Speakers
Mr. Jaroslav Baąka
State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic
Education:1989 - 1993 Secondary Industrial School - SP© Dubnica nad Váhom, Final Exam with Distinction
1993 - 1998 ®ilina University, Electro-Technical Faculty, State Exam with Honours
Professional Experience :
1998 - 2002 Matador Púchov
1999 - 2000 Project Manager for Information Systems
2001 - 2002 Assistant Director for Economics
2002 - 2006 Member of Parliament, Smer-Social Democracy
Member of the Permanent Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
2003 - 2006 Mayor of Dohňany
since July 2006 State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic
Language Command
English – fluent
Amb. Mr. Claudio Bisogniero
NATO Deputy Secretary General
Claudio Bisogniero was born in Rome, on July 2 1954. After graduating with a Degree in Political Science from the University of Rome (1976), he completed his military service as an Officer in the Italian Army in 1976-77.He entered the Italian Foreign Service in May 1978.
In September of 1981 he was posted to the Embassy of Italy in Beijing as First Secretary for Economic and Commercial Affairs with responsibility also for bilateral and multilateral development co-operation programs with China.
From 1984 to 1989 he served at the Permanent Mission of Italy to NATO in Brussels, with the rank of Counsellor with primary focus on disarmament issues, HLTF, CDE, CFE. He also served as a Delegate to the Senior Political Committee.
In 1989 he returned to Rome and was assigned to the Office of the Diplomatic Adviser to the President of the Republic, where he remained until 1992. In this task, he covered a wide range of international issues, both bilateral and multilateral, relevant to all aspects of the international activity of the Italian President.
Later in 1992 he was posted at the Embassy of Italy in Washington, D.C. as First Counsellor for Economic and Commercial Affairs, with special focus also on financial issues, relations with IMF and World Bank, and defense industry co-operation.
In 1996 he was assigned to the Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations in New York, with primary responsibilities for political affairs and UN reform. During this period he served as a member of the Italian delegation in the UN Security Council in 1996 and as a member of the Italian delegations to the 50th, 51st, 52nd and 53rd UN General Assemblies.
In 1999 he returned to the home office at the Department of Personnel and later at the Office of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as direct collaborator to the Secretary General.
In February 2002 he was appointed Deputy Director General for Political Multilateral Affairs (Deputy Political Director), responsible for NATO, United Nations, G8, disarmament, OSCE, anti-terrorism and human rights issues.
In June 2005 he was named Director General for the Americas, with responsibility for the relations of Italy with the United States and Canada, as well as all the countries of Latin America.
In October 2007 he takes up his duties as NATO Deputy Secretary General.
He is married to Laura Denise Noce Benigni Olivieri; they have a daughter and a son. Hobbies and personal interests include classical music, reading, sailing, flying.
LtC. Chris Cavoli
US Army, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany
Lieutenant Colonel Chris Cavoli ’87, has recently deployed as Commanding Officer of the Army’s 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, to a very dangerous part of Afghanistan.
Before assuming command of the 1-32, Cavoli held several key positions. These included serving as Military Aide to then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs GEN Richard Myers, as a Russian Foreign Area Specialist, an Instructor at the US Army’s Ranger School, and as a Joint Staff Action Officer, J-5, on the JCS. At Princeton, Chris served as the Cadet Battalion Commander of the Army ROTC’s Tiger Battalion, and earned the coveted recognition as a Distinguished Military Graduate. In continuing to serve his country, Chris has been the personification of “In the Nation’s service”.
Prior to deploying to Afghanistan, Colonel Cavoli led his soldiers through a period of intensive training at the National Training Center (NTC), Fort Irwin, California. In an interview with the Fort Drum Blizzard, the Ft Drum post newspaper, Cavoli said the NTC training represented the perfect training and pre-deployment preparation for his troops.
“We trained every task we’ll work in Afghanistan, from civil-military operations to support of host nation police forces to counterinsurgency operations,” Cavoli said. “Anything you can think of that we’d do in Afghanistan, we did at NTC.”
In addition to being an Infantry Battalion Commander on the frontline of our Global War against terrorism. Chris Cavoli ‘87 is a wonderful husband to Christina and father to Alex and Nick.
Lt.Gen. Mr. William Campbell (rtd.)
Vice President of Communication and Information Systems Integration, BAE Systems
Lieutenant General (Retired) William H. Campbell is a Vice President of the Network Systems Line of Business at BAE SYSTEMS, Inc. He has served in executive level positions with BAE SYSTEMS, Inc since 2002 where he led the growth and expansion of work on systems level solutions for the warfighter in the Information and Communications Systems Business Area. Prior to joining BAE SYSTEMS, Inc he was the University of California’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Associate Vice President, Information Resources and Communications. He served in the office of the president of the university system with responsibility extending through ten campuses, five medical centers, and three national laboratories. His duties included implementing the university’s New Business Architecture, overseeing the Digital California Project, and guiding the deployment of Internet-2 in California.
