Speakers

Paige Alexander

Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia, USAID

On January 3, 2011, Paige Alexander was sworn in as Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia (E&E) at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). With over twenty years working in international development in this broad region, she draws upon her experience both in the field and in D.C.  From 2001-2010, Ms. Alexander held the position of Senior Vice President at IREX, an international nonprofit development organization that supports educators, journalists and community leaders in over 100 countries. Ms. Alexander returns to USAID where, prior to joining IREX, she served for eight years in a number of positions in E&E, including as Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator. Some other notable positions include serving as Associate Director of “Project Liberty” at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government; and as a Consultant to the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, at the C.S. Mott Foundation as well as the Open Society Institute in Prague. Ms. Alexander has served on the Boards of the Basic Education Coalition and the Project on Middle East Democracy.

Pavel Andreev

Executive Director of the Valdai Club Foundation, Russia

Executive Director – International, Russian News and Information Agency RIA Novosti; Executive Director, Member of the Foundation Council, Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club; Member, Council on Foreign and Defense Policy. Previous positions: Assistant to the Official Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Diplomat, Embassy of Russia in London; Deputy UK Bureau Chief, “RIA Novosti”; Head of International Projects, “RIA Novosti”. Research interests: Russian Foreign Policy, Public Diplomacy and the role of the media in the foreign policy process.

Maj. Gen. (Rtd.) Huang Baifu

Vice Chairman, China Institute for International Strategic Studies

Born on October 21, 1945 in Zhejiang Province, China, General Huang joined the PLA in 1964. He served successively as company commander, battalion commander, staff officer, regimental chief, section chief, and Director at the Ministry of National Defence. His later diplomatic posts include staff member in the military attaché office, Chinese Embassy in Zambia; Military Attaché to Zambia, and Defence Attaché to Thailand. He was promoted to the rank of Major General in 1996. From December 2003, he served as Director General of the Intelligence Department of the General Staff. After his retirement, he joined the China Institute for International Strategic Studies as Vice Chairman in 2008.

Hans ten Berge

Secretary General of the Union of the Electricity Industry - EURELECTRIC

Born in Eindhoven in 1951, a Dutch citizen, Hans ten Berge holds a degree in Chemistry from the Rijksuniversiteit in Utrecht and also graduated from the University of Delft in Business Administration. Following posts in a number of international enterprises, including Exxon Chemie and Kemira Agro, he joined ENECO Energie in November 1998 as Managing Director of Energiehandelsbedrijf, subsequently serving as a member of the ENECO Energie Board of Management from November 1999 until January 2006. He served for several years as Chairman of the EURELECTRIC Markets Committee, before taking on the full-time post of Secretary General in 2007. The Union of the Electricity Industry-EURELECTRIC is the association representing the electricity industry at pan-European level, plus its affiliates and associates on several other continents. In its role as a centre for strategic thinking on energy, EURELECTRIC continues to analyse and demonstrate the solutions electricity can bring to meeting the energy challenges of the coming decades.The association committed itself to move towards a carbon-neutral electricity production by 2050. It is thus also highly active in the debate surrounding the future of global climate change action and emissions trading and with regard to policies driving energy technology choices that will support these goals while ensuring energy security for Europe. 

John R. Beyrle

Former U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation

John Beyrle served as an American diplomat for more than three decades, in foreign postings and domestic assignments focused on Central and Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and Russia. He was twice appointed ambassador: to Bulgaria (2005-08), and to Russia (2008-12). Ambassador Beyrle’s diplomatic service included two earlier tours at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, including as Deputy Chief of Mission. He also served as Counselor for Political and Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in the Czech Republic, and was a member of the U.S. Delegation to the CFE Arms Control Negotiations in Vienna.  His Washington assignments included Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for the New Independent States, and Director for Russian, Ukrainian and Eurasian Affairs on the staff of the National Security Council. Ambassador Beyrle has received the Presidential Distinguished Service Award from President Barack Obama, and the Presidential Meritorious Service Award from President George W. Bush.  In April 2012 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented him with the State Department’s highest honor, the Secretary’s Distinguished Service Award. John Beyrle received a BA with honors from Grand Valley State University (1975), and an MSc as a Distinguished Graduate of the National War College (1996), where he later taught as a Visiting Professor of National Security Studies.  He speaks Bulgarian, Czech, French, German and Russian.  

Carl Bildt

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden

Carl Bildt has served as Sweden's Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2006. He served as Member of Parliament from 1979 to 2001. He was Chairman of the Moderate Party from 1986 to 1999, and served as Prime Minister between 1991 and 1994. His government negotiated and signed Sweden’s 1995 accession agreement to the European Union and undertook far-reaching liberalization and structural reforms to improve the competitiveness of Sweden and modernize its welfare system. After his term in government, he was asked to become the European Union Special Representative to Former Yugoslavia in 1995 and served as Co-Chairman of the Dayton Peace Talks later the same year. He then served as the first High Representative of the international community in Bosnia during 1996 and 1997. In 1999, he was asked to re-engage on the Balkan issues as Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and served in that capacity until 2001.

Martins Bondars

Board Member of the Latvian Economists Association 2010

Martins Bondars holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University's John F Kennedy School of Government.  He has served as Head of the Office of the Prime Minister as well as Head of the Office of the President of Latvia.  During his career, Mr. Bondars has also held several private sector positions including President and Chairman of the Management Board in Latvijas Krajbanka (Latvian Savings Bank).  Currently he is advising clients from energy industry.

