58^th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SPEAKERS

 

Khaled Fouad ALLAM

Professor of Sociology of the Muslim World at the Universities of Trieste and Urbino and the Stanford University of Florence, Prof. Allam is an advisor on "Immigration and New Citizenships" for the European Union and the European Council. His research interests include the contemporary Muslim world and its relationship with the West. He is a former Member of the Italian Parliament, where he served in the Commission on constitutional affairs, he is the author of numerous books and essays, including Global Islam, Letter to a kamikaze, and The Solitude of the West, winning various awards in Italy and abroad. He is a former columnist for the daily newspapers “La Stampa” and “La Repubblica”, and is currently a commentator for the daily “Il Sole 24 Ore”. He is a Scientific Adviser to the Turin International Book Fair.

Oraib AL-RANTAWI

Mr. Rantawi is Founder and General Director of the "Al Quds Center for Political Studies", a study and research institute based in Amman, Jordan. A political scientist and analyst, he is the author and editor of several books and papers on regional affairs, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Palestinian issue and democracy in the Middle East. As a journalist, he was a correspondent for several Arab newspapers and his numerous articles appeared in local and Arabic dailies and magazines. As a regular TV commentator, he took part in many regional and international seminars and conferences. He is a member of the International Organization of Journalists, the Press Association in Jordan and the "Jordan First Royal Committee".

Sultan AL-QASSEMI

Sultan Sooud al-Qassemi is a UAE based columnist considered to be one of the most prominent commentators on Arab affairs. His articles have appeared in publications within and outside the Arab Gulf region, amongst others The Gulf News, The National Newspaper, The Financial Times, The Independent, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, The New York Times, Foreign Policy, Open Democracy and The Globe and Mail. Mr. al-Qassemi has been noted by Time Magazine as one of the world's 140 most influential characters on Twitter, where he is an active presence at @SultanAlQassemi. He is also a non-resident Fellow at the Dubai School of Government.

Amer AL-SABAILEH

Dr. al-Sabaileh is a political analyst and columnist based in Amman, Jordan, whose articles on Middle Eastern affairs have been published on various dailies and magazines in English, Arabic and Italian language (most of Dr. al-Sabaileh's articles are available on his personal blog: http://amersabaileh.blogspot.com/). Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Foreign Languages of the University of Jordan, his courses are focused on literary subjects, human rights and the media. He holds a PhD from the University of Pisa, Italy, with a thesis about intercultural and interreligious dialogue, as well as a Master’s Degree in Education of Peace: International Cooperation, Human Rights and EU policies from the University of Rome Three.

Shai BLITZBLAU

Dr. Blitzblau is Managing Director of Maglan, an Information Defense & Intelligence Group. Expert on cyber weapons and network intelligence Operations, he managed, leader and command on numerous complicated IT security and cyber weapon projects over Europe, Middle-East and conflict-zones. Former Professional Director of the Italian Annual Cyber Conference, he was NATO co-Director for the Network Intelligence Workshop and Keynote speaker in the NATO Berlin Workshop on Cyber Conflict and Radicalism. He was also lecturer in a workshop of the EU parliament on network intelligence and cyber-espionage.

Frances G. BURWELL

Dr. Burwell is Vice President and Director of the Program on Transatlantic Relations at the Atlantic Council of the United States (ACUS). Prior to joining the ACUS, Dr. Burwell was Executive Director of the Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland, and also served as founding Executive Director of Women in International Security. She is the principal author or rapporteur of several ACUS publications, including Transatlantic Leadership for a New Global Economy; Transatlantic Transformation: Building a New NATO-EU Security Architecture; and The Post-9/11 Partnership: Transatlantic Cooperation against Terrorism.  She is the co-editor (with Ivo H. Daalder) of The United States and Europe in the Global Arena.

Antonella CERASINO

Ms. Cerasino is Head of the Assessment Team in the Public Diplomacy Division since October 2012. This team has recently been created to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of NATO’s public diplomacy activities. Prior, Ms. Cerasino was Head of the NATO countries section in the same division, coordinating communication activities in all NATO member countries to illustrate NATO's policy, agenda and values. Former spokesperson of the OSCE Mission to Croatia (2005-2007), she has been Team Leader of a European Commission sponsored Information and Communication Project on the Western Balkans in Sarajevo (2002-2004).

