security Index” quarterly of the Centre for Political Studies in Russia.

He is a frequent lecturer at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Royal College of Defense Studies in London and Wilton Park (UK), Uppsala and Lund Universities (Sweden). In 2008 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II presented Konstantin as an Honorary Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Also in 2008 President Valdas Adamkus awarded him Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of Lithuania.

Mr. von Eggert is also a recipient of various Russian journalism prizes, including the 2006 “Verbum Aurum” award of the Russian Media Union. Konstantin von Eggert is an honors graduate of the Moscow University Institute of Asian and African Studies (M.A. in history and Arabic language). He speaks English, French and Arabic.

Andrew Wilson

Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations

Andrew Wilson is a Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and Reader in Ukrainian Studies at University College London. He has worked extensively on the comparative politics of the post-Soviet states since 1990. His latest book Belarus: The Last European Dictatorship will be published by Yale University Press in October 2011. His other recent books include The Ukrainians: Unexpected Nation (Yale UP, third edition, 2009), Ukraine’s Orange Revolution (Yale UP, 2005) and Virtual Politics: Faking Democracy in the Post-Soviet World (Yale UP, 2005). His publications at ECFR include Dealing with Yanukovych’s Ukraine, The Limits of Enlargement-lite: EU and Russian Power in the Troubled Neighbourhood, Meeting Medvedev: The Politics of the Putin Succession and Can the EU Win the Peace in Georgia? (all available at www.ecfr.eu)

Yasar Yakis

former Foreign Minister of Turkey

Born in 1938 and having studied Political Science at Ankara University, Mr Yakis went on to join the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1962. During his tenure at the ministry, he served on various posts including at the NATO Defence College in Rome; the Turkish Delegation to NATO and the Turkish Embassy in Damascus. Following his time at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Yakis went on to become an ambassador to both Riyadh and Cairo, and later served as the Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations. In 2001, Mr Yakis became the founding member of the Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) and its Vice Chairman in charge of International Relations and was elected as a member of parliament in November 2002. From 2003-2011, he has held positions as the Chairman of the EU Committee in the Turkish Parliament and co-Chairman of the Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission.

Valdis Zatlers

former President of Latvia

Former President of Latvia Valdis Zatlers (2007-2011) was born in Rīga, Latvia, in 1955. He is a graduate of the Rīga Institute of Medicine, where he received his degree as a physician in 1979. In 1991, Dr Zatlers received professional training in orthopaedics at Yale University and Syracuse University in the United States. He worked as a trauma specialist and orthopaedist from 1979 and 1985 and then as head of the Traumatology Department from 1985 until 1994 at the Rīga No. 2 Hospital. From 1994 until 2007, he served as director and then board chairman of the State Hospital of Traumatology and Orthopaedics. In 1993, Dr Zatlers received an award from the International Arthroscopy Association (IAA) for his contributions toward the development of this field of treatment in developing countries. From 1995 until 1999, he was the Latvian co-ordinator for an aid project from Switzerland.

In 1986, as a medical service officer, Dr Zatlers travelled to Chernobyl, Ukraine, to help deal with the aftermath of the nuclear disaster that took place there. During the National Awakening of the late 1980s, Dr Zatlers became an activist in the Latvian Medical Association and the Latvian People’s Front. He was a board member of the former and a council member of the latter organisation.