Jos U. Boonstra

Senior Researcher, Head EUCAM Programme, FRIDE

Jos Boonstra is Senior Researcher at FRIDE and Head of the EUCAM programme. Before joining FRIDE, he was programme manager at the Centre for European Security Studies (CESS), Groningen, The Netherlands. Jos has an MA in International Relations and an MA in History from the University of Groningen. His research focuses on Eurasian and transatlantic security issues (foremost EU, NATO and OSCE policies) as well as democratisation in Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia. His recent publications include Security Sector Reform in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan: what role for Europe? (FRIDE, May 2013), European policies towards Tajikistan (FRIDE, December 2012) and ‘Challenging the South Caucasus security deficit’ (FRIDE, April 2011). Jos Boonstra regularly comments on international relations and developments in international media.

Elena Bryan

Senior Trade Representative at U.S. Mission to the EU

Ms. Bryan arrived at the United States Mission to the European Union in February 2011 as the Representative of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to the European Union.  Prior to this, Ms. Bryan was the Deputy Assistant USTR for Trade and Development where her responsibilities included preference programs, Aid for Trade and development aspects of free trade agreements, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. Earlier she was Deputy Assistant USTR for Southeast Asia.  In this position, amongst other things, she negotiated the market access and rules-of-origin chapters of several U.S. FTAs in the region, including Singapore and Australia. She was also responsible for trade relations with countries in the ASEAN region and India, including the normalization of economic relations with Vietnam and implementation of its trade agreements with the U.S.  Ms. Bryan worked on GATT and WTO issues for many years, including as part of the USTR team at the U.S. Mission to the GATT in Geneva during the Uruguay Round.  In Washington, she was responsible for market access, developing country and WTO institutional issues.  She was a lead member of the team that helped India end its extensive system of import licensing.   

Justin Burke

Managing editor of Eurasianet.org

Justin Burke has been the managing editor of EurasiaNet.org, a news website focusing on the Caucasus and Central Asia, since 1999. Burke began his journalism career in 1988 as a reporter for the Associated Press in the United States. From 1990-1993, he was a Moscow correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor, covering the collapse of communism. From 1994-95, he was based in Germany for the paper, reporting on the rise of the European Union. In 1996, Burke was a visiting scholar at Harvard University’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies.

Jan Chadam

President of the Management Board, Gas Transmission Operator GAZ-SYSTEM S.A.

Jan Chadam is a Doctor of Economics who, in the course of his career, has held a host of executive positions, including Financial Director, Vice President and President of the Board at Pro Futuro S.A., Warszawa, Member of the Board at Elzab S.A., Zabrze, Financial Director at SIPMA Group, Lublin, President of the Board at SIP-MOT S.A., Zamość, and Director of the Internal Audit Department at Polkomtel S.A. (PLUS GSM cellular network operator). He has written several dozen domestically and internationally recognised publications on finance and management and has taught at several universities and MBA programmes. In February 2009, he was appointed Member of the Board at GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. and subsequently President of the Management Board of Gas Transmission Operator GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. as of July 2009. 

Pieter De Crem

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of Belgium

Mr. Pieter De Crem is Belgian Minister of Defence since the 21^st of December, 2007, and Deputy Prime Minister since March, 5, 2013. He is the longest serving Defence Minister or ‘Dean’ within NATO and the European Union. Under his policy, Belgian Defence underwent a profound transformation which enabled it to increase significantly its participation in international operations and to become a reliable, important and respected partner in the field of international security and defence.

Valdis Dombrovskis

Prime Minister of Latvia

Valdis Dombrovskis was appointed Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia in March 2009 and is now serving his third term in office. He has been Minister of Finance (2002-2004) and Member of the European Parliament (2004-2009). Prior to entering politics in 2002, he occupied various positions at the Bank of Latvia (1998-2002). He is Member of the Board of the political party “Unity”. Valdis Dombrovskis was born on 5 August 1971 in Riga, Latvia. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Latvia and in Economics from Riga Technical University.  He also holds a Master’s degree in Physics from the University of Latvia and a Professional Master’s degree in customs and tax administration from Riga Technical University.  Valdis Dombrovskis spent part of his studies at Mainz University (Germany) and the University of Maryland (US).

Mark Fischer

Managing Director of European Offices, German Marshall Fund of the United States

Patricia Flor

European Union Special Representative for Central Asia

Ms. Flor has served as Ambassador and Special Envoy for Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia at the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany, Berlin, Germany and been Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Georgia. She was also Director and Political Officer in the Federal Foreign Office and Vice-chair in the Commission on the Status of Women, a Preparatory Committee for the Special Session of the UN General Assembly "Women 2000".

Diba Nigar Göksel

Editor-in-Chief, Turkish Policy Quarterly

Nigar Göksel has been Editor-in-Chief of Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ) for eleven years. In parallel, between 2004 until 2011, she covered Turkey and the Caucasus as Senior Analyst at the European Stability Initiative (ESI) – where she currently works part time.   She has also been a regular contributor to the German Marshall Fund “On Turkey” policy brief series since 2009.  Previous to her current affiliations, Nigar worked at various think tanks and NGOs, including as Country Director for IREX (International Research and Exchanges Board), Project Manager at TESEV (Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation), and International Relations Coordinator at the ARI Movement. In the late 90s she worked at the Azerbaijan Embassy in Washington DC and the Washington office of the Turkish Businessmen's and Industrialists’ Association (TUSIAD). Nigar has published widely on Turkey-EU relations, Turkish foreign policy in the neighborhood, democratization, and gender rights.  

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović

Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, NATO

Ambassador Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović took up her position as NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy on 4 July 2011. Having previously served as Croatia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration and, more recently, as Ambassador of Croatia to the United States (2008 – 2011), Ambassador Grabar-Kitarović is well-versed in Euro-Atlantic diplomacy and security issues. Born in Rijeka, Croatia, Ambassador Grabar-Kitarović holds Masters degree in International Relations from the Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb. She was also a Fulbright Scholar at the George Washington University, a Luksic Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a visiting scholar at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of the Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C. She began her career in 1992 as an advisor to the International Cooperation Department of Croatia’s Ministry of Science and Technology, moving on to become an advisor in the Foreign Ministry.  In 1995, Ambassador Grabar-Kitarović became Director of the Foreign Ministry’s North American Department, and from 1997 to 2000, she worked as a diplomatic counsellor and DCM at the Croatian Embassy in Canada. She then returned to the Foreign Ministry as Minister-Counsellor. In November 2003, Ambassador Grabar-Kitarović was elected to the Croatian Parliament and in December 2003, she became the Minister of European Integration. She was sworn in as Croatia’s Foreign Minister in February 2005, her central task being to guide the country into the European Union and NATO.