Amb. Gabriele CHECCHIA

Italian Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Council, Amb. Checchia is former Diplomatic Advisor to the Minister of Defense. From 2006 to 2010, he served as Ambassador of Italy to Lebanon and after that mandate he was appointed Special Envoy of the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Amb. Checchia was also the Italian representative within the EU Working Group for Enlargement (and Chair, during the Italian Presidency in 2003), as well as Deputy Head of Mission for the Italian Embassy in Turkey. Former Diplomatic Advisor to the Minister of Economic Development, across his career he received the following awards and decorations: Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, Knight Officer pro meriti Melitensi (Order of Malta) for the promotion of humanitarian development activities across Lebanon, and Grand Officer of the Lebanese Order of the Cedar, an award he received from the Lebanese President at the end of his mandate as Ambassador of Italy to Lebanon for his relentless commitment towards the country.

Lt. Gen. Gian Marco CHIARINI

Lt. Gen. Chiarini is the Italian Military Representative to the Military Committees of NATO and the EU. Former Commander of the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps-ITA, he served as Deputy Commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in Rheindahlen, Germany, Commander of the EUFOR mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Commander of the Italian Joint Task Force-Iraq during the operation “Antica Babilonia" in Nassiriyah. Prior, he held other significant posts, such as Commander of Multinational Brigade-SE (Salamander) in Bosnia-Herzegovina, IT Rapid Reaction Corps Chief of Staff in Solbiate Olona, COMKFOR Executive Assistant in Pristina, AFSOUTH Joint Operations Branch Chief in Naples, and Deputy Chief of Civil Affairs of HQ IFOR in Sarajevo.

Antonia COLIBASANU

Ms. Colibasanu is Vice President of International Marketing at the US geopolitical analysis company Stratfor (www.Stratfor.com). She joined Stratfor in 2006 as a regional consultant before joining the company's research department. Ms. Colibasanu is also an associate lecturer in the International Relations department of the Romanian Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest. The courses she teaches include Research Methodology, Economic Growth and Development and International Organizations and Diplomacy. Antonia Colibasanu is also the founder of Books for Peace, a non-profit organization focused on promoting peace through education and culture.

Lt. Gen. Arne Bård DALHAUG

Lt. Gen. Dalhaug has been Commandant of the NATO Defense College in Rome since 2011. Former Military Representative of the Kingdom of Norway to NATO, he was promoted to Lieutenant General and assigned Chief of Defence Staff in 2005. In 2003 he was assigned Head of the Department of Defense Policy and Long Term Planning in the Norwegian Ministry of Defense. In 2002 he was promoted to Major General and headed the Strategic Management Integration Process. He started his military career as a platoon commander in His Majesty the Kings Guard. Lt. Gen. Dalhaug was promoted to Brigadier in 2000 and became ACOS Operations and Resources Management, Joint Staff, CHOD Norway. He completed the Command and General Staff Course at the Norwegian Army Staff College in 1990 and was a student at US Army Command and General Staff College from 1992 to 1993.

Antongiulio DE’ROBERTIS

Vice President of the Italian Atlantic Committee, he is Professor of History of Treaties and International Politics at the University of Bari, where he is also Coordinator of the Balkan-Danubian-Eusinian Observatory. Member of the Board and former founding Secretary General of the “Alcide De Gasperi Foundation”, he is a member of the Board of the International Institute for Peace in Vienna and the Institute for International Political Studies in Milan. He is a member of the St. Petersburg State University's School of International Relations and a former member of the “Fulbright” Commission for cultural exchanges between Italy and the US. He has been Former Director of the project for the establishment of a Political Science Department in the St. Petersburg University sponsored by the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Nicola de SANTIS

Mr. de Santis is the Head of the Middle East and North Africa Section in the Political Affairs and Security Policy Division of the NATO Headquarters in Brussels. Prior to that, he was the Head of the Mediterranean Dialogue and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative Countries Section in the Political Affairs and Security Policy Division. During his more than two decade career at the Brussels NATO Headquarters, Mr. de Santis served under six Secretary Generals, in different policy and communications positions in the Office of the Secretary General, Office of Information and Press, in the External Relations Section, in the Outreach Countries Section, in the Press Service, in the Mediterranean Dialogue and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative Countries Section of the Public Diplomacy Division and in the same section in the Political Affairs and Security Policy Division.