His 38 year career as a soldier culminated with duty as the Army's Director of Information Systems for Command, Control, Communications and Computers (G6); CIO for the US Army; and as a Military Deputy to the Army Acquisition Executive from 1997 to 2000.
During his military career, he served in a broad range of command and staff positions including command at the Company, Battalion and Brigade levels. As a General Officer, he held positions in research, development and systems acquisition, including ten years in Program Executive Officer jobs. He also represented the United States on NATO Research and Development committees, led the Army’s campaign to improve computer security, initiated a biometric identification program, directed the Advanced Precision Strike Demonstration Program, and was the systems architect for the advanced war-fighting experiments that transformed the Army to a digitized force.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Saint Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, and an MBA (computer science concentration) from Texas Tech University. He is a graduate of the Army's Command and General Staff College and the Naval War College.
He currently serves on the Army Science Board and is a member of the Defense Science Board’s Joint Interoperability panel. He is a past member of the Federal and Department of Defense CIO Councils, the Department of Defense Military Communications-Electronics Board, Microsoft’s Global Executive Roundtable, Dell's Platinum Council, the Bay Area Regional Technology Alliance, the National Science Center Advisory Board, and the California Information Technology Commission.
Mr. Antonio Maria Costa
Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
Antonio Maria Costa (Italy) was appointed in May 2002 Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Director-General of the United Nations Office in Vienna (UNOV). He holds the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.Mr. Costa was born on 16 June 1941 in Italy. He holds a degree in political science from the University of Turin (1963), a Degree in mathematical economics from the Moscow State University (1967), and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley (1971).
From 1969 to 1983, Mr. Costa served as senior economist in the United Nations Department of International Economics and Social Affairs in New York. He was subsequently appointed Under-Secretary-General at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris where he served until 1987. He was a member of the OECD Working Group for financial transactions (later called FATF), a Member of IMF/World Bank Interim Committee and of the G-10 Group for the coordination of economic policy.
Between 1987 and 1992, Mr. Costa served at the Commission of the European Union as Director-General for Economics and Finance. In that capacity he served as EU Sherpa for the G8 meetings. He then joined the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD, in London) as Secretary-General where he oversaw political issues, institutional affairs, corporate governance and questions relating to shareholders.
Mr. Costa easily speaks a number of languages, including Russian.
Mr. Costa is married with three children, adopted from Italy, Colombia and Ethiopia.
Pavol Demeą
Director, GMF US, Bratislava
An internationally recognized NGO leader, Pavol Demeą has served, since 2002, as director of the German Marshall Fund’s Bratislava office, where he oversees GMF’s activities in Central and Eastern Europe. He leads GMF’s work for democratic reform in the region, with a recent emphasis on free and fair elections in Ukraine and Belarus. Before joining GMF, Mr. Demeą was executive director of the Slovak Academic Information Agency–Service Center, a Slovak nongovernmental organization committed to enhancing civil society. Previously, Mr. Demeą led a distinguished political and civic reform career serving his country as foreign policy advisor to the president of the Slovak Republic (1993–1997), minister of international relations (1991–1992), and director of the Department of Foreign Relations in the Ministry of Education (1990–1991). He was a key activist in the 1989 Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, and has been involved in peaceful democratic revolutions in Serbia in 2000 and Ukraine in 2004. Mr. Demeą served as the elected spokesperson for the Gremium of the Third Sector, a volunteer advocacy coalition, from 1994 to 1999.Prior to entering the field of public affairs after the Velvet Revolution, Mr. Demeą was a bio-medical researcher at Comenius University in Bratislava. He is a graduate of Charles University in Prague and spent a year as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of South Alabama, Mobile, in the United States. He is also an accomplished photographer.
Mr. Demeą has been awarded the EU–U.S. Democracy and Civil Society Award in 1998 by President Clinton, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and European Commission President Jacques Santer; the USAID Democracy and Governance Award in 1999; and the Democracy and Civil Society Award by Serbian NGOs in 2000.
H.E. Mohammed Kacem Fazelly
Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the Slovak Republic
Date of birth:1932
Place of birth:
Kabul
1951 Secondary school at Esteklal (french lyceé) at Kabul.
1952 – 1960 Completed High studies (doctor in law) at french universities (Grenoble and Paris).
1966-1966 Joined the Government with following posts:
- Director general of Post at the Ministry of Telecommunication
- President of Commerce of Kabul
- Director of law department of the Ministry of Justice
- High advisor to the Minister of Communication.
1970 Joined legal profession as practicing lawyer.
1966-1980 Professor of law at the Kabul University.
1980 Left the cointry as a reugee to France and started to teach at Sorbonne University, Paris I and René Descartes University, Paris V.
1999-2001 Joined the movement of the Loya djirga for peace process with former King Zahir Shah in Rome.
