Prime Min. José María Aznar López

Political Leader

Spain

Prime Minister José María Aznar López is the executive president of the Foundation for Social Studies and Analysis and a distinguished scholar at Georgetown University, where he has taught several seminars on contemporary European politics. As prime minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004, Aznar led his country through significant economic and social reform. One of his greatest areas of focus is international terrorism and the promotion of international cooperation in the pursuit of global security and stability.

Aznar received his law degree from Complutense University of Madrid and worked initially as government tax inspector. He served as a member of Parliament through four legislatures before becoming prime minister in 1996.

Ambassador K. Shankar Bajpai

Diplomat

India

Ambassador K. Shankar Bajpai was a veteran Indian diplomat and expert in security issues. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1952, serving in Germany, Turkey and Pakistan. He also served as ambassador to Pakistan (1976-1980), China (1980-1982) and the United States (1984-1986), and as secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs from 1982 to 1983. After his retirement from government service in 1986, he was active in academia, working as a professor at the University of California, Stanford University and other institutions. He was also the co-founder and chairman of the Delhi Policy Group, an independent think tank in India.

Bajpai was a member of the Global Zero Commission on Nuclear Risk Reduction and the Global Zero Commission. He passed away on August 30, 2020.

Dr. Kanti Bajpai

National Security Expert

India

Dr. Kanti Bajpai is a senior professor and director of the Center on Asia and Globalisation at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. Previously, Bajpai was a professor in politics and international relations of South Asia at Oxford University. He was headmaster of The Doon School, Dehradun, India from 2003 to 2009 and professor of international politics in the Centre for International Politics, Organization and Disarmament at the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi from 1994 to 2003. Bajpai has held a wide range of fellowships with organizations such as the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and the Brookings Institution.

Gen. (ret.) Sir Hugh Beach

Military Commander

United Kingdom

Retired General Sir Hugh Beach was the former deputy commander-in-chief of the United Kingdom’s land forces (1976-77) and Master General of the Ordnance (1977-81), among other roles served during his distinguished military career, including: warden of St. George House, Windsor Castle (1981-86); vice lord lieutenant of Greater London (1981-87); chief royal engineer (1982-87); and as a member of the Security Commission (1982-91). Subsequently, he chaired the Ministry of Defence Study Groups on Censorship (1983) and Education in the Army (1984). Beach was a member of the board of directors of the Verification Technology Information Centre, Council for Christian Approaches to Defence, Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy as well as the British Pugwash Group.

He passed away in August 2019.

Rt. Hon. Dame Margaret Beckett DBE MP

Political Leader

United Kingdom

The Right Honorable Dame Margaret Beckett DBE is a member of Parliament in the United Kingdom. She has held a number of high positions in the government, including foreign secretary (2006-2007) and president of the Board of Trade. Beckett was leader of the House of Commons from 1998 to 2001.

As foreign secretary, Beckett gave a celebrated speech at the Carnegie International Nonproliferation Conference in 2007 that pledged the United Kingdom’s commitment to the vision of a “world free of nuclear weapons.”

Pastor Rob Bell

Civic Leader

United States

Pastor Rob Bell is the founding pastor and Pastor Emeritus of the Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan. He is the author of several notable books on contemporary Christianity including “Love Wins” and “Velvet Elvis.” Known for his ability to engage youth, Bell has been called the leader of the Emerging Church movement and was profiled in TIME Magazine as one of the most influential people of 2011. Prior to founding Mars Hill Bible Church, he was an assistant pastor at Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Min. Shlomo Ben-Ami

Diplomat

Israel

Former Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami currently serves as vice president and co-founder of the Toledo International Centre for Peace. In 1987, Ben-Ami was appointed as Israel’s first ambassador to Spain, where he served until 1991. He also served as the minister of internal security and minister of foreign affairs. Ben-Ami was a member of the board of the International Crisis Group, and also served as senior advisor there. He also served as a board member of the Japanese-Australian Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament.

Mr. Lawrence Bender

Civic Leader

United States

Mr. Lawrence Bender is a founding leader of Global Zero, chief executive of Lawrence Bender Productions, and producer of “Countdown to Zero,” the acclaimed documentary on the global nuclear threat. His films to date – including “Inglourious Basterds,” “Good Will Hunting” and “Pulp Fiction” – have been honored with 29 Academy Award nominations, including two for Best Picture, and five wins. He won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for producing “An Inconvenient Truth,” a film that raised unprecedented awareness about climate change, and was nominated for a Producer’s Guild Award and a Golden Satellite Award for “Good Will Hunting.” Other films include “Four Rooms” (1995), “From Dusk Till Dawn” (1996), “Anna and the King” (1999), “The Mexican” (2001), and many of the movies written and directed by Quentin Tarantino: “Reservoir Dogs (1992), “Pulp Fiction” (1994), “Jackie Brown” (1997), “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” (2003) and “Kill Bill: Vol. 2” (2004). Bender also serves on the advisory board to the dean at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and is co-chair of the advisory board of the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA.