His Excellency Mohammed bin Ali bin Mohammed Al Mannai was appointed Minister of Communications and Information Technology in October 2021.His Excellency the Minister of Communications and Information Technology has held several positions related to the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector.His Excellency has served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Qatar Broadband Network Company (QNBN), as well as having served in senior positions in the telecommunications company Ooredoo Qatar, formerly known as Qtel.His Excellency the Minister of Communications and Information Technology currently holds several other positions, including the President of the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA), Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors at Qatar Free Zones Authority, Member of the Board of Trustees of Qatar University, and Member of the Board of Directors of Es’hailSat, the Qatar Satellite Company, and a Member of the Board of Directors of Al Jazeera Media Network.His Excellency the Minister of Communications and Information Technology received a bachelor’s degree in Physics from the American University in Cairo.His Excellency also holds professional certificates in management and leadership from several institutions, including the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), the INSEAD Business School, and the Carnegie Bush Institute.

Ambassador Mark Green (ret.) is the president and CEO of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Previously, Green served executive director of the McCain Institute, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), president of the International Republican Institute, and senior director at the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. Green also served as the U.S. ambassador to Tanzania (2007-2009) and a Member of Congress representing Wisconsin’s 8th District (1999-2007).

Ecuadorian scholar, diplomat and politician, Ms. Espinosa has also held  many leadership positions within the Government of Ecuador, serving as  Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Defense and Cultural and Natural Heritage. Furthermore, she was the first female ambassador and permanent representative of Ecuador to the United Nations offices in New York and Geneva. Most recently, Ms. Espinosa served as President of the 73rd Session of the  United Nations General Assembly, becoming the fourth woman in history  and the first from Latin America and the Caribbean to preside over this  body. Among other current responsibilities, she serves as Member and Executive Director of Global Women Leaders for Change and Inclusion, GWLvoices; member of the Board of Trustees of the International Crisis Group; Member of the High-Level Advisory Council for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, UNAOC;  Chair of the Board of Women in Global Health, the International Commission on the Economics of Water.Espinosa was declared by the BBC as one of the 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2019.

Bronwen Maddox took up the post of Director and Chief Executive of Chatham House in August 2022.Before joining Chatham House, Bronwen was Director of the Institute for Government (2016-2022), an independent think tank based in London promoting better government. From 2010 to 2016 she was editor and chief executive of Prospect, the monthly current affairs magazine. Before that, she served as chief foreign commentator, foreign editor and US editor at The Times, after a period at the Financial Times where she ran award-winning investigations and wrote economics editorials.Before becoming a journalist, Bronwen was an investment analyst in the City and a director of Kleinwort Benson Securities, where she ran its highly-rated team analysing world media stocks.Bronwen is a Visiting Professor in the Policy Institute at King’s College London, Honorary Governor of Ditchley, an honorary fellow of the British Academy, and a council member of Research England, one of the research councils of UK Research & Innovation. She writes frequent op-ed columns for the Financial Times and broadcasts widely.Bronwen has a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from St John’s College, Oxford.Founded in 1920, Chatham House is consistently ranked one of the world’s leading public policy institutions on international affairs, geopolitics, and geo-economics. It has over 200 full-time staff, based at its historic premises in St James’s Square, and a further 150 non-resident Associate Fellows around the world. It is an independent Institute, operating under a Royal Charter, with HM Queen Elizabeth II as its Patron. Its work is supported by a diverse and global community of individual members, private foundations, government departments, international organisations, multinational companies and philanthropic donors.

Hina Rabbani Khar’s term as Foreign Minister is best remembered for the ‘Regional Pivot’ to Pakistan’s foreign policy. As the 26th Foreign Minister of Pakistan, she concentrated on building ties with Pakistan’s immediate neighbours. A major policy shift was taken by starting the journey of normalization of trade relations with India. Similarly, with Afghanistan, Pakistan pursued a policy of reaching out to all political parties, and ethnicities. Pakistan also pursued an active role in an Afghan led and Afghan owned process of reconciliation. In a difficult time of increasing economic sanctions Pakistan pursued to cement ties with Iran. Hina Rabbani Khar has also served as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs for 2 years, Minister of State for Economic Affairs for 4 years and Minister of State for Finance & Economic Affairs for another 2 Years. During these years, she was the lead person in Pakistan’s economic diplomacy, both bilateral and multilateral.

Nasser Yassin is currently the Minister of Environment in Lebanon. Until his appointment in September 2021, he was a Professor of Policy and Planning at the American University of Beirut (AUB). He founded in 2020 and led the Lebanon Crisis Observatory, a think-do tank to provide evidence and systematic analysis of various facets of the crises in Lebanon. He was the Director of AUB's Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs between 2019 and 2020 and the Institute’s Director of Research 2014 & 2019. He holds a PhD rom University College London (UCL), an MSc from the London School of Economics (LSE), and an MSc and BSc from the American University of Beirut. 