Adm. Giampaolo DI PAOLA

Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola has been Minister of Defense in the Italian Government since November 2011. Former Chairman of the NATO Military Committee and Chief of Defense Staff of the Italian Armed Forces, he served as Chief of the Cabinet Office of the Ministry of Defense and in other national and international appointments. His military decorations and awards include the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy, Meritorious Service Medal for distinguished military service, Commander of Legion of Merit (USA), Commandeur de l'Ordre de la Legion d'Honneur (FR), Commandeur de l'Ordre National du Merite (FR), Grand Officer of the Order of Infante Don Enrico (PO), Grand Officer of Military Virtue with War Insignia (RO), and earned the UN Medal for the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Kosovo.

Kristin DURANT

President of the Youth Atlantic Treaty Association (YATA) since November 2011, Ms. Durant is P.A. for a Danish entrepreneur and political consultant. Former Political Vice President of Denmark’s largest student union, Djøf Students, as well as Former Vice President of YATA Denmark, Ms. Durant studied Public Administration and Global Studies at Roskilde University, focusing much of her research on the Af-Pak region and the role of civil-military cooperation. Ms. Durant has a background in International Business and Politics at Copenhagen Business School and Niels Brock Business College.

Hon. Franco FRATTINI

Hon. Franco Frattini is President of the Italian Society for International Organization (SIOI) and the Foundation Alcide De Gasperi since 2012. Former Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs (2001-2004, 2008-2012), he was Vice President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Justice, Security and Freedom. Coordinator of the Group of Experts on foreign policy at the European People's Party, he held other prestigious positions, such as Secretary General at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Minister for the Public Service and President of Parliamentary Committee on the information and security services. Member of Parliament since 1996, Hon. Frattini has been indicated by the Italian Government as Italy's official candidate to the NATO General Secretariat for 2014.

Graziano GALLITTO

Carmelo Graziano Gallitto is graduated magna cum laude in Political Sciences at the Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali in Rome. Highly committed in Non-Profit Activities over national and international context, he founded Consules in 2005, whereof now he works as President & CEO, in charge for executive direction, human resources management and strategic planning. He coordinated several internationalization and entrepreneurial programs in Italy and abroad. On the academic aspect, his research activities concern "The integration through the school system" and he's currently concluding a PhD about the relationships among cultural european and US elites.

Haseeb HUMAYOON

Mr. Humayoon is the Founding Partner and CEO of QARA Consulting, Inc., an Afghanistan-based advisory firm.  Since establishing the firm in 2010, he has led it to serve major public and private sector clients such as Fortune 500 companies, The World Bank, UNDP, ISAF, and several ministries within the Government of Afghanistan. He is also a founder of the “Afghanistan 1400” political movement—an initiative of Afghanistan’s new generation striving for national renewal and responsibility. A frequent commentator on local and international media, he has appeared on several channels including Channel 1 Afghanistan, Voice of America, Al Jazeera English, Tolo TV and NPR.

H.E. On. Arben IMAMI

Minister of Defense of the Republic of Albania, H.E. On. Arben Imami is among the founders of the Democratic Party and political pluralism in Albania. He has been elected Member of Parliament for five legislatures. During his political activity, he has held various chief party and governmental positions in the Democratic Party (during 1990-1992), Democratic Alliance (during 1992-2002) and Democratic Party (2002-2009). His contribution is extended also in constitutional and legal-institutional fields. Former Professor at the Academy of Arts, he joined the Students' Movement of 1990.

H.E. Rezan KADER

Dr. Rezan Kader was born in Sulaymaniyah, named as the Art City and cultural capital of Kurdistan. In the 80s Dr. Kader has been active in the student movements fighting for the respect of human rights in her Region. Due to the increase of the persecution and tortures applied by the Baath regime against the student movements, she was forced to leave her homeland. France recognized her as political refugee than she moved to Italy where she studied at the Faculty of Medicine. Since 1988 Dr. Kader is Representative of the Kurdish Women in Italy. In the 90s she improved her activity of information about the dramatic situation in Kurdistan. After the liberation from Saddam Hussein regime she has been appointed as High Representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Italy. The KRG Representation Office in Italy has been officially inaugurated in 2010 by President Masoud Barzani.