Iulian Groza

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Moldova

Mr. Iulian Groza, currently Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova, he started his diplomatic career in 2004 when he joined the newly established Department for European Integration of the Ministry. He was posted to Brussels at the Moldovan Mission to the EU. Iulian Groza is licensed in law and did postgraduate European Studies in the European Research Institute at Birmingham University and NATO Security Studies at SNSPA, Buchares.

Philip Hammond

Secretary of State for Defence, United Kingdom

Philip Hammond was brought up in Essex, attending a local state school. He went up to Oxford to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics in October 1974, gaining a First Class degree. He subsequently had a wide-ranging business career spanning the house-building and property, healthcare equipment, manufacturing, and oil and gas sectors.  He also undertook consulting assignments in Latin America for the World Bank, and worked as a consultant for the Government of Malawi. Philip contested Newham North East in 1994, and was elected as Member of Parliament for Runnymede and Weybridge in 1997. In June 1998, he was appointed Shadow Minister for Health.  In 2001 he became Shadow Trade & Industry Minister and Shadow Minister for Small Business, and between 2002 and 2005 he served as Shadow Minister for Local Government and Regions. In May 2005, Philip was appointed Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury before becoming Shadow Secretary of State for Work & Pensions in December of that year.  In July 2007 he resumed the position of Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. After the General Election in 2010 Philip was appointed Secretary of State for Transport in the Coalition Government. He was appointed Secretary of State for Defence by Prime Minister David Cameron on 15 October 2011. 

Lt.Gen. David R. Hogg

U.S. Military Representative to NATO

Lieutenant General David R. Hogg was commissioned as an Armor Officer after graduating from the United States Military Academy.  His key leadership assignments include service as a Tank Platoon Leader and Executive Officer, C Company, 3-37th Armor, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas; Delta Tank and HHC Commander, 5-77th Armor, 8th Infantry Division, Mannheim, Germany; Company/Team Observer-Controller at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif.; Battalion Commander, 2-37th Armor (Iron Dukes), 1st Armored Division, Friedberg, Germany; Commander, 2nd Brigade Combat Team (Warhorse), 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas (OIF 1); Commander, Operations Group, Fort Irwin, Calif.; Assistant Division Commander-Support, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany; Commanding General, 7th U.S. Army, Joint Multinational Training Command (JMTC), DCOS-JOPs, ISAF and later Deputy Commander NTM-A. LTG Hogg was previously the Commanding General, US Army Africa. LTG Hogg is a graduate of the Armor Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Airborne and Ranger Schools, Combined Arms and Services Staff School, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, School of Advanced Strategic Arts program, and United States Army War College. He holds a Master’s degree in Military Arts and Science and also in National Security Strategy.

Toomas Hendrik Ilves

President of the Republic of Estonia

Toomas Hendrik Ilves is an Estonian politician with a passion for information and communications technology. He acquired his education in the United States. In 1984, Mr. Ilves moved to Europe, to work at the office of Radio Free Europe in Munich, Germany. Between 1993 and 1996, he served as the Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to the United States.  During that time he helped found the Tiger Leap initiative to computerize and connect all Estonian schools online. From 1996 to 2002, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Since 2002, Mr. Ilves has served as Member of the Estonian Parliament, since 2004 as Member of the European Parliament, and, since 2006, President of the Republic of Estonia.  Since assuming office, Mr. Ilves has been a frequent international speaker and influential thinker on cyber issues, he has been appointed to serve in several high positions in the field of ICT in the European Union. He served as Chairman of the EU Task Force on eHealth from 2011 to 2012, and in November 2012, at the invitation of the European Commission, he became Chairman of the European Cloud Partnership Steering Board.

Bidzina Ivanishvili

Prime Minister of Georgia

Bidzina Ivanishvili was born on February 18, 1956 in the village of Chorvila which is in the Sachkhere Region of Georgia. In 1973, he finished a secondary school of the village of Sairkhe, Sachkhere Region, and continued his studies at Tbilisi State University, Engineering-Economic Faculty. In parallel with his studies, he worked at the Kamo mechanical-casting factory in the positions of cleaner and worker. In 1980, he graduated from Tbilisi State University with honours. In the same year, he was appointed in the position of Engineer-in- Chief, and later, Head of the scientific laboratory at the Kamo mechanical-casting factory. In 1982 - 1986, he took his postgraduate course at Moscow Institute of Social Issues where he successfully defended his Master's thesis. In 1988, he founded Agroprogres Cooperative with his friends, which was later turned into an entrepreneurial company. In 1990, he founded the Russian Credit Bank. In 1991, he became the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the President of Russian Credit Bank. He is a founder and the owner of Unicor Financial- Entrepreneurial Group. In 1996, he founded Cartu Bank. In 2011, he established the Georgian Dream Social Movement. In 2012, he founded the Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia Political Party. In 2012, he was appointed the Prime Minister of Georgia. He has a wife and four children.

