Keynote Speaker
Mr Pål Jonson, Swedish Defence Minister
Minister Jonson holds the position as Minister for Defence since 2022. He has previously in his career, among other things, been the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence, and Secretary-General of the Swedish Atlantic Council. Minister Jonson holds a PhD in War Studies from Kings College in London, a Master’s degree in European policy from College of Europe in Bruges and a Bachelor’s degree in international policy from Georgetown University, USA. He has been a visiting researcher at NATO Defense College in Rome.
Speakers
Karl Altau
Managing Director of the Joint Baltic American National Committee
Karl Altau
Managing Director of the Joint Baltic American National Committee
With the Joint Baltic American National Committee (JBANC) since 1997, Karl Altau has helped conduct extensive advocacy on behalf of the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian central organizations in the United States. This includes the period of NATO accession for the three Baltic countries, the campaign for Magnitsky sanctions against human rights violators, support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, and for democracy in Belarus. He has addressed the Baltic parliaments and the United States Congress on the work of the Baltic-American communities.
A native Virginian with a degree in journalism from Radford University, Altau has lived and studied in Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and at Indiana University. Altau has served on the boards of the Maryland-Estonia Exchange Council, which helps promote the Maryland Sister States Program, and the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation from 2004-2017. He spent three years with the consular section of the Embassy of Estonia in Helsinki, Finland from 1992-1995.
John Lough
Associate Fellow, Russia & Eurasia Programme, Chatham House
John Lough
Associate Fellow, Russia & Eurasia Programme, Chatham House
John Lough is an Associate Fellow with the Russia & Eurasia Programme at Chatham House. From 2008 to 2016, he ran the Russia & CIS practice at BGR Gabara (later Gabara Strategies), a London-based public affairs company.
He is a regular commentator on Russian and Ukrainian affairs and has written extensively on a wide range of security and governance issues in the region.
From 2003 to 2008, he was as an international affairs adviser at TNK-BP, Russia’s third largest oil company. From 2001 to 2003, he was Managing Director of The PBN Company’s London office.
He spent six years with NATO (1995-2001) and was the first NATO official to be based in Moscow (1995-1998).
From 1989 to 1995, he was a senior lecturer at the Soviet Studies (later Conflict Studies) Research Centre.
He studied Russian and German at Cambridge University and obtained a diploma in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University Bologna Center.
He is the author of Germany’s Russia Problem (Manchester University Press 2021).
He is a partner at Highgate, a leading London-based strategy advisory firm.
Margarita Šešelgytė
Director of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science at Vilnius University
Margarita Šešelgytė
Director of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science at Vilnius University
BG (ret) Rainer Meyer zum Felde
Senior Fellow, Institute for Security Policy Kiel University
Rob de Wijk
Founder, The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS) and Professor of International Relations and Security at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs at Leiden University
Rob de Wijk
Founder, The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS) and Professor of International Relations and Security at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs at Leiden University
Rob de Wijk is the founder (2007) and non-executive director of The Hague Centre for
Strategic Studies (HCSS). HCSS helps governments, non-governmental organizations and the
private sector to understand the fast-changing environment and seeks to anticipate the
challenges of the future with policy solutions and advice.
Currently, he is also Professor of International Relations at Leiden University, chairman of
the National Security Think Tank (Denktank Nationale Veiligheid) and columnist for the
national daily Trouw and monthly for Energiepodium.nl
He is a member of the Strategic Advisors Group of the Atlantic Council in Washington and of
Senior Steering Group van het NATO Special Forces Headquarters in Mons.
He studied Contemporary History and International Relations in Groningen, and wrote his
PhD dissertation on NATO’s ‘Flexibility in Response’ strategy at the Political Science
Department of Leiden University.
Professor De Wijk started his career in 1977 as a freelance journalist and later became
lecturer in International Relations at Leiden University’s Political Science Department. He
also worked at the Ministry of Defense, where he was instrumental in the restructuring of the
Dutch armed forces in the early nineties.
In 2012 (until December 2015) he was appointed General Director of The Hague Security
Delta (HSD). HSD aims to develop the The Hague – Rotterdam region into an internationally
renowned security cluster, by bringing together the private sector, government and knowledge
institutes.
Other positions he has held include director of the Clingendael Security and Conflict
Programme and Professor in the field of International Relations at the Royal Netherlands
Military Academy.
Jānis Garisons
State Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Latvia
Dr. Rebecca Harding
Independent trade and supply chain expert and the Author of the book, The Weaponization of Trade: The Great Unbalancing of Politics and Economics
Dr. Rebecca Harding
Independent trade and supply chain expert and the Author of the book, The Weaponization of Trade: The Great Unbalancing of Politics and Economics
Dr. Rebecca Harding is is an independent speaker and trade and trade finance economist. In 2022 she was awarded the “Net Zero Entrepreneur of the Year” at the annual Scale Up Group’s Enterprise Awards event for her role founder of Coriolis Technologies, a data and analytics provider for the trade finance space specialising in sustainability measurement.