Karl-Heinz KAMP

Director of the Research Division of the NATO Defense College in Rome, he is a former Advisor for the NATO Expert Group on the New Strategic Concept in 2009. As a member of the Advisory Board of the Federal Academy for Security Policy in Germany, he was Security Policy Coordinator at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation as well as Research Fellow at the Center for Science and International Affairs (CSIA), John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA. A member of various international institutions and academic bodies, he has published extensively on security policy issues.

Hon. Prof. Enrico LA LOGGIA

President of the Italian Atlantic Committee since 2004, Hon. Prof. La Loggia is President of the Parliamentary Commission for the Implementation of Fiscal Federalism. Minister for Regional Affairs from 2001 to 2006 and Member of the Italian Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly from 2006 to 2008, he has been a Member of Parliament since 1994. Professor of State Accounting at the University of Palermo, Faculty of Law, Hon. Prof. La Loggia taught Constitutional Law at the same Faculty and Administrative Law at the Faculty of Economics. Author of numerous essays and works on legal and constitutional subjects, he received awards and acknowledgements in Italy and abroad.

Hon. Dr. Karl A. LAMERS

Hon. Dr. Karl A. Lamers is President of the Atlantic Treaty Association and Vice President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA), where he also serves as Head of the German Delegation. As Member of the German Bundestag since 1994, Hon. Dr. Lamers has been the Deputy Chairman of the Defense Committee since November 2006 and a Substitute Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs since 1998. He was Chairman of the Sub-Committee "Development of Internal Leadership" of the Defence Committee from 2003 to 2007 and Chairman of the Group of Rapporteurs for Future Air Defence of the Defence Committee between 1995 and 1998. Member of the NATO PA since 1998, he was Chairman of the Political Committee of the NATO PA from 2008 to 2010 and its President from 2010 to 2012. Hon. Dr. Lamers was elected as ATA President in 2008. He was honoured with the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2009 and the Grand Cross of the Order for Merits to Lithuania in 2011.

Bruno LETE

Program Officer for the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Brussels, he works closely with national governments, international organizations, the corporate sector and civil society to achieve policy goals, particularly in the field of EU foreign policy, transatlantic security cooperation and NATO. Prior, Mr. Lete worked at the European Union Delegation to the United States in Washington DC, where he joined the Political, Security & Development Section and focused on U.S. foreign policy and EU-U.S. relations. Mr. Lete started his career in 2007 as a Program Assistant for the German Marshall Fund. He is also a John Whitehead Fellow for the Foreign Policy Association in New York.

Julian LINDLEY-FRENCH

Prof. Lindley-French is a leading strategic analyst and Director of Europa Analytica. Formerly Eisenhower Professor of Defence Strategy at the Netherlands Defense Academy, he is a member of the Strategic Advisory Group of the Atlantic Council of the United States, the Strategic Advisory Panel of General Sir David Richards, Chief of the Defense Staff in London and the Academic Advisory Board of the NATO Defense College in Rome. His blog, Lindley-French’s Blog Blast (www.lindleyfrench.blogspot.com), has a world-wide readership and adorns the websites of several leading think-tanks. His latest book The Oxford Handbook of War is regarded as a definitive compendium on the subject and was nominated for the Duke of Westminster Medal for Military Literature.

Fabrizio W. LUCIOLLI

Secretary General of the Italian Atlantic Committee, Prof. Fabrizio W. Luciolli is Professor of International Security Organizations at the Center for High Defense Studies, Italian Ministry of Defense. A regular lecturer at various national and international military institutions as well as academic institutes, he was coordinator of training courses for Iraqi military officers and diplomats. He served as Director and promoter of NATO and EU cooperation projects in Central and Southeastern Europe, and is also a political consultant on foreign affairs and security matters to various Members of Parliament. He is the author of several papers and articles published in national and foreign journals.