2002-2006 Appointed as Minister Adviser in charge of law to the president Karzai Government.
Legal advisor to the President.
2007 Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Afghanistan to the Czech Republic, Prague.
Mr. Fazelly participated at the emergency LOYA JERGA an he was appointed member of the draft commitee of the new constitution of Afghanistan, mission he did not accept. During monarchy, Mr. Fazelly participated in many Governmental commissions for the reform in administrative and judicial systems in Afghanistan. He is the autor of many books in Dari and French in law and politics related to Afghanistan. He can speak and write fluently French and knows English beside his two national languages ( Pashtoo and Dari).
Mr. Morten F. Henriksen
International Staff’s Operations Division, NATO HQ, Brussels.
Morten Henriksen is a political officer in the International Staff’s Operations Division at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. He is working in the Crisis Management Policy Section which deals with political issues related to all NATO’s current and potential crisis response operations. His main focus is Afghanistan and he is involved in the political-military aspects of NATO’s broader engagement in the country and region as well as the specific ISAF role. This includes work on the political dimension among Allied nations, with non-NATO contributing nations, and coordination with other international organisations. He specifically covers development of the Provincial Reconstruction Team concept and its civil-military roles. He works closely with and through the NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Kabul, and involves frequent trips to Afghanistan and to Allied capitals.
Previously, he was engaged in policy aspects of future operations, including in NATO’s new Comprehensive Political Guidance, NATO’s cooperation with the UN and with other International and Non-Governmental Organisations, and NATO’s potential enhanced training assistance to the Middle East and Africa. He joined NATO’s International Staff in 2004.
Morten Henriksen came from a career as a military officer, being a Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal Danish Hussars. For years he worked with political-military aspects of international crises areas in postings in national staffs under the Danish Ministry of Defence, including the Danish Chief of Defence staff, the Danish Defence Intelligence Service, and last the Danish Military Representation to NATO Headquarters. In these assignments, he participated in bilateral negotiations in various capitals as well as trips to operational theatres, including Bosnia(SFOR), Kosovo(KFOR), Albania(Allied Harbour), and Eritrea(UNMEE). He was part of the first liaison team to US CENTCOM when Operation Enduring Freedom was launched in Afghanistan in 2001. In 1999, he was part of the planning in France and later in Macedonia for the Danish-French initial entry into Albania (Ops. Allied Harbour) and later Kosovo (KFOR), and he was part of the French Brigade Headquarters in Mitrovica when the first troops entered into Kosovo.
Morten Henriksen graduated in 1996 from the Command & General Staff Course (Joint) at the Royal Danish Defence College in Copenhagen.
Before his assignments to higher staffs, Morten Henriksen from 1986 served in reconnaissance and tank units of the Royal Danish Hussars, which included deployments to the UN fact-finding before the UNPROFOR mission ex-Yugoslavia (1992) and in the first Danish military UN contingent Kraijna(Croatia).
Morten Fløe Henriksen was born in 1963 in Denmark and apart from Danish he speaks English, French and German. His wife is French and they have two daughters.
Mr. Predrag Jurekovic
Institute for Peace Support and Conflict Management, the Austrian National Defence Academy
Employment record:Since June 2003: Senior analyst at the Institute for Peace Support and Conflict Management at the Austrian National Defence Academy, Vienna
1997 – May 2003: Researcher at the Bureau for Security Policy at the Austrian MoD
Since 1996: Contributor to the Austrian Military Periodical “Österreichische Militärische Zeitschrift” (especially about the Western Balkans)
Current research fields:
o Transformation of conflicts and stabilisation process in South East Europe
o The policy of the EU towards the Western Balkans
o Instruments for conflict prevention and conflict management
o Application of scenario techniques for conflict research
International Co-operation:
o Austrian co-chair of the PfP Consortium working group Regional Stability in South East Europe
o Participant in the Tutzing talks on actual developments in the Western Balkans
o Visiting scholar at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin (May - July 2003)
University education:
Political science and science of history at the University of Vienna (M.A. 1995); candidate for a doctor’s degree in political science
Selection of newer publications:
International Peace Plans for the Balkans – A Success? Vienna 2006 (editor together with Frederic Labarre).
Nation-Building in the Western Balkans: Some Additional Lessons and the Role of the EU. In: Jean-Jaques de Dardel/Gustav Gustenau/Plamen Pantev (ed.): Post-Conflict Rehabilitation. Lessons from South East Europe and Strategic Consequences for the Euro-Atlantic Community. Vienna / Sofia 2006, pp. 210–224.
Internationales Konfliktmanagement im Fokus. Kosovo, Moldova und Afghanistan im kritischen Vergleich. Baden-Baden 2006 (editor together with Walter Feichtinger).
Approaching or Avoiding Cooperative Security? The Western Balkans in the Aftermath of the Kosovo Settlement Proposal and the Riga Summit. Vienna 2007 (editor together with Ernst M. Felberbauer and Frederic Labarre).