Craig Kennedy

President of the German Marshall Fund of the United States

Craig Kennedy has been the President of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) since 1995. He has provided GMF with a strong infrastructure throughout Europe, opening new offices in Paris, Brussels, Belgrade, Ankara, Bucharest, Warsaw, and Tunis to complement the work being done in Washington and Berlin. 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. GMF also operates several other large, multi-donor collaborations related to climate change, comparative domestic policy and Belarus. Mr. Kennedy began his career in 1980 as a program officer at the Joyce Foundation in Chicago, becoming vice president of programs in 1983 and president from 1986 to 1992. He left the Joyce Foundation to work for Richard J. Dennis, a Chicago investor and philanthropist. During this same period, he started a consulting firm working with nonprofit and public sector clients.

Eckart von Klaeden

Minister of State to the Federal Chancellor, Germany

Eckart von Klaeden has been a Member of the German Bundestag since 1994. From 2000 to 2005, he served as Parliamentary Secretary of the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group, and from 2005 to 2009, he was foreign-policy spokesman of this Group. Since 2004, Mr. von Klaeden has been a member of the Federal Executive Committee of the CDU and since 2006, member of its Federal Executive Board. From 2006 to 2010, he served as Federal Treasurer of the CDU. Since 2009, he has been Minister of State to the Chancellor. He is a lawyer, and studied law at the universities of Würzburg and Göttingen.

Andrius Krivas

Vice-Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania

Andrius Krivas is a graduate of Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) in Russia and currently holds a position of Vice-Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania. His diplomatic carrier begun in 2001 and mostly concerned the Security policy and NATO. From 1993 to 2011 Andrius Krivas worked for Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence. He holds state decorations from France, Germany and Lithuania.

Andrius Kubilius

Member of the Seimas 2012-2016, Former Prime Minister of Lithuania

Andrius Kubilius graduated from the Faculty of Physics Vilnius State University in 1979 and worked as a research fellow there. He joined the Lithuanian Reform Movement Sajūdis in 1988 and was Secretary-in-Charge at Sajūdis in 1990-1992. Andrius Kubilius has been elected to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania since 1992. From 1996 to 1999, he served as First Deputy Speaker of the Seimas and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on European Affairs. During 1999-2000, he held the post of Prime Minister in the 10^th Government of Lithuania. In 2004-2008, Andrius Kubilius was Leader of the Opposition and later Deputy Speaker of the Seimas. After the successful elections of 2008, he became Prime Minister of Lithuania for the second time (15^th Government of Lithuania, until the 2012 general elections). Andrius Kubilius has been Chairman of the Homeland Union – Lithuania Christian Democrats since 2003. In the current legislative term, Andrius Kubilius is Leader of the Opposition of the Seimas, as well as Member of the Committee on Budget and Finance and the Committee on European Affairs. Andrius Kubilius pursues wide-ranging interests: he is interested in political science, history and economics. He served as Chairman of the Policy Committee of the Knowledge Economy Forum from 2001 to 2008, and was Chairman of the Knowledge Society Council under the President of the Republic of Lithuania in 2001-2003. In 2012, Andrius Kubilius was granted the World Leader Cycle Award by the Economic Faculty Association of Rotterdam University.

Hans Kundnani

Editorial director at the European Council on Foreign Relations

Hans Kundnani is editorial director at the European Council on Foreign Relations, which he joined in November 2009. He previously worked as a journalist and continues to write for various publications including The Guardian, The Observer, Financial Times, Prospect and the Times Literary Supplement. He is the author of Utopia or Auschwitz. Germany's 1968 Generation and the Holocaust (London/New York, 2009). He studied German and philosophy at Oxford and journalism at Columbia University.

Alena Kupchyna

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus

Dr. Alena Kupchyna graduated with distinction from the Belarussian State University’s Faculty of Law in 1987. Dr. Kupchyna continued her education at the Institute of Philosophy and Law at the Belarussian Academy of Sciences where she was also a research fellow and eventually became a Doctor of Law in 1991. From 1992 to 2006, she held various positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, including two department director appointments. During this time she also served as a Counselor and Representative of Belarus to the United Nations and other international organizations at Geneva. After a six-year joint appointment as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of Hungary and the Republic of Slovenia, Alena Kupchyna became the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus in 2012.

Yves Leterme

Deputy Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Yves Leterme was appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD on 8 December 2011. He is in charge of Social Affairs, Education, Governance and Entrepreneurship. Before joining the OECD, Yves Leterme held a variety of political posts in Belgium at all levels and in all areas of government. After starting his career as an alderman in his home town of Ypres, he became a Deputy in the Chamber of Representatives, Group Chairman, National Secretary and Chairman of the CD&V  party, Minister-President of the Flemish Government, Federal Senator, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Budget and Mobility, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister. Yves Leterme is currently Minister of State and a municipal councillor in Ypres. At a professional level, Yves Leterme has worked, inter alia, as a deputy auditor at the Belgian Court of Audit and an administrator at the European Parliament. Yves Leterme, who was born on 6 October 1960, has a degree in Law and Political Science from the University of Ghent.

Kadri Liik

Senior Policy Fellow and Head of the Wider Europe Program at the European Council on Foreign Relations

Kadri Liik joined ECFR’s Wider Europe Programme as a Senior Policy Fellow in October 2012. From 2006-2011, Kadri was director of the International Centre for Defence Studies in Estonia, where she also worked as a senior researcher and director of the Centre’s Lennart Meri Conference. Kadri worked extensively as a Moscow correspondent for several Estonian daily papers in the 1990s including Postimees, the largest Estonian daily, Eesti Päevaleht and the Baltic News Service. She became Foreign News editor at Postimees in 2002 before leaving in 2004 to become editor-in-cheif at the monthly magazineDiplomaatia. She was also host of“Välismääraja”, a current affairs talkshow at Raadio Kuku in Tallinn.

Kadri holds a B.A. in journalism from Tartu University in Estonia and an M.A. in International Relations, specialising in diplomacy, from Lancaster University. In addition to her native Estonian, Kadri is fluent in English and Russian.