Lindsey Graham has earned a reputation as a conservative problem-solver and one of the strongest proponents of a robust national defense.A frequent visitor to American troops stationed overseas for on-the-ground assessments, Graham has consistently pushed for outcomes in the War on Terror which protect our long-term national security interests. One leading conservative recently wrote that when it comes to defending America, ""[Lindsey] Graham has been right about more things on foreign policy for longer than just about anyone…if anyone has bragging rights on foreign policy, it is Graham.""Graham was elected to the United States Senate in 2002 and was re-elected in 2008, 2014, and 2020. He became the first person in South Carolina history to garner over one million votes in the 2008 general election.Graham currently serves as the Ranking Member on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Graham also serves as a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senate Committee on the Budget, and Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Prior to serving in the Senate, Graham was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994 as the first Republican from the Third Congressional District of South Carolina since 1877.Before being elected to Congress, Graham compiled a distinguished record in the United States Air Force as he logged six-and-a-half years of service on active duty as an Air Force lawyer. From 1984-1988, he was assigned overseas and served at Rhein-Main Air Force Base in Germany. Upon leaving active duty Air Force in 1989, Graham joined the South Carolina Air National Guard where he served until 1995. During the first Gulf War in the early 90's, Graham was called to active duty and served state-side at McEntire Air National Guard Base as Staff Judge Advocate where he prepared members for deployment to the Gulf region.In 1995, Graham joined the U.S. Air Force Reserves. During American military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Graham put his experience in military law to use pulling numerous short-term Reserve duties in both countries over congressional breaks and holidays.Graham retired from the Air Force Reserves in June 2015 having served his country in uniform for 33 years. He retired at the rank of Colonel.A native South Carolinian, Graham grew up in a blue collar family in the small town of Central where his parents ran a restaurant and pool hall. The first member of his family to go to college, Graham earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of South Carolina. He lives in Seneca and is a member of Corinth Baptist Church.

Mr. Zane Dangor currently serves as the Director-General (DG) of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO). Before being appointed to serve in this capacity from 1 April 2022, he was a Special Adviser to the current and former Ministers of International Relations and Cooperation. Before joining DIRCO, he worked as the Chief Operations Officer at Soul City.Mr. Dangor worked at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) as its interim representative to the African Union and Economic Commission for Africa in 2017. Before joining the UNFPA, he served as DG of the Department of Social Development. He also served as Deputy DG of the Department of Social Development, where he worked for over 12 years. This included being seconded to serve as Special Adviser to two Ministers of Social Development.Mr. Dangor worked with the International Human Rights Law Group, based in Washington, DC, focussing on transitional justice issues in West Africa. He worked in civil society and as a consultant in various capacities. He was a senior manager, including Executive Director at the Development Resource Centre, for 10 years, where he contributed to human rights and development work nationally and abroad. He was a managing partner in the social consulting company, Sonke Consulting.Mr. Dangor holds a Master’s in Law in International Law and a Master’s in Public and Development Management, both from the University of the Witwatersrand.

Dr. Richard Ponzio is Director of the Global Governance, Justice & Security Program and Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center, where he also co-directs the Global Governance Innovation Network, serves on the Steering Committee for the Mary Robinson-led Climate Governance Commission, and earlier directed the Albright-Gambari Commission on Global Security, Justice & Governance (2014-2016). Widely published, Dr. Ponzio has served in senior peacebuilding roles with the United Nations and U.S. State Department in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, New York, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, the Solomon Islands, and Washington, D.C. He is the author of Democratic Peacebuilding: Aiding Afghanistan and other Fragile States and (with Dr. Arunabha Ghosh) co-author of Human Development and Global Institutions: Evolution, Impact, Reform. He completed his doctorate in politics and international relations at the University of Oxford on a Clarendon Scholarship and undertook earlier studies at The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy (M.A.), The Graduate Institute Geneva (M.A.) as a MacJannet Fellow, and Columbia University (B.A).

Sultan Barakat is a Professor in Public Policy at Qatar Foundation’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University and an Honorary Professor at the University of York. He is a world-renowned scholar, known for pioneering the study of war-torn societies and their recovery. Professor Barakat founded the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies and directed it between 2016 and 2022. Previously, he served as the Director of Research at the Brookings Institutions Doha Center. At the University of York, he founded and led the Post-war Reconstruction and Development Unit between 1993 and 2019.Professor Barakat has been published widely in academic referred journals. His book ‘After the Conflict: Reconstruction and Development in the Aftermath of War’, published by IB Tauris, was reprinted twice, in 2005 and 2010. He has also written books on the reconstruction of both Afghanistan and Iraq. His most recent book, ‘Understanding Influence: The Use of Statebuilding Research in British Policy’ was published by Ashgate in 2014.Barakat has over 30 years of professional experience working on issues of conflict resolution, humanitarian response, statebuilding and post-conflict recovery and transition. He is regularly engaged in providing guidance as a Senior Adviser and Consultant to the United Nations, the World Bank, the European Union, the Red Cross and a variety of governments. He has led major evaluations, peace negotiations and programming initiatives in Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Nepal, Palestine, Philippines (Mindanao), Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan (Darfur), Syria, Uganda (Moyo and Adjumani) and Yemen.