Konfliktprävention zwischen Anspruch und Wirklichkeit. Wien 2007 (editor together with Walter Feichtinger).
Mr. Karel Kovanda
Deputy DG for CFSP, European Commission
Karel Kovanda is the Deputy Director General responsible for CFSP, MULTILATERAL RELATIONS and North America, East Asia, Australia, New Zealand, EEA, EFTA
University diploma:
undergraduate degree from Prague School of Agriculture
PhD in Political science from MIT (1975)
MBA from Pepperdine University, California (1985)
Studies and career
2005 – present Deputy Director General, External Relations and Political Director, European Commission
1998 - 2005 Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to NATO
1997 – 1998 Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
1993 – 1997 Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the United Nations including : 1994 – 1995 Representative to the UN Security Council, 1996 – Vice-President of ECOSOC, 1997 – President of ECOSOC
Note : During his tenure on the UN Security Council, Mr. Kovanda chaired the UNSC Sanctions Committee on Libya and took part in UNSC missions to Mozambique, Rwanda and Burundi
1993 Political Director of the Czech MFA, responsible for bilateral relations with countries of Europe and North America
1991 – 1993 Head of Administrative section of the Czech MFA
1991 Returned from exile to the Czech Republic
1980 – 1990 Manager with international responsibilities in the U.S. private sector, also active as a freelance journalist and a translator
H.E. Mr. Ján Kubią
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic
The Slovak diplomat was formerly Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Secretary General. In July 2005, the European Union appointed Jan Kubis to be the EU's special envoy to Central Asia. Kubis had previously served as the United Nations special envoy to Tajikistan during the transitional period following the civil war until the country held its first postwar elections.Prior to taking on the post as OSCE Secretary General, Mr. Kubis was Director of the Conflict Prevention Centre in the secretariat of the OSCE, a position he has held since 1994.
From 1993 to May 1998, Mr. Kubis was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic to the UN Office in Geneva, as well as to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and other international organizations. In 1994, Mr. Kubis was Special Ministerial Envoy and Slovak Chief Negotiator on the Pact for Stability in Europe. In 1992, he served as Chairman-in-Office of the Committee of Senior Officials of the Committee on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) under the Czechoslovak CSCE chairmanship.
From 1991 to 1992, Mr. Kubis was Director-General of the Euro-Atlantic Section in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Prague. From 1989, he served in the Czechoslovak Embassy in Moscow, and as Deputy Head of the Embassy from 1990 until his departure in 1991. Between 1985 and 1988, he headed the section dealing with security and arms control in the Czechoslovak Foreign Ministry. From 1980 to 1985, he served in the Czechoslovak Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Born in 1952, Mr. Kubis is married and has one daughter.
Mr. Marin Lessenski
Executive Director of the Institute for Regional and International Studies, Bulgaria
Mr. Marin Lessenski is currently Director of Programs of the Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS, since 1998) and expert to the European Policies and Civic Participation Program of the Open Society Institute - Sofia. He holds MA in Southeast European Studies from the Central European University - Budapest and MA in History from the University of Sofia. He has been a Freedom House Visiting Fellow with the Hudson Institute's Center for European and Eurasian Studies and the Center of National Security Studies. He has also been a participant in the Transatlantic Young Leaders Program of the Aspen Institute - Berlin. Mr. Lessenski’s areas of interest include democratization, foreign policy, security and institutional developments in Southeastern Europe and the Black Sea region, identity politics and interethnic relations, EU's foreign, security, neighbourhood and enlargement policy. Amb. Frantiąek Lipka
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic.
Former Ambassador to the Republic of Yugoslavia
Dr. Steven E. Meyer
Professor of National Security Studies, National Defense University of the US.
Dr. Steven E. Meyer is a Professor of National Security Studies and Political Science at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. He teaches and conducts research primarily in American Foreign Policy, Russian and Eastern European politics and securtiy issues, globalization and sovereignty, and weapons of mass destruction. He also helps direct an environmental program. Before joining the faculty at NDU, Dr. Meyer was employed by the CIA where he was engaged for many years in political, military and social analysis. For the last five years at CIA, he was a Deputy Director during the wars of the 1990s of the U.S. government's Interagecy Balkan Task Force. Dr. Meyer received his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin, an M.S. from Fordham University, and a PhD from Georgetown University--all in political science. He passed his PhD comprehensive exams with distinction, is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and is a member 0of the American Political Science Association, the American Historical Association, and the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies. A representative example of his writings include: The Carcass of Dead Policies: The Irrelevance of NATO, published in the Winter of 2002/2003 in the journal Parameters; U.S. Policy Towards the Balkans, published as an Occasional Paper by the Woodrow Wilson Center in 2002; The Risks of an Imposed Settlement (in Kosovo), which appeared in the journal The National Interest in May 2007; Kosovo at the Crossroads, the journal The National Interest, September 2007; and Serbia, Democratization and NATO, appearing in the journal New Serbian Political Thought, December 2007. In addition, he is working on book (expected to be published in early 2009) on the Changing Structure of the International System. He lectures frequently in Europe, Asia, and the U.S.