Tod Lindberg

Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University

Tod Lindberg is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He teaches at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and is a contributing editor to the Weekly Standard. He is the author of ‘The Political Teachings of Jesus’ and co-author with Lee Feinstein of ‘Means to an End: U.S. Interest in the International Criminal Court’. He is the editor of ‘Beyond Paradise and Power: Europe, America and the Future of a Troubled Partnership’ and co-editor with Derek Chollet and David Shorr of ‘Bridging the Foreign Policy Divide’. He held senior staff positions addressing international human rights norms and institutions on the U.S. Institute of Peace’s 2005 Task Force on United Nations Reform and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s 2008 Genocide Prevention Task Force.

Julian Lindley-French

Member of the Atlantic Council's Strategic Advisors Group

Julian Lindley-French is Eisenhower Professor of Defence Strategy at the Netherlands Defence Academy and a member of the Strategic Advisory Group of the Atlantic Council of the United States as well a Fellow of Respublica in London and Senior Associate Fellow of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom. He is an advisor to Chief of the Defence Staff in London and Head of the Commander’s Initiative Group (CIG) for NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) in which he is leading efforts to operationalise the Comprehensive Approach. He is also a member of the Academic Advisory Board of NATO Defence College in Rome and a Fellow of the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy in Vienna. He was formerly Special Professor for Strategic Studies at Leiden University and a Course Director at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. European Co-Chair of the US-European Working Group on Stabilisation and Reconstruction Missions for CSIS and Project Leader for the Atlantic Council’s Stratcon 2010 project on the NATO Strategic Concept. He received a Master’s Degree in International Relations (with distinction) from University of East Anglia in 1992 and a doctorate in political science from the European University Institute in Florence in 1996.

Zoran Milanović

Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia

Mr. Zoran Milanović graduated from the Zagreb Law School, where he was declared one of the top students of his generation and received the Vice-Chancellor's award. After graduation he started working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1994, he joined the OSCE peace-keeping mission in Azerbaijan and was then posted as Counsellor at the Croatian Mission to the European Union and NATO from 1996–1999. He studied at the Flemish University in Brussels, earning a Master's degree in European Union law in 1998. Following his return to work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the National Coordinator for NATO in 1999, Milanović become the Assistant Foreign Minister of the Republic of Croatia for political multilateral affairs in 2003. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Croatia since 1999 and has been twice elected its President. From 2008 – 2011, Milanović served as the chairman of the SDP parliamentary group in Croatian Parliament, leading to his appointment as the Prime Minister in December 2011. He is fluent in English, French and Russian and possesses a working knowledge of German.

Hassan Mneimneh

Senior Transatlantic Fellow for MENA and the Islamic World, German Marshall Fund of the United States

Mr. Mneimneh is Senior Transatlantic Fellow for MENA (Middle East & North Africa) and the Islamic World at the German Marshall Fund of the United States where he analyzes the impact of socio-political and cultural developments in this wide region, the evolution of its societies, as well as their effects on US and European policies. Mr. Mneimneh was previously a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute where he co-led a project to develop and strengthen civil society resistance to radicalizing tendencies in the Muslim world. Prior to joining Hudson, Mneimneh was a Visiting Fellow at AEI where he conducted an exploration of the evolution of radical Islamist formations and their prospects worldwide. Between 2003 and 2008, he was Director at the Iraq Memory Foundation, an organization dedicated to documenting Iraq’s recent past and to inviting Iraqi society to a reflection on issues of political responsibility, social order, and transitional justice. The Iraq Memory Foundation was the continuation of the Iraq Research and Documentation Project which Mr. Mneimneh co-directed at Harvard University. He regularly contributes analysis and opinion pieces to the pan-Arab newspaper al-Hayat, and has written extensively, in English, Arabic, and French, on political, cultural, historical, and intellectual questions affecting the Muslim world.

Andrii Olefirov

Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

Mr. Olefirov was appointed Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs by the President of Ukraine on July 3, 2012. Prior to assuming this position, he served as the Director of Consular Department and Deputy Chief of Staff for the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. He is a career Ukrainian Foreign Service Diplomat and has been serving in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs for 16 years. From 1996 to 2009, Mr. Olefirov served in 4 different sections of the Consular Department, last time, from 2008 to 2009, as the Head of Section for Legislative Affairs, and in the Human Resources Department. From 2004 to 2008, Mr.Olefirov served as Consul at the Consulate General of Ukraine in New York. In addition to serving in the United States, Mr. Olefirov served as Consul in the Embassy of Ukraine in Croatia. In that capacity, in 2001, he served as Charge D’Affaires. Mr. Olefirov earned a Master’s Degree from the Kyiv Shevchenko State University and studied at the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine. Mr. Olefirov was born on March 18, 1972. He has two children.

Andrés Ortega

Director, Observatorio de las Ideas

Andrés Ortega is a Spanish private consultant. Presently, he is the Director of Observatorio de las Ideas, an idea-mining project, and president of Intelligence Unit of Spain, a private consultancy. He has twice been director of the Policy Planning Unit at the Prime Minister’s Office in Spain. He also has had an extensive career in journalism, previously working as an editorial writer and analyst at El País. He is a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations and a senior research fellow of the Real Instituto Elcano.

Žaneta Ozoliņa

Vice-Chairman of the Latvian Transatlantic Organisation, Professor of the Department of Political Science, 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 such as “Latvia’s View of the Future of the European Union” (2007), “Latvia-Russia-X” (2007), “Rethinking Security” (2010). She was the Chairwoman of the Strategic Analysis Commission under the auspices of the President of Latvia (2004-2008) and a member of the European Research Area Board (European Commission) from 2008-2012. She serves on 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 one of the authors of the Report “Global Governance of Science” published by the European Commission.