Elkhan MEHTIYEV

Director of the Peace and Conflict Resolution Center since 1998, he has been Secretary General of the Azerbaijani Atlantic Association since 1997. Former Research Fellow at the University of Maryland and Fulbright Scholar at the American University in Washington, DC, he was NATO-EAPC Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University. During 2010-2011, he was a Fulbright Scholar at Duke University on civil-military relations. He lectured at the Khazar and Western Universities in Baku, where he also worked at the Institute for Space Research. He served in the office of the Azerbaijani President on issues of foreign affairs and international relations.

Amira MEKHEIMAR

Ms. Mekheimar is an Egyptian researcher and project officer in the General Secretariat of the Egyptian European Association Agreement, Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation. In this framework, she focuses on the management of the institutional capacity building toolbox offered by the European Union to Egypt. She holds a Master’s degree in "European Markets and Enterprises" at the University of Paris-Sud, as well as a special diploma in "Anthropology in Development Process" at the University of Rome "La Sapienza". Ms. Mekheimar is also involved in the current political events in Egypt. 

Tanja MIŠČEVIĆ

Professor in the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Belgrade, Dr. Miščević holds courses on International Organizations, the UN System, the EU Enlargement Policy and History of European Integration. Head of International Organizations course at the Diplomatic Academy of the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she lectured as a Visiting Professor in various Universities. Former Director of the European Integration Office of the Government of Serbia (2005-2008), Dr. Miščević was head of the negotiation team for the Readmission and Visa Facilitation Agreement between Serbia and the EU. Former State Secretary for Defense Policy of the Ministry of Defense (2010-2012), she is Special Adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister responsible for foreign trade in the Serbian Government, as well as UNDP Senior Adviser for Security Projects in the SEE region.

Antonio PERFETTI

Dr. Perfetti is Managing Director Executive Group Sales and Business Development, MBDA Italy. He was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Alenia Aeronautica in March 2005 and also sits on the boards of Alenia Aeronavali and ATR GIE. Except for a brief period with the Benetton Group, he has spent his entire career in positions of increasing importance within the Finmeccanica group. After his university studies, Dr. Perfetti joined IRI, then the parent company of Finmeccanica, in December 1979 and eventually rose to Vice President Organization Development. In January 1995 he moved to Alenia as Vice President Managerial Development, Alenia. By April 2001, Dr. Perfetti was Senior Vice President Human Resources for the entire Finmeccanica Group. In November 2003 he rejoined Alenia as General Manager of its Alenia Aeronavali subsidiary.

Nabila RAMDANI

Ms. Ramdani is an award-winning French-Algerian freelance journalist who specializes in French politics, Islamic affairs, and the Arab World. She covered the Arab Spring as both an on-the-ground reporter and a commentator in international TV and radio studios. In the UK, Ms. Ramdani writes regular columns for The Guardian, The Observer, The Independent, London Evening Standard, and New Statesman. Ms. Ramdani contributes to Middle Eastern outlets including The National, The Majalla and Gulf News. Ms. Ramdani is a political commentator for international stations such as NPR, the BBC, Sky News, ITV, Channel 4, Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya and is a regular contributor to flagship programs including the BBC’s Today, Woman’s Hour and Newsnight.

Maj. Gen. Danny ROTHSCHILD

Maj. Gen. (res) Danny Rothschild is Director of the Institute for Policy and Strategy at IDC Herzliya and Chairman of the Institute’s Herzliya Conference Series. For more than 30 years, General Rothschild held senior command and staff positions in the Israel Defense Forces, his last post being Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In this position he led a central role in the negotiation processes that led to the peace agreements with Jordan and with the Palestinians. Prior to that, he served as Chief of the Military Intelligence’s Research and Analysis, Commander of the IDF Liaison Unit in Lebanon, and Assistant to the Chief of General Staff. Upon resigning his commission, he co-founded a global security consultancy firm NETACS. A former member of the Bank of Israel’s Advisory Board and a former president of the Council for Peace and Security, he currently chairs the Board of Trustees of the Afeka School of Engineering. 

Vice Adm. Ferdinando SANFELICE di MONTEFORTE

President of the Military Commission of the Italian Atlantic Committee, Vice Adm. (ret) Sanfelice di Monteforte is Professor of Strategy at the Catholic University of Milan, the University of Florence and the University of Trieste – Branch of Gorizia. He served in numerous international assignments. Among them, he has been Italian Military Representative to the Military Committees of NATO and EU, as well as Commander of the NATO maritime operation Active Endeavour. He is author of numerous books and essays about strategic and military subjects published on Italian, French and American magazines. He received various honors and acknowledgements, such as the NATO Meritorious Service Medal and the NATO and WEU medals for service in the Former Yugoslavia Operations.