Mr. Jozef Mihok
President of the Association of the Defence Industry of the Slovak Republic
Mário Nicolini
Slovak Atlantic Commission, Honorary President of the Euro-Atlantic Center
He studied international affairs and diplomacy at Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, and defense and geo-strategy at the Institut Supérieur des Affaires de Défense in Paris, France. Before joining the Ministry of Defense, he worked with the consulting firm McGuireWoods LLP in Washington, DC. He established and presided over the non-governmental Euro-Atlantic Center in Banská Bystrica. In his publishing work and public appearances, he focuses on national security issues.
H.E. Victoria Nuland
The Permanent Representative of the US at the NAC
Victoria Nuland was sworn in as the 18 th United States Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on July 13, 2005.A career Foreign Service Officer, she was Principal Deputy National Security Advisor to Vice President Cheney from July 2003 until May 2005 where she worked on the full range of global issues, including the promotion of democracy and security in Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Lebanon and the broader Middle East.
She was United States Deputy Permanent Representative to NATO in Brussels, Belgium from July 2000 to July 2003. She was instrumental there in NATO’s historic invocation of Article 5 of its charter – “an attack on one ally is an attack on all” – in support of the U.S. after September 11, 2001. She also worked intensively on the enlargement of the Alliance to include 7 new members, the creation of the NATO-Russia Council, NATO’s first deployment “out of area” to Afghanistan and its defense of Turkey during Operation Iraqi Freedom. She was awarded the State Department’s Superior Honor award for this work and the Cross of Merit from the Government of Lithuania.
From 1997-1999, she was Deputy Director for former Soviet Union affairs at the Department of State, with primary responsibility for U.S. policy towards Russia and the Caucasus countries. In that capacity, she was awarded the Secretary of Defense’s Distinguished Civilian Service medal for her work with the Russians during the Kosovo air campaign.
She has twice been a visiting fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). In 1999-2000, she looked at the effect of anti-Americanism on U.S. relations with other major world powers as a “Next Generation” Fellow at the Council, and in 1996-1997, as a State Department Fellow, she directed a CFR task force on “Russia, its Neighbors and an Expanding NATO,” which was chaired by Senator Richard Lugar.
From 1993-1996, she was Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of State where she worked on the nuclear disarmament of Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus, Bosnia and Kosovo policy and the U.S. intervention in Haiti, among other issues. From 1991-1993, she covered Russian internal politics at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow focusing on Boris Yeltsin and his government. She has also served on the Soviet Desk (1988-90), in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia where she helped open the first U.S. Embassy (1988), in the State Department’s Bureaus of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (1987) and in Guangzhou, China (1985-86). She speaks Russian and French, and smattering of Chinese.
She has a B.A. from Brown University and is married to Robert Kagan, a Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a monthly columnist for The Washington Post.
H.E. Vincent Obsitnik
Ambassador of the United States to the Slovak Republic
Vincent Obsitnik was sworn-in as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Slovak Republic on November 9, 2007. Prior to his current appointment, Ambassador Obsitnik was appointed in 2006 by President George W. Bush to the U.S. Presidential Delegation to the Commemoration of the 65th Anniversary of the Tragedy in Babyn Yar in Ukraine. In 2005, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to the U.S. Presidential Delegation for the Austrian State Treaty Anniversary. In October 2001, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad and served as a member of the Commission until July 2006. The purpose of the Commission is to be concerned about the cultural heritage of Americans from Central and Eastern Europe. Ambassador Obsitnik worked to bring international attention to the plight of the 17th and 18th century Greek Catholic wooden churches of Slovakia and, through his leadership, two of the most endangered churches have been restored.Ambassador Obsitnik has had corporate executive careers with the IBM, Unisys and Litton Corporations. At Unisys Corporation, as President of the Systems Development Division, he led a $600 million business with 3000 employees marketing and developing advanced electronic and computing systems. At Litton Corporation, he was Vice President, International and directed business expansion into the European and Latin American markets. In 27 years at the IBM Corporation, his responsibilities spanned the areas of Marketing, Sales, Manufacturing, Engineering and Program Management. He spent 8 years with the IBM World Trade Corporation with manufacturing responsibilities in Europe, Latin America and Asia. In Latin America, he had overall responsibility for the management of manufacturing plants in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.. In Asia, he was responsible for manufacturing logistics of all IBM operations. Following these careers, Ambassador Obsitnik started and became President of International Investments Inc., a consulting company, working in the areas of joint ventures, technology licensing and privatization projects between the U.S. and Central Europe.
