Foreign Min. Hans-Dietrich Genscher

Political Leader

Germany

Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher was foreign minister of Germany from 1974 to 1992 and is celebrated for his contributions to the peaceful end of the Cold War and to German reunification. He served in the German Bundestag from 1965 to 1998 and also served as minister of the interior from 1969 to 1974.

Genscher passed away on March 31, 2016.

Prime Min. Felipe González

Political Leader

Spain

Prime Minister Felipe González is chairman of the advisory board of Atomium Culture and a member of the Club of Madrid, an independent non-profit composed of former heads of state coming together to support democratic leadership and response to crisis and post-crisis situations. González was first elected to the Spanish Parliament in 1977. He remains the longest-serving prime minister in Spanish history serving from 1982 to 1996. While in office, he oversaw the continued development of Spain’s democracy, grew the economy and brought Spain in to what would become the European Union.

In 1998, González served as special representative of the EU to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In 2007, heads of state and government of the European Union appointed González as chairman of a think tank on Europe’s future, tasked with writing a report on the challenges that Europe will face from 2020 to 2030. From 2010 to 2015, González was independent director of Gas Natural Fenosa, a Spanish energy company.

Pres. Mikhail Gorbachev

Political Leader

Russia

President Mikhail Gorbachev was the last head of state of the Soviet Union. Together with U.S. President Ronald Reagan, he signed a series of important agreements to reduce the nuclear danger. At Reykjavik in 1986, the two nearly agreed to a treaty framework that would have eliminated each country’s nuclear arsenals completely.

Gorbachev initiated a major process of change – perestroika, the transformation of Soviet society – during his time as president. Gorbachev’s reforms contributed to a fundamental change in the international environment and played a prominent role in ending the Cold War. In recognition of his outstanding achievements as a reformer and world political leader, Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. From 1993 to 2017, he served as president of Green Cross International, an environmental organization with branches in more than 20 countries. He was also a member of the Club of Madrid.

Gorbachev passed away in August 2022.

Hon. Lee Hamilton

Political Leader

United States

The Honorable Lee Hamilton is a distinguished scholar in the School of Global and International Studies and professor of practice in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University. In 1999, he founded the Center on Congress at Indiana University, serving as its director until 2015. He previously served as president and director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, an intellectual center in Washington, DC where scholars engage in nonpartisan dialogue on public policy issues. A former U.S. congressman, Hamilton represented Indiana’s 9th congressional district for 34 years, establishing himself as a leading congressional voice on foreign affairs. He served as chairman and ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, co-chaired the Iraq Study Group and served as vice chair of the 9/11 Commission.

Sen. Gary Hart

Political Leader

United States

Senator Gary Hart is president of Hart International, Ltd. He previously served as the chair of the Threat Reduction Advisory Council at the U.S. Department of Defense and as chair of the International Security Advisory Board at the Department of State. From 1975 to 1987, he represented Colorado in the U.S. Senate. During his time as senator, he served on many committees, including the Intelligence Oversight Committee, the Budget Committee and the Armed Services Committee, where he specialized in nuclear arms control. Since leaving office, he has been involved in international law, business and security policy. Hart was co-chair of the U.S. Commission on National Security for the 21st Century, whose January 2001 report notably found the U.S. dangerously vulnerable to terrorist attacks and recommended the establishment of a Cabinet-level National Homeland Security Agency.

In recent years, Hart has worked with numerous think tanks and nonprofits focused on national security issues including Council for a Livable World and the American Security Project where he is chairman emeritus of the board of directors.

Pres. Václav Havel

Political Leader

Czech Republic

President Václav Havel served as the president of the Czech Republic and was widely known for his work as a playwright, poet and Soviet dissident during the Cold War. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, Havel was elected president of Czechoslovakia in a wave of public support. During his time in office, he presided over the peaceful division of the nation into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. His time in office saw the Czech Republic’s rise on the international stage with the country’s admission to NATO.

In the 1960s and 70s, Havel wrote plays, essays and articles in support of an independent and liberal Czechoslovakia. His writings were denounced and banned by the Soviet government and in 1978 he was sent to prison for his involvement with the dissident group the Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Persecuted. After his release, he continued to criticize the government through the underground press and in 1989 the opposition movement that Havel helped form, Civic Forum, culminated in the Velvet Revolution.

For his work as a writer and particularly as a human rights champion, Havel was awarded many international prizes, including the Erasmus Prize, the Charlemagne Prize and the UNESCO Prize for the Teaching of Human Rights. In 2008, he became a member of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation.

Havel passed away on December 18, 2011.

Min. Yoshimasa Hayashi

Political Leader

Japan

Yoshimasa Hayashi is currently Japan’s minister of education, culture, sports, science and technology and a member of the House of Councillors. He is the former Japanese minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Hayashi has broad political experience, having served during his time at Harvard University as an assistant to U.S. Congressman Steve Neal and U.S. Senator William Roth before returning to Japan. During his time as a member of the House of Councilors, he has served as state secretary for finance, senior vice minister and, briefly, as minister of defense and minister of state for economic and fiscal policy.

The Rt Hon. the Lord Hurd of Westwell CH CBE

Political Leader

United Kingdom

The Right Honorable the Lord Hurd of Westwell is a senior British conservative politician, who served as foreign secretary and home secretary in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major. He is a former member of the Diplomatic Service and served as a Member of Parliament from 1974 to 1997. As foreign secretary, he served during a period of dramatic change at the end of the Cold War and during the early post-Cold War period.