Artis Pabriks

Defence Minister of Latvia

Dr. Artis Pabriks graduated from the Faculty of History at the University of Latvia and continued his studies in the University of Aarhus, Denmark, receiving a 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 worked also 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. From 2007 until 2010 he was a Member of the Parliament. Since November 2010, Dr. Artis Pabriks is Minister of Defence of the Republic of Latvia. He is also currently a professor at the Riga International School of Economics and Business Administration. 

Maia Panjikidze

Foreign Minister of Georgia

Dr. Maia Panjikidze was appointed as Georgia's Foreign Minister on October 25, 2012. Before becoming Foreign Minister, Dr. Panjikidze was an active member of the "Georgian Dream" political coalition which formed Georgia's new government following its victory at the Parliamentary elections held on the 1st of October 2012. In February 2012, she became the Coalition's Spokesperson and the Head of its Central Office.  Before entering national politics, Dr. Panjikidze enjoyed an extensive diplomatic career, serving as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Federal Republic of Germany (2004-2007) and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of the Netherlands (2007-2010). As a career diplomat, she rose through the ranks of Georgia's Foreign Service, occupying various high-level positions at the Foreign Ministry, starting as First Secretary in 1994 and becoming Deputy Minister in 2004. Besides her work in government, Dr. Panjikidze had actively pursued an academic career as a professor and lecturer of philology since 1988. She later became a full professor at the Guram Tavartkiladze University where she taught in 2010 and 2011. She has founded and chaired Georgia's Union of German Language Teachers and has published several works on the German language and German literature. Dr. Panjikidze holds a Ph.D. in philology. She has studied at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena in Germany and at the Javakhishvili State University in Tbilisi. In addition to Georgian, Dr. Panjikidze speaks German, English, Russian and Dutch. She is married with two sons.

Yannos Papantoniou

President of the Centre for Progressive Policy Research, former Economy and Finance Minister of Greece

Yannos Papantoniou studied Economics at the University of Athens (Greece) and the University of Wisconsin (Madison, USA) he studied History at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes -Sorbonne (Paris, France) and obtained his PhD degree in Economics at the University of Cambridge (UK). Yannos Papantoniou was a Member of the National Parliament in Greece from 1988-2007 and served as Minister of National Defence (2001-2003), Minister of National Economy and Finance (1996-2001), Minister of National Economy (1994-1996), Alternate Minister of National Economy (1993-1994), Minister of Trade (1989) and Deputy Minister of National Economy (1985-1989). During his time as Economy & Finance Minister, he worked closely with his European ECOFIN partners to prepare for the launch of the euro in Greece. Prior to this, Mr. Papantoniou worked at the OECD (1978-1981) in Paris, served as Member of the European Parliament (1981-1984) and Advisor to the Greek Prime Minister on European Economic Community Affairs and Integration (1984-1985). He was elected as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London, UK in 1999. From 2009-2010, he was Visiting Senior Fellow in the Hellenic Observatory within the European Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Mr. Papantoniou is currently President of the Centre for Progressive Policy Research (KEPP), an Athens-based independent think-tank.

Daniels Pavļuts

Minister of Economics of Latvia

Daniels Pavļuts is the Latvian Minister of Economics. He holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. In leading positions at Swedbank and Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Pavluts facilitated the dialogue of businesses and the public sector. He has also worked as a management consultant and business trainer for the private and public sector in Latvia and abroad. From 2003 to 2006, he served as the State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture of Latvia. Fluent in English and Russian, Mr Pavluts is married and has two sons. 

Andrejs Pildegovičs

State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia

Andrejs Pildegovičs is a graduate of Saint Petersburg State University, the Faculty of Oriental Studies. Mr Pildegovičs started diplomatic and consular service in 1994 as senior desk officer at the Foreign Ministry CIS Division. Later he held the positions of the Head of the Asian and African States Division, the Assistant State Secretary, and Press Secretary. Mr Pildegovičs has worked as Foreign Affairs Advisor to the President of Latvia. From 2006 to 2007 he was Head of the President's Chancery and, from July 2007 to 2012, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States and non-resident Ambassador to the United Mexican States. From 25 July 2013, Mr Pildegovičs has held the post of the MFA Under Secretary of State - Political Director. Andrejs Pildegovičs speaks English, Russian and Chinese.

Petra Pinzler

European Correspondent, Die Zeit, Germany

Petra Pinzler is a Berlin Correspondent of the German weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT. She writes about national and international politics and economics, is a regular guest in radio and TV shows, and an experienced moderator. From 2002-2007, Ms. Pinzler was the paper’s EU Correspondent based in Brussels. From 1998-2001 she served as US Correspondent. Ms Pinzler studied Politics and Economics in Hamburg and was trained at the Cologne School of Journalism.

Raul Rebane

Stratkom, Media Consultant and Journalist

Raul Rebane (1953) graduated in Tartu University 1977 as journalist. 1977-1994 –commentator of Estonian TV, 1995-97 Program director of National Television, 1998-1999 Chief of Program TV-1.

2000-2013 consultant of strategic communication. Audentes-Concordia University lecturer of communication (1999-2006). Participated 1980-2012 as commentator or member of European Broadcasting Union information group in 12 Olympic Games

Raul Rebane consulted and trained a number of Estonian and International Institutions, ministries and private enterprises. Strategic communication, information wars, innovation awareness, “communication formats” are Raul Rebane favourite topics as conference speaker.

Airis Rikveilis

Representative of the Latvian Ministry of Defence to NATO and the European Union

Airis Rikveilis holds Master of Arts in Global Security Affairs (with distinction, Outstanding Thesis Award) from United States Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California and currently holds a position of Defence Advisor for Latvian Delegation to NATO and the EU. He has extensive experience in journalism obtained while working at one of the leading daily newspapers “Independent Morning Newspaper” (Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze) from 1999 – 2001. After he joined the Ministry of Defence of Latvia in 2001 he served at various positions in the Department of International Relations and in the Department of Public Affairs. Airis Rikveilis is an author of more than 15 scientific articles published in Latvian and international magazines, as well as visiting faculty member and lecturer on security and foreign policy issues at the University of Latvia, the National Defense Academy of Latvia and the Baltic Defence College in Tartu, Estonia. His latest research focuses on use of social media in the military and importnace of strategic cultures in the EU and NATO.