Born in 1938 in Moravany, Slovakia, he immigrated with his parents that same year, prior to the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany. His father worked as a coal miner in Pennsylvania after which the family moved to New Jersey where he grew up. Upon graduating from Linden High School, in Linden, NJ, he received an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy and graduated with the Class of 1959. He then served the next five years as an officer in the U.S. Navy, in destroyers and submarines.
Ambassador Obsitnik graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1959 with honors. He received his MBA in Finance from The American University in Washington, DC. He has also attended the IBM Advanced Management School, Sands Point, Long Island, NY; the IBM International Management School in La Hulpe, Belgium; and the Unisys Executive Program at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
Ambassador Obsitnik is fluent in the Slovak language and has an understanding of Russian. He is a marathon runner and plays tennis and squash. He is married to the former Annemarie Harden. They have four sons and twelve grandchildren.
Thomas Pietschmann
Research officer, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Vienna
Born in 1961, Dr. Thomas Pietschmann graduated from the university of economics and business administration. He began his Professional carreer as a financial analyst on foreign exchange and international Money markets and as of 1990 as an industrial analyst for the United Nations Industrial Organisation (UNIDO) with a focus on European integration and industrial development in South-East Asia (Thailand) and South-West Asia (Pakistan and Iran). As of 1993, he started to work for the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), the predecessor organisation of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on programs in Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan, developing inter alia UNDCP's first Opium Survey for Afghanistan (1994). Since 1994, he has been working for the Research and Analysis Section with an ongoing focus on the situation in Afghanistan, the world's largest producer of opium.
He has been one of the main authors of UNDCP's/UNODC's World Drug Reports (1997, 2000, 2003-2007), dealing with the world's opium/heroin, coca, cannabis and synthetic drug markets and of many other drug related UNDCP/UNODC publications, including the annual Afghanistan Opium Surveys (1994-2007), notably the sections on farmers' and traffickers' profits and opiate trafficking routes. In 2003, he was one of the main authors of UNODC's report on the "Opium Economy in Afghanistan - An International Problem", which won a UN award as best publication of the year.
Together with the Executive Director, Antonio Maria Costa, Dr. Thomas Pietschmann was invited to brief the US Congress and the US Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) on the drug situation in Afghanistan as well as the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and various other institutions. He is also frequently asked to give interviews and provide background information on the world drug situation to the media on behalf of UNODC. His latest interview, broadcast on Russian television (first channel) during prime time before Christmas, was again on drug trafficking from Afghanistan to Europe.
Mr. Dragan Samardzic
Deputy Minister for Material Resources and Defence Policy, Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Montenegro
Vice-admiral Dragan Samardzic, Montenegro Navy, was born in Kotor on 14 May 1963. He entered the Naval Academy in 1981 as Naval Cadet and graduated in 1985 as an Ensign.- He served aboard missile gun boats type 401 as Weapons Officer, XO and Commanding Officer and finally as Commander of the Squadron (1985 – 1995).
- Various duties in 18th Flotilla HQ (1995 – 2001) including duty of Chief of Staff and Deputy Flotilla Commander.
- In 2001 he assumed command of 18th Flotilla.
- In 2003 he was Deputy of the Military Cabinet to the President of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in Belgrade.
- He graduated at General Staff School (1996) and War College (2001) of Serbia and Montenegro Armed Forces, both in Belgrade.
- In October 2003 he was assigned as Chief of Staff of the Naval Corps and promoted to Flag Officer in March 2004.
- In March 2005, he assumed Command of the Serbia and Montenegro Navy (Commander in Chief).
- In May 2006, he assumed duty of deputy Chief of the General staff of the Army of Montenegro.
- He was several times awarded and decorated.
Vice-admiral Dragan Samardzic is married to Branka and they have two children, son Predrag and daughter Marina. They reside in Tivat.
Dr. Arian Starova
Member of Parliament, Albania. Former MFA of Albania
Education: • June 1978, graduation of Philosophy at the Faculty of Political Sciences and Law,University of Tirana, Albania
• October 1988, ‘Doctor’ degree in Philosophy
• January 1998, graduation of Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Tirana, Albania
• 27 August - 10 September 2005 – Graduation of the Senior Executive Seminar in George C. Marshall Center, Garmisch-Partenkirschen, Germany.
