The Honorable Kazuya Shimba is a member of the House of Councilors in the Japanese Diet and served as Japan’s senior vice minister of defense. His current responsibilities include the Committee on Cabinet and Committee on Fundamental National Policies. He was previously a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense and the Special Commission on Political Ethics and the Election System. His areas of expertise include diplomacy, defense, energy issues and the Middle East.
India
Amb. Kanwal Sibal
Diplomat
Amb. Kanwal Sibal
Diplomat
India
Ambassador Kanwal Sibal is the president of the Association of Indian Diplomats. He is on the board of directors of the East-West Institute and the advisory board of the Vivekananda International Foundation. From 2008 to 2010, was a member of India’s National Security Advisory Board. As a member of the Indian Foreign Service for over 40 years, he has held ambassadorial posts in Turkey, Russia, the United States, Egypt and France. In 2002, he reached India’s highest position on his appointment as foreign secretary of India. Sibal has received the high distinction of Grand Officier of the Ordre du Merite from the president of France. He is also an editorial consultant to “The Indian Defence Review” and foreign affairs editor of “Force.”
Canada
Dr. Jennifer Allen Simons, C.M.
National Security Expert
Dr. Jennifer Allen Simons, C.M.
National Security Expert
Canada
Dr. Jennifer Allen Simons, C.M. is founding partner and Canada chair of Global Zero and founder and president of The Simons Foundation, Vancouver, Canada, with a mission to advance positive change through education in peace, nuclear disarmament, international law and human security.
As an award-winning educator, thought leader and policy advisor, Simons and her foundation have supported major international initiatives, providing critical financial support, convening international leaders in policy dialogue and driving academic research. Her partnerships with other non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, the Government of Canada, international governments and the United Nations have made her an important and effective actor in the effort to address peace and disarmament. She is a member of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs and the International Advisory Board of the Center for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament of Australian National University.
Simons was appointed to the Order of Canada for her contributions to the promotion of peace and disarmament and, among her many other awards and acknowledgements, was awarded both the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 for her service to the global effort to eradicate landmines and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. She also received the 2006 Vancouver Citizens Peace Award.
Click here for more information and a complete biography.
Jaswant Singh was a prominent Indian politician who served as minister for external affairs, defense minister and finance minister. Singh was particularly well known for the economic reforms made during his two tenures as finance minister. As a young man, he served in the Indian Army. From 2006 to 2007, Singh was a senior fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He lead the Opposition in India’s upper house of Parliament, the Rakya Sabha until 2009.
Singh passed away on September 27, 2020.
Canada
Mr. Jeffrey Skoll
Civic Leader
Mr. Jeffrey Skoll
Civic Leader
Canada
Jeffrey Skoll, a founding president of the American auction website eBay, is chairman of Participant Media, the Skoll Foundation and the Skoll Global Threats Fund. In 1999, he created the Skoll Foundation, which takes an entrepreneurial approach to philanthropy by investing in, connecting and celebrating the world’s most promising social entrepreneurs in order to effect lasting, positive social change worldwide. In 2004, Skoll founded Participant Productions, now known as Participant Media, a global media company that produces entertainment to inspire and compel social change.
United States
Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter
National Security Expert
Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter
National Security Expert
United States
Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter is the president and CEO of New America. She was the director of the International Legal Studies Program at Harvard Law School from 1994 to 2002, and the dean of the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University from 2002 to 2009. Slaughter was the first woman ever to be the director of policy planning at the U.S. State Department, serving under the Obama administration beginning in 2009. In this position, Slaughter was the chief architect of the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review and received the Secretary’s Distinguished Service Award for her work.
Israel
Brig. Gen. (ret.) Ephraim Sneh
Military Commander
Brig. Gen. (ret.) Ephraim Sneh
Military Commander
Israel
A veteran soldier and statesman, internationally-renowned spokesperson for Israel and prominent architect of Israel’s peace initiatives, retired Brigadier General Ephraim Sneh has dedicated his life to defending Israel while seeking opportunities to fortify Israel’s future through peace with her neighbors. Sneh has served as minister of health, deputy minister of defense and minister of transportation. He also served as a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. He has lead the Yisrael Hazaka party since 2008.
Portugal
Pres. Mário Soares
Political Leader
Pres. Mário Soares
Political Leader
Portugal
The former president and prime minister of Portugal, Mário Soares was founder and chair of the Mário Soares Foundation and a deputy to the European Parliament where he served as a member of the Commissions of Foreign Affairs, Human Rights and Common Security and Defense. As president of Portugal from 1986 to 1996, he oversaw the nation’s entry into the European Union. He was also the first constitutionally elected prime minister since the 1974 revolution, a position he held from 1976 to 1978 and again from 1983 to 1985. As foreign minister from 1974 to 1975, he played a role in negotiating the liberation of Portugal’s overseas colonies. Soares received many awards and distinctions, including the Human Rights International Award and the Simón Bolivar Prize.