Edgars Rinkevics

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia

Edgars Rinkēvičs is Minister of Foreign Affairs since October 25, 2011. He was Head of the Chancery of the President of Latvia from October 2008 till October 2011. He also served as State Secretary in the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia from August 1997 till October 2008. He also worked as Chief of the Office for organising the NATO Summit of Heads of State and Government, which took place in Riga, 2006. Mr. Rinkēvičs graduated from University of Latvia and received his Master’s degree in Political Science in 1997. From 1999-2000 he also studied at the U.S. National Defence University, Industrial College of the Armed Forces and has a graduate degree in National Resource Strategy.

Daniela Schwarzer

Head of Research Division EU Integration, Stiftung für Wissenschaft und Politik

Daniela Schwarzer is Head of Division European Integration at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) in Berlin. In 2012/13 she was a visiting scholar at Harvard University. In 2011/2012 she was scientific advisor for the Centre for Strategic Analysis of the French Prime Minister. In 2010/2011 she was an academic advisor to the Polish Secretary of State for European Affairs in preparation of Poland’s EU Council Presidency in 2011. In 2007/2008 she was a member of the working group "Europe" of the Whitebook Commission on Foreign and European Policy in the French Foreign Ministry. From 1999 until 2004 she served as editorialist and France correspondent for the Financial Times Deutschland. Between 1996 and 1999, she worked at the Association for the European Monetary Union in Paris. Daniela Schwarzer is an adjunct lecturer at the Hertie School of Governance since 2010 and at the Post-Graduate Master Programme in European Studies of the Freie Universität, Humboldt Universität and Technische Universität, Berlin since 2009.

Martin Sieg

Foreign Policy Advisor to the German Bundestag

Martin Sieg is Strategy Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova and a Foreign Policy Advisor in the German Bundestag. He has broad experience as a political consultant for different governments and commercial institutions.  He has worked as an expert for national and international organisations on EU and NATO enlargement, foreign and security policy, institutional reform and promotion of democracy.  Holding doctoral degrees in History and Political Science, Martin has taught European integration and international relations at several universities.

Radosław Sikorski

Foreign Minister of Poland

Radosław Sikorski graduated from the University of Oxford with a B.A. and an M.A. in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE). Sikorski headed the students’ strike committee during the unrest in Bydgoszcz in March 1981. He was granted political asylum in Great Britain in 1982-89. He was a war correspondent in Afghanistan and Angola in 1986-89. He won the World Press Photo award in 1987 for a photograph taken in Afghanistan. As Deputy Minister of National Defence in 1992, Radosław Sikorski initiated Poland’s NATO accession campaign. In 1998-2001, he served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Honorary Chairman of the Foundation for Assistance to Poles in the East. From 2002 to 2005, he was resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. and Executive Director of the New Atlantic Initiative. He was editor of the analytical publication European Outlook and organized international conferences on topics such as UN reform and the 25th anniversary of the Solidarity movement. He appeared before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs as an expert on Atlantic issues. In 2012, he was named one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers by the Foreign Policy magazine “for telling the truth, even when it’s not diplomatic.” Radosław Sikorski was elected senator for Bydgoszcz in 2005 and served as Minister of National Defence in 2005-2007. In 2007, he was elected to the Lower House of the Polish Parliament (the Sejm) from the Civic Platform list. He was sworn in as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland on 16 November 2007.

Constanze Stelzenmüller

Senior Transatlantic Fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States

Dr. Constanze Stelzenmüller is a Senior Transatlantic Fellow with the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Berlin. Previously, she was the Director of GMF’s Berlin office (2005-2009), and a reporter and international security editor with the weekly DIE ZEIT in Hamburg (1994-2005). She is an international lawyer by training. She writes about a broad spectrum of issues, including German and European foreign and security policy, transatlantic relations, and defense. She is regularly inter­viewed and quoted in European and American news media. She chairs the German section of Women in International Security and the Academic Advisory Council of the German Foundation on Peace Research.

Michael Stürmer

Chief Correspondent, Welt-Gruppe, Berlin

Professor Michael Stürmer is a Columnist for WELT-Gruppe, Berlin, and Visiting Profesor at SAIS Bologna. A historian by training, he held a chair of Medieval and Modern History at Erlangen-University was a long-time foreign policy advisor to Chancellor Helmut Kohl and, from 1988 - 1998, Head of Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (Research Institute for International Affairs) in Ebenhausen. Prof. Stürmer has written books and articles on European history 19th and 20th century, the material culture of 17th and 18th century Europe, international affairs and security. Member of IISS; Officer of the Legion d'Honneur.

Jan Techau

Director of Carnegie Europe, the European center of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Jan Techau is the director of Carnegie Europe, the European think tank of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Techau works on EU integration and foreign policy, transatlantic affairs, and German foreign and security policy.

Before joining Carnegie in March 2011, Techau served in the NATO Defense College’s Research Division from February 2010 until February 2011. He was director of the Alfred von Oppenheim Center for European Policy Studies at the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin between 2006 and 2010, and from 2001 to 2006 he served at the German Ministry of Defense’s Press and Information Department.

Techau is an associate scholar at the Center for European Policy Analysis and an associate fellow at both the German Council on Foreign Relations and the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies. He is a regular contributor to German and international news media and writes a weekly column for Judy Dempsey’s Strategic Europe blog.