Working Experience:
• September 1977 – August 1978, Teacher of humanities in the Secondary School of the village Funar, in the District of Elbasan, Albania
• March 1979 - August 1979, Teacher of humanities in the Part-Time Secondary School of the “Metallurgical Combine” in Elbasan, Albania
• August 1979 - August 1981, Teacher of Philosophy in the Secondary School “Dhaskal Todhri”, Elbasan, Albania
• August 1981 - September 1990, Lecturer of Philosophy at the Faculty of PoliticalSciences and Law, University of Tirana, Albania
• September 1990 - January 1991, Chair of Department of Philosophy at the Faculty of Political Sciences and Law, University of Tirana, Albania
• January 1991 - May 1992, Chair of the Department of Ethics and Aesthetics at the Faculty of Political Sciences and Law, University of Tirana, Albania
• December 1991 - May 1992, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Sociology and Philosophy, University of Tirana, Albania
• May 1992 - March 1997, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Albania
• June 1994 - Member of the Steering Group of the “Albanian Atlantic Association” (AAA), today’s “Atlantic Council of Albania”
• May 1995 - June 1998, Vice Chairman of the party Social-Democratic Union of Albania
• March 1997 - August 1997, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Albania
• September 1997 - October 2001, Head of the Board of the “Albanian Institute for International Studies”
• June 1998 – January 2005 Vice Chairman of the party Liberal Union of Albania (former Social-Democratic Union of Albania)
• From September 2001 - Member of the Parliament of Albania
• From July 2002 - President of the “Atlantic Council of Albania” (former “Albanian Atlantic Association”), since July, 2002.
• From February 2003 – Member of the Advisory Board of the Szeged Center for Security Policy (Hungary)
• From January 29, 2005 – Chairman of the party “Liberal Democratic Union” (former Liberal Union of Albania)
• From September 2005 – Secretary of the Parliamentary Commission on Foreign Affairs
• From September 29, 2005 – September 2008 - Vice President of the Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA)
• From September 29, 2006 – Member of the European Strategy Forum, Ponte de Lima, Portugal
• 19 April 2007 – award of the title “Ambassador for Peace” by the “Universal Peace Federation” (UPF), Seul, Korea.
Activities:
• Participant and speaker in numerous international conferences in Albania and abroad
• Active participation in the political developments in Albania, since the January of the year 1991.
Foreign Languages: English, Italian, French, Russian.
Publications:
• Over 400 articles, research studies, speeches, interviews and other publications on foreign policy, regional security issues and other political problems on the Albanian and international press.
• Author of the following books in Albanian: “Mbi Kosovën, çështjen kombëtare të Shqiptarëve” (2000) (On Kosova, the Albanian National Question); “Ndihmesë modeste për demokracinë” (2002) (Modest Contribution in Democracy); “Në hapësirat e politikës së jashtme e të diplomacisë, 1992-2004” (2004) (“In the Field of Foreign Affairs and Diplomacy, 1992-2004”).
Translated Books in Albanian:
• Karl Popper, “Selections” (Vepra të Zgjedhura);
• Walter N. Vickery, Pushkin, “Death of a Poet” (Pushkini, Vdekja e një Poeti).
• Lester R. Brown, Christopher Flavin, Hilary French, “State of the World 2000” (Bota në Vitin 2000);
• Joshua S. Goldstein, “International Relations” (Marrëdhëniet Ndërkombëtare);
• Avgustina Tzvetkova, Anna Vasileva, Dessislava Hristova, “NATO in Brief” (“NATO - Vështruar në mënyrë të përmbledhur”)
Col. László Szabó
Former Commander of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Baghaln
Civilian Schools:1969-1977 II. Rákóczi Ferenc elementary school, Mátészalka, Hungary
1977-1981 Szilágyi Erzsébet High School, (Military High School), Eger, Hungary
Military Schools:
05 Oct 1999 – 25 Sep 2001 Command Academy of the German Republic, 42nd Land Forces High Command and General Staff Course, Hamburg, Germany.
01 Oct 1993 – 31 Sep 1995 Zrínyi Miklós Military College, Land Forces Course, Budapes, Hungary
01 Sep 1992 – 31 Sep 1993 Zrínyi Miklós Military College, Joint Forces Staff Officer Course, Budapest, Hungary
29 Aug 1981 – 31 Aug 1985 Kossuth Lajos Military Academy, armour officer school, Szentendre, Hungary
Military Courses:
07 Jul 2003. – 29 Aug 2003 English language course, Bournemouth, Great-Britain.
07 Oct 2002 – 11 Oct 2002 NATO Operational Planning Course (Operational Planning Process Training, Verona, Italy (JCS) (2nd cousre)
10 Jun 2002 – 14 Jun 2002 NATO Operational Planning Course (Operational Planning Process Training, Verona, Italy (JCS) (1st cousre)
