Former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security and former U.S. Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher, Chairman of the Munich Security Conference Amb. Wolfgang Ischinger, and Former Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological) at the U.K. Ministry of Defence Rear Adm. (ret.) John Gower, CB OBE have joined the Nuclear Crisis Group, an independent nonpartisan group of globally-recognized, former military officials, diplomats and security experts dedicated to preventing crises from escalating to the use of nuclear weapons.

The Honorable Ellen Tauscher is an accomplished leader with more than 16 years of public service in Congress and the State Department. From 2009 to 2012, she served as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs where she was responsible for successfully closing negotiations of New START with the Russian Federation. Prior to that, she served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, sitting on the House Armed Services Committee for more than 12 years and becoming the Chairwoman of the Strategic Forces subcommittee. She currently serves on the board of various private and public companies and is the vice-chair of the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council.

Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger is a globally-known and respected diplomat who began his career in 1973 in the cabinet of the UN Secretary-General. He has served as Germany’s Deputy Foreign Minister, ambassador to the United States and ambassador to the United Kingdom. He is an experienced negotiator, having been involved with the Bosnia Peace Talks at Dayton, Ohio and negotiations on NATO enlargement and the Kosovo crisis. Since 2008, Amb. Ischinger has served as chairman of the Munich Security Conference, bringing high-level political and military leaders together to discuss the central security issues of our time.

Rear Admiral (ret.) John Gower, CB OBE is a distinguished military leader with a 36-year career, serving in his last appointment as Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Nuclear, Chemical, Biological) in the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence. In addition to his core responsibilities for nuclear policy, between 2011 and 2014, he played a key leadership role in the international effort to counter the threat of Syria’s chemical weapons program. While acknowledging the continued contribution of strategic nuclear deterrence to global stability, Rear Adm. (ret.) Gower advocates broadly for continued actions from nuclear weapons states to reduce their reliance on these weapons and the elimination of less stabilising types, speaking at several U.S. STRATCOM Deterrence Symposia, the NATO Defense College in Rome and the Moscow Nonproliferation Conference. He is currently a consulting member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

“We are honored to have such accomplished experts and security practitioners join the Nuclear Crisis Group,” said Jon Wolfsthal, director of the Nuclear Crisis Group. “Ellen Tauscher is a proven leader on national security and nuclear weapons issues, Amb. Ischinger has vast experience as an effective facilitator in international discussions, and Rear Adm. (ret.) Gower’s long military career has made him an established authority on strategic nuclear deterrence and nonproliferation. Each brings a wealth of practical experience at the domestic and international level and we are thrilled to add their established voices to the Group as we work to reduce nuclear risk globally.”

For a full list of Nuclear Crisis Group members, click here.

For more information, or to speak with Nuclear Crisis Group Director Jon Wolfsthal, please contact Brett Abrams at 516-841-1105 or by email at [email protected].

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Global Zero is the international movement for the elimination of nuclear weapons. It is led by more than 300 eminent world leaders and backed by a half a million citizens worldwide. For more information, please visit www.globalzero.org.