Hon. Gareth Evans

Political Leader

Australia

The Honorable Gareth Evans is an accomplished Australian public servant and chancellor of the Australian National University. He is also an honorary professorial fellow, a position he has held since 2012. From 2008 to 2010, Evans served as co-chair of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. He also served as president and CEO of the International Crisis Group, an independent global organization, from 2000 to 2009. As the foreign minister of Australia from 1988 to 1996, he was best known for his role in developing the United Nations peace plan for Cambodia, helping conclude the Chemical Weapons Convention, and initiating a new Asia-Pacific regional economic and security architecture.

He has written and edited numerous books on international affairs. In recognition of his leading work on responsibility to protect and his contributions to conflict prevention and arms control and disarmament, Evans was awarded the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute Four Freedoms Award for Freedom from Fear in 2010. In 2012, he was named a Companion of the Order of Australia and and honorary fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia.

Min. Muhammad Amin Fahim

Political Leader

Pakistan

Minister Muhammad Amin Fahim served as minister of commerce and senior minister of Pakistan. He was the vice chairman of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) and leader of its parliamentary party in the National Assembly. Fahim earned a degree in political science before entering politics in 1970 as an elected member of the National Assembly from the Sindh Province. He occupied several ministerial posts, including federal minister, during Benazir Bhutto’s tenure in office.

Fahim passed away in November 2015.

Min. Nabil Fahmy

Political Leader

Egypt

Nabil Fahmy was Egypt’s foreign minister and the founding dean of the School of Public Affairs and Global Policy at the American University in Cairo. He was also the chair of the Middle East Project at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.

A former ambassador to the United States and Japan, Fahmy is a career diplomat, and has played an active role in efforts to bring peace to the Middle East, as well as in international and regional disarmament affairs. He headed the Egyptian delegation to the Middle East Peace Process Steering Committee in 1993 and the Egyptian delegation to the Multilateral Working Group on Regional Security and Arms Control emanating from the Madrid Peace Conference in December 1991. Over the years, Fahmy has been a member of the Egyptian Missions to the United Nations (disarmament and political affairs) in Geneva and New York. He was elected vice chairman of the First Committee on Disarmament and International Security Affairs of the 44th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in 1986. From 1999 until 2003, he was also a member of the U.N. secretary-general’s Advisory Board of Disarmament Matters, serving as board chairman in 2001.

President José María Figueres

Political Leader

Costa Rica

José María Figueres was president of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998. Under his presidency, Costa Rica implemented a comprehensive national development strategy based on the tenets of sustainability. After leaving office, he led the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force, and then the World Economic Forum, as its CEO. He has also served as CEO of Concordia 21 in Spain, dedicated to supporting organizations that promote development and democratic values around the world. Since 2012, he has served as chairman of the Carbon War Room, a non-governmental organization now part of the Rocky Mountain Institute that works to implement entrepreneurial market-driven solutions to climate change.

President Vicente Fox

Political Leader

Mexico

President Vicente Fox is a businessman and politician who was president of Mexico from 2000 to 2006. As president, he pursued and earned Mexico a temporary position on the UN Security Council. Fox began his career as route supervisor for the Coca-Cola Company in 1964, quickly rising through the ranks to become the chief executive of Coca-Cola in Mexico in 1975. After leaving the company, he became involved in politics as an elected official and later as governor of the state of Guanajuato. In 2000, he parlayed his success as governor into an equally successful campaign for the presidency.

Since leaving office, Fox has been active in the promotion of democratic ideals through his organization Centro Fox, a center for the advancement and study of democracy. In 2007, he published his book, Revolution of Hope, outlining his hopeful vision for the future of the Americas.

Prime Min. Malcolm Fraser

Political Leader

Australia

Malcolm Fraser served as prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983. Earlier in his career, he served as army minister (1966-68), minister for education and science (1968-69, 1971-72) and minister for defence (1969-71). After leaving public office, Fraser was a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and in 1987 founded CARE Australia. He was also president of CARE International from 1990 to 1995, and vice president until 1999. He was granted numerous awards, including Australia’s prestigious Human Rights Medal in 2000, and published several books.

Fraser passed away March 20, 2015.

Prime Min. Yasuo Fukuda

Political Leader

Japan

Yasuo Fukuda was the prime minister of Japan from 2007 to 2008. Prior to this position, he served as chief cabinet secretary (2000-2004). Fukuda first appeared on Japan’s political scene in 1990, after being elected to the House of Representatives. He rose to the position of deputy director for Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party before becoming the prime minister of Japan following Shinzo Abe’s resignation in 2007. Fukuda is a member of the Club of Madrid and served as a member of the House of Representatives until 2012.

Fukuda is a member of the Global Zero Commission.

Sen. Jake Garn

Political Leader

United States

Senator Jake Garn represented Utah from 1974 to 1993. During his time as senator, he served as chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee and served on a number of Appropriations subcommittees including Defense, Military Construction and Energy and Water Resources. Before becoming senator, he served on the Salt Lake City Commission and was elected mayor in 1971. Garn served as a pilot in the U.S. Navy and Utah Air National Guard until retiring as a full colonel in 1979. He flew as a payload specialist on the STS-51D Discovery launched from the Kennedy Space Center in 1985 becoming the first member of Congress to fly in space. Garn was also honored in 1980 by the Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge for his work with immigrants seeking American citizenship.