29 Apr 2002. – 03 May 2002 NATO Crisis Management Course, Oberammergau, Germany (NSS I-51-B-T2)
02 Feb 1999. – 25 Jun 1999 German language preparatory course, Hürth, Germany.
02 Sep 1991 – 30 Jun 1992 German language course specialized in military terminology, Szolnok, Hungary
Assignments:
01 Jan 2007 - Hungarian Defence Forces, Joint Forces Command, Senior Military Advisor to DCOM (Land), Székesfehérvár, Hungary
01 Jan 2005 – 31 Dec 2006 Hungarian Defence Forces, Land Forces Command, Head of Operations and Training Division, Székesfehérvár, Hungary
01 Oct 2004. – 01 Jan 2005 Hungarian Defence Forces, Land Forces Command, Acting Head of Operations and Training Division, Székesfehérvár, Hungary
01 Dec 2001 – 30 Sep 2004 Hungarian Defence Forces, Land Forces Command, G3, Senior Operations Officer, Székesfehérvár, Hungary
01 Sep 1997. – 01 Feb 1999 Hungarian Defence Forces, Joint Staff of Land Forces, Command and Control Directorate, General Management Branch , Senior plans officer (deputy head of branch), Székesfehérvár, Hungary
01 Mar 1996. – 30 Aug 1997 Hungarian Defence Forces 4th Mechanized Corps, G3 Directorate, Project and Account Sub-Division, Project Officer, Székesfehérvár, Hungary
01 Sep 1995. – 28 Feb 1996 Hungarian Defence Forces 87th Bakony Combat Helicopter Regiment, Head of G1, Szentkirályszabadja, Hungary
01 Sep 1989. – 01 Oct 1993. Hungarian Defence Forces 14th Thury György Mechanized Infantry Brigade, 1st Armor Battalion, Commanding Officer, Nagykanizsa, Hungary
01 Apr 1988 – 01 Sep 1989 Hungarian People’s Army, No.4730 Mechanized Infantry Brigade, 1st Armor Battalion, Chief of Staff, Nagykanizsa, Hungary
01 Sep 1987 – 31 Aug 1988 Hungarian People’s Army, No.4730 Mechanized Infantry Brigade, 2nd. Armor Battalion, 1st. Armor company, Commanding Officer, acting Bn CO, Nagykanizsa, Hungary
01 Mar 1987 – 01 Apr 1988 Hungarian People’s Army, No.4730 Mechanized Infantry Regiment, 2nd. Armor Battalion, 1st. Armor company, Commanding Officer, Nagykanizsa, Hungary
02 Aug 1985 – 01 Mar 1987 Hungarian People’s Army, No.3335 Mechanized Infantry Regiment, Armor Battalion, 1st. Armor company, Commanding Officer, Nagyatád, Hungary
Languages:
Russian Basic level „C” specialized in military terminology
German Advance level „C” specialized in military terminology
German STANAG 3332
English Advance level „C” specialized in military terminology
English STANAG 3333
Tomáą Valáąek
Director of foreign policy and defence
Tomas Valasek is director of foreign policy & defence. He has written extensively on transatlantic relations, common European foreign and security policy and on defence industrial issues. Previously, he served as Policy Director and head of the Security and Defence Policy Division at the Slovak Ministry of Defence. He oversaw the ministry's defence analysis, planning & evaluation activities as well as its legislative efforts, military missions and international security initiatives. He was responsible for relations with NATO and the EU and advised Ukraine and Bosnia, among others, on NATO and EU integration.
Before joining the ministry of defence Tomas Valasek founded and directed the Brussels office of the World Security Institute (formerly the Center for Defence Information, CDI), a Washington, DC-based independent defence and security think-tank (2002-2006). From 1996 to 2002 he worked as Senior European Analyst in CDI's Washington, DC office.
Mr. Valasek is the editor and co-author of "The 'Easternization' of Europe's Security Policy" (IVO-CDI, October 2004), and numerous articles appearing in newspapers and journals including Wall Street Journal, Jane's Defence Weekly, and the Cambridge Review of International Affairs.
He is a holder of an M.A. in International Affairs from the George Washington University in Washington, DC, and a B.A. in journalism from the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. He speaks Slovak, Czech, English and French.
Main areas of expertise: European foreign and security policy, transatlantic relations, military capabilities & missions.
Dr. Amadeo Watkins
Senior research fellow, UK Defence College.
Graduated from the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, where he also completed his post-graduate studies, including his PhD in Defence Economics. Initiated his current career as an analyst working for various NGOs on Arms Control and Disarmament in SE Europe and Africa. In 2000 joined the UK civil service with a post at HM Treasury, working for the Directorate for Communication and Public Relations. Latter seconded by the FCO to Armenia working with the OSCE where he helped initiate a military-security programme with the Yerevan Office. Joined the UK Defence Academy in 2003 as a senior analyst with the Conflict Studies Research Centre, responsible for providing analysis and briefings on strategic issues in the SE Europe. In 2005 he joined the Defence Academy’s Advanced Research & Assessment Group, headed by Chris Donnelly, working on security and organisational reform issues. In July 2007 seconded by the FCO to the OSCE Mission in Serbia by heading the Strategic Development Unit within the Law Enforcement Department, working on police reform. He is currently completing his book on the “Yugoslav Military Industrialisation”, to be published in 2008 by Frank Cass Publishers and has published widely on the Western Balkans. Dr. Watkins has presented at numerous international and regional conferences and seminars within his field of expertise, which includes foreign policy and regional development, security sector reform and organisational (institutional) reform issues.