Dr. Dalia Fahmy is Director of The International Relations and Diplomacy Program and Associate Professor of Political Science at Long Island University where she teaches courses on US Foreign Policy, World Politics, International Relations, Military and Defense Policy, Causes of War, Politics of the Middle East and Islam and Democracy. Dr. Fahmy was  previously a Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Policy in Washington DC, and a visiting scholar at the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights at Rutgers University.Dr. Fahmy's three books: “Arab Spring: Modernity, identity, and change,” “Illiberal Intelligentsia and the Future of Egyptian Democracy”, and “International Relations in a Changing World”, cover her research areas.She has given several DC briefings on the future of democracy in the Middle East. She has been interviewed by and written editorials in various media outlets including ABC, BBC, CBS, CBC, CNBC, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, PBS, TRT, The Huffington Post, the Washington Post, and Aljazeera.

Bart Magunda Katureebe has had a distinguished career in law and politics in Uganda. he started his legal career as a State Attorney in the Attorney General's Chambers before going into private legal practice. He subsequently served over over a period of 13 years as a Minister in various portfolios including Foreign Affairs, Health, Industry, as well as five years as Attorney General/Minister of Justice. He was awarded the special rank of Senior Counsel.During his tenure as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, he participated in several mediations to resolve international disputes. As Attorney General, he represented Uganda in the dispute with DRC at the International Court of Justice at the Hague.In 2005, he was appointed Justice of the Supreme Court and in 2015, he was appointed Chief Justice, retiring in 2020.He currently runs a private Conflict Resolution Centre with focus on Mediation and Arbitration.

Ambassador Julián Ventura, a career diplomat on leave from the Mexican Foreign Service, is a Senior Advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group, part of Dentons Global Advisors. He has held senior diplomatic positions in four administrations, most recently as Deputy Foreign Secretary, where he oversaw key relationships in Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, and served as Mexico’s G20 Sherpa. Previously, he served as Ambassador to China and the United Kingdom and Deputy Ambassador in the Embassy to the United States.  As Under Secretary for North America,  he played a central role managing the economic, trade, border, and immigration agendas with the United States and Canada. As Director-General for Asia-Pacific Affairs, he was a Senior Official in the Mexico-Japan FTA negotiations, the Mexico-South Korea 21st Century Commission, and five APEC Summits. Earlier in his career, he served as the Foreign Secretary´s Chief of Staff and in Mexico´s missions to Cuba, the United Nations, and the Organization of American States. He is a frequent media analyst on international affairs and Mexican foreign policy and a participant in global policy forums, including the Doha Forum, the Munich Security Conference, the Chatham House London Conference, the Halifax Security Forum, and the Raisina Dialogue.

Rafat Ali Al-Akhali is a development practitioner dedicated to addressing the challenges of development in fragile and conflict-affected situations. As a co-founder of DeepRoot Consulting, Rafat has been closely engaged in advising key stakeholders on political, economic, and development priorities in Yemen and has led and advised multiple development initiatives at the local and national level in Yemen. Rafat is a Fellow of Practice at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford where he was previously the Convenor of the Council on State Fragility, and managed the LSE-Oxford Commission on State Fragility, Growth and Development as well as the secretariat of Pathways for Prosperity Commission on Technology and Inclusive Development. Rafat previously served as a Minister in the Government of Yemen, and prior to that led the government’s policy reforms team. He holds a master's degree in public policy (MPP) from the University of Oxford, and a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC), Montréal, Canada. 

Dr. Sanam Vakil was appointed director of the Middle East and North Africa programme in 2023. She was previously the programme’s deputy director and senior research fellow, and led project work on Iran and Gulf Arab dynamics.She is also the James Anderson professorial lecturer in the Middle East Studies department at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS Europe) in Bologna, Italy.

Thomas Juneau is associate professor at the University of Ottawa's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. His research focuses on the Middle East, especially Iran and Yemen, on the role of intelligence in national security and foreign policy making, and on Canadian foreign and defence policy. He is a non-resident fellow with the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies. From 2003 until 2014, he worked with Canada’s Department of National Defence, mostly as a policy analyst covering the Middle East. He tweets @thomasjuneau.  

Dr. Nilab Mobarez, a surgeon and public administrator by profession, is the former Chairperson, and Secretary General of the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS). She is currently serving the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC). Dr. Mobarez directed the ARCS during difficult times of war, COVID-19 Pandemics and political instability. She was, also founder/CEO of INGO’s for medical Institution Building. Dr. Mobarez earned her MD from Kabul Medical University (1984), and her MPA focused on conflict studies and leadership of international and nonprofit organizations, from Syracuse University (2016).