Peter STANIA

Director of the International Institute for Peace in Vienna, he is a member of the Council and Executive Committee of the International Peace Research Association. Chairman of the Executive Board of the Austrian North-South Institute for Development Cooperation, as well as Vice President of the NGO Committee for Peace at the United Nations Office, Vienna, he is the Honorary President of the Latin American Council for Peace Research and International Relations. Former editor of “Peace and Security – the IIP Quarterly”, Lecturer at the Diplomatic Academy, Vienna (on Latin America) and Honorary Consul of the Dominican Republic.

Amb. Vasil SIKHARULIDZE

Chairman of the Atlantic Council of Georgia, Ambassador Sikharulidze has been in Public Service for 17 years and held high ranking positions including those of the Minister of Defence of Georgia (December 2008 – August 2009); Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to the United States, Canada and Mexico (Washington DC, US) (Dec 2005 – Dec 2008); Special Advisor to the President of Georgia on Foreign Policy, Deputy Minister of Defence, Undersecretary of the National Security Council of Georgia, Deputy Head of Georgian Mission to NATO (Brussels, Belgium) and Head of NATO Division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. He was born on May 30, 1968 in Tbilisi.

Tommy STEINER

Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Policy and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, he is Manager of the Herzliya Conference Series. He previously served as the Executive Director of the Atlantic Forum of Israel. As part of his work at the Institute, he heads research programs that focus on Israeli foreign policy, as well as EU- and NATO-Israel relations. He teaches International Relations, Government, and Security Studies at the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy, and Strategy at the IDC. The Davis Institute for International Relations at the Hebrew University awarded him the Harkabi Prize.

Yasmin TASKIN

Ms. Taskin is correspondent in Italy for one of the most important Turkish newspapers, the daily Sabah, and for the television network ATV, likewise of the Italian geopolitical review “Limes” in Turkey. Former Vice President of the Foreign Press Association in Italy, Ms. Taskin is a regular speaker in conferences and seminars as well as television and radio programs about Turkish affairs and relations between Turkey and Europe. She also collaborated with various radio stations, such as Deutsche Welle, BBC, and Voice of America.

James J. TOWNSEND

Mr. Townsend is Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy. Before taking up his current position, he was a Vice President of the Atlantic Council of the United States and Director of the Council’s Program on International Security. He was the Principal Director of European and NATO Policy (2003-2006), the Director of NATO Policy (2002-2003) and the Director of the Defense Plans Division at the US Mission to NATO in Brussels (1998-2002). After being the Country Director for Northern Europe, Mr. Townsend served for eight years (1990-1998) as Deputy Director of European Policy. He has received several honors and acknowledgements, among others the Presidential Rank Award (Meritorious Executive) and the Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Award. He is an adjunct professor of international studies at American University and has lectured overseas and in the US. 

Amb. Giulio TERZI DI SANT'AGATA

Ambassador Giulio Terzi di Sant’Agata has been Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Italian Government since November 2011. Ambassador of Italy to the United States from 2009 to 2011, he was Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations in New York from 2008 to 2009, where he led the Italian delegation to the Security Council in the final phase of Italy’s 2007-2008 non-permanent membership. Ambassador of Italy to Israel from 2002 to 2004, in the most recent phase of his tenure at the Foreign Ministry in Rome, Giulio Terzi fulfilled the functions of Deputy Secretary General, Director General for Multilateral Political Cooperation and Human Rights, and Political Director.

Stanislav TKACHENKO

Director of the Diplomatic Studies Program and Associate Professor at the Department of European Studies, School of International Relations, Saint Petersburg State University. Former Visiting Professor of International Relations at the University of Bologna, his study and research activities are mainly focused on the foreign policy of the Russian federation and international political economy. Columnist for the Nevskoe Vremya daily newspaper (Saint-Petersburg), he holds a PhD in History and a PhD in Economics from the Saint Petersburg State University. He is the author of several monographs and numerous articles.