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.

Sir Lawrence Freedman

National Security Expert

United Kingdom

Sir Lawrence Freedman has been a professor of war studies at King’s College London since 1982. He became head of the School of Social Science and Public Policy at King’s College in 2000 and was appointed vice principal in 2003. Previously, he held positions at the International Institute of Strategic Studies and the Royal Institute of International Affairs. He was educated at Whitley Bay Grammar School and the Universities of Manchester, York and Oxford.

Freedman has written extensively on nuclear strategy and the Cold War, and comments regularly on contemporary security issues. He has authored several books, including “Kennedy’s Wars: Berlin, Cuba, Laos and Vietnam, The Evolution of Nuclear Strategy” and “Deterrence.” He has received numerous awards and honors, including the Chesney Gold Medal by the Royal United Services Institute in 2006 and the Distinguished Scholar Award from the U.S. International Studies Association in 2007.

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.

Mr. Victor Zhikai Gao

National Security Expert

China

Victor Zhikai Gao is vice president of the Center for China and Globalization and the chairman of the China Security Institute. Previously, he served as executive director of Beijing Private Equity Association. Earlier in his career, he served as longtime interpreter for Deng Xiaoping and other Chinese leaders and has previously worked with the United Nations Secretariat in New York.

In 1999 and 2000, he was the China policy advisor with the Hong Kong Securities and Future Commission. He has extensive experience in investment banking and corporate management, and has held positions with Morgan Stanley, Henderson Land and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). Gao is a regular contributor to national and international news outlets and publications and is considered an expert on Chinese culture, society and international relations.

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.

Dr. Timothy Garton Ash

National Security Expert

United Kingdom

Dr. Timothy Garton Ash is a professor of European studies at Oxford University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. From 1986 to 1987, Garton Ash was a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. He also previously worked as a foreign editor of The Spectator, an editorial writer on Central European affairs for The London Times and a columnist on foreign affairs for The Independent. Garton Ash is the author of eight books of political writing, the recipient of numerous awards, and has been classified by TIME Magazine as one of the world’s 100 most influential people.

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.