Sylke Tempel

Editor-in-Chief, Internationale Politik

Dr. Sylke Tempel is Editor-in-Chief of “Internationale Politik“, published by the German Council on Foreign Affairs, lecturer at the Stanford Study Center in Berlin and visiting professor at Stanford University. She worked as Middle East correspondent for various German language magazines and newspapers. Among her recent publications are: ‘Israel. Reise durch ein altes, neues Land’. (Israel, ‘Journey through an Old New Land’ - 2008) and ‘Freya von Moltke. A Biography.’ (2011)

Archana Upadhyay

Associate Professor, School of International Studies, Jawaharlai Nehru University, India

Archana Upadhyay is an Associate Professor in the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (India). She has been a Commonwealth Visiting Fellow at the International Policy Institute of King’s College, London. She has also been a recipient of the Fulbright Visiting Lecturer Fellowship.  Her research interest include International Relations with special focus on South Asian, Central Asian and Eurasian issues, Political Violence, Insurgency and Terrorism, Conflict and Conflict Management. She is the author of ‘India’s Fragile Borderlands: Dynamic of Terrorism in North East India’. Her previous publications are ‘Multiparty System in the Russian Federation: Problems and Prospects’ and a co-authored monograph on Human Rights. She has also participated in Track Two Diplomacy initiatives in South Asia.

Timur Urazayev

Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Amb. Urazayev was born on March 20, 1967 in Kazakhstan. Married with two children, he graduated from the Pedagogical Institute (1991) specializing in English and German languages. He attended the International Diplomatic Programme for Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry in the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Federation (1999). Author of numerous articles and publications in domestic and foreign media on the current issues of international relations as well as bilateral and multilateral diplomacy. He is fluent in English and Bulgarian languages. He was posted in November 1993 as Attaché of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Russian Federation. Later he headed various divisions of the Foreign Ministry of Kazakhstan concerned with Russian affairs, the CIS countries, the Customs Union, and the CSTO. From November 2004 to June 2008, he was Charge d'Affaires of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Republic of Bulgaria. From July 2008 to July 2011, he served as Director of the Commonwealth of Independent States Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan. From July 2011 till the present time, he is Ambassador-at-Large and Special Representative for Afghanistan. Amb. Urazayev teaches at the Institute of Diplomacy of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Celeste A. Wallander

Associate Professor and Director, Global Governance, Politics, and Security Program School of International Service, American University

Dr. Celeste A. Wallander is Associate Professor in the School of International Service at American University and Director of the M.A. Program in Global Governance, Politics, and Security, and non-resident Transatlantic Fellow of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.  She served in the Office of International Security Affairs (ISA) as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia from May 2009 to July 2012.  She has been a visiting professor at Georgetown University (2006-2008), Director and Senior Fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (2001-2006), Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C. (2000-2001), and professor of Government at Harvard University (1989-2000). Her scholarly and policy work focuses on security relations in Europe and Eurasia.  She is an expert on Russian security policy and military doctrine, security institutions, Eurasian military and defense issues, and conflict escalation and intervention.  She is the author of over 90 scholarly and public interest publications on these and related topics.  Dr. Wallander received her Ph.D. (1990), M.Phil. (1986) and M.A. (1985) degrees in political science from Yale University, and her B.A. (1983 – summa cum laude) in political science from Northwestern University.  She has received fellowships and research grants from the National Science Foundation, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the National Council for Soviet and East European Research, Carnegie Corporation of New York, the MacArthur Foundation, Smith-Richardson Foundation, and the Mott Foundation. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Atlantic Council of the United States.  

Damon M. Wilson

Executive Vice President, Atlantic Council of the United States

Damon M. Wilson is Executive Vice President of the Atlantic Council. From 2007 to 2009, Mr. Wilson served as special assistant to the President and Senior Director for European Affairs at the National Security Council. He managed interagency policy on NATO, the European Union, Georgia, Ukraine, the Balkans, Eurasian energy security, and Turkey, and planned numerous Presidential visits to Europe, including US-European Union and NATO summits. Mr. Wilson has also served at the US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq as the Executive Secretary and Chief of Staff; at the National Security Council as the Director for Central, Eastern, and Northern European affairs; and as Deputy Director in the Private Office of NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson. Prior to serving in Brussels, Mr. Wilson worked in the US Department of State in various positions and served in Rwanda with Save the Children. He is a graduate of Duke University and completed his graduate studies at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Affairs. Mr. Wilson also worked with the Unaccompanied Children in Exile refugee program in Croatia and Turkey. 

Thomas Wright

Fellow, Managing Global Order Project, the Brookings Institute

Thomas Wright is a Fellow at the Brookings Institution in the Managing Global Order project. Previously, he was executive director of studies at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, a lecturer at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, and a senior researcher for the Princeton Project on National Security. Dr. Wright has a PhD in government from Georgetown University, an MPhil in international studies from Cambridge University, and a BA and MA from University College Dublin. He has also held a pre-doctoral fellowship at Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and a post-doctoral fellowship at Princeton University.

Dr. Wrights’ writings have appeared in the American Political Science Review, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Orbis, Survival, the Washington Quarterly, the Financial Times, the International Herald Tribune, the Washington Post, and elsewhere. He is working on a book about geopolitical competition in an age of global interdependence.

Lamberto Zannier

Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

Ambassador Lamberto Zannier of Italy took up the post of OSCE Secretary General on 1 July 2011. Zannier is an Italian career diplomat. From June 2008 to June 2011 he was UN Special Representative for Kosovo and Head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). From 2002 to 2006, he was the Director of the Conflict Prevention Centre of the OSCE. Previous senior positions include Permanent Representative of Italy to the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague (2000-2002), chairperson of the negotiations on the adaptation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (1997-2000) and Head of Disarmament, Arms Control and Cooperative Security at NATO (1991-1997).