She has held senior positions at Deloitte, London Business School, the Work Foundation, and UK Finance. She acted as Specialist Adviser to the Treasury Select Committee and advised the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Entrepreneurship. She has acted as a trade finance and supply chains expert witness, is a member of the World Trade Board, the ITFA’s ESG Committee and the ICC’s sustainable trade finance technology sub-committee. She is a Senior Fellow of the British Foreign Policy Group. Between 2004 and 2018 she was a Director and Trustee of the German-British Forum.
She co-authored “The Weaponization of Trade: the Great Unbalancing of Policy and Economics" and “Gaming Trade: Win-Win Strategies for the Digital Era.” She has authored 8 other books on the German economy, global innovation policy and SME financing. Her high media profile includes frequent appearances on BBC Television and Radio including The Context, Sky News and the Ian King Show, CNBC, and Times Radio, as well as citations in the broadsheet media.
Dr. Viljar Veebel
Lecturer, Baltic Defence College
Jānis Sārts
Director at NATO Strategic Communications Center of Excellence
Dr. Juris Binde
President, Latvijas Mobilais Telefons
Amb. Batu Kutelia
Member of the Board at the Atlantic Council of Georgia
Amb. Batu Kutelia
Member of the Board at the Atlantic Council of Georgia
Ambassador Kutelia is the board member of the Atlantic Council of Georgia, Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, and the Next Generation Leader fellow at the McCain Institute for International Leadership.
During his 17 year of pubic service he served in numerous key positions, including the Deputy Secretary of the National Security Council of Georgia, since January 2011 till November 2013, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to the United States of America, Canada and Mexico (20018-2011).
In his previous capacities he has been First Deputy Minister of Defence (2007-2008), Deputy Minister of Defence and Foreign Affairs (2006-2007) and Deputy Minister of State Security (2004).
2005-2006 he functioned as the Head of the Intelligence Service of Georgia. Before this he was the Head of the Foreign Intelligence Department of the Ministry of State Security of Georgia and Director of the Political Security Department of the National Security Council in 2004, also numerous pol.-mil. positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Before turning into his diplomatic and political career Mr. Kutelia studied physics and holds a PhD in physics. However, he also holds a master in Public Affairs Administration.
Dr. Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova
Head of Riga Stradins University China Studies Centre, Head of the Asia program at the Latvian Institute of International Affairs
Dr. Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova
Head of Riga Stradins University China Studies Centre, Head of the Asia program at the Latvian Institute of International Affairs
Dr Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova is Head of the Political Science PhD programme and China Studies Centre at Riga Stradins University, Head of the Asia Programme at the Latvian Institute of International Affairs, a member of CHERN and European Think-tank Network on China (ETNC). She has held fellowships at Fudan University and Stanford University, and is affiliated with King's College London and MERICS. She is the author of Perfect Imbalance: China and Russia, published by World Scientific in 2022.
Roger Moorhouse
Historian and Author, Specializing in Nazi Germany, Central Europe and World War Two in Europe
Roger Moorhouse
Historian and Author, Specializing in Nazi Germany, Central Europe and World War Two in Europe
Roger Moorhouse is a historian and author, specialising in Nazi Germany, Central Europe and World War Two in Europe. A visiting professor at the College of Europe in Warsaw, and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society in London, he is the author of a number of books, including “The Devils’ Alliance” (2014), “Berlin at War” (2010), and “First to Fight” (2019) – which won the Polish Foreign Ministry History Prize in 2020.
Konstantin Eggert
Freelance Journalist
Konstantin Eggert
Freelance Journalist
Konstantin Eggert MBE is an independent Russian journalist and political commentator. He is a Russian affairs analyst for DW (Deutsche Welle), Germany’s international broadcaster. He also hosts
‘Trending’, DW’s Russian language interview programme. In 2016-2018 Konstantin Eggert worked for TV Rain, Russia’s groundbreaking independent TV channel. He also worked for Kommersant, Russia's oldest private media group, as well as for ExxonMobil Russia Inc., where he was Vice-President for Public and Government Affairs in 2009-2010. In 1998-2009 Mr Eggert was with the BBC World Service, including 7 years as the BBC Russian Service Moscow Bureau Chief in 2002-2009. In 2008 HM the Queen created Mr Eggert Honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire. He is a summa cum laude graduate of the Moscow University Institute of Asian and African Studies, where he studies Arabic language and Middle East history. He speaks English, French, and Arabic.
Dr. Igor Gretskiy
Research Fellow, International Center for Defence and Security, Estonia
Dr. Igor Gretskiy
Research Fellow, International Center for Defence and Security, Estonia
Igor Gretskiy - research fellow, International Centre for Defence and Security, Tallinn, Estonia. Up until spring 2022, Dr Gretskiy was an Associate Professor at the School of International Relations, St. Petersburg State University, Russia. In 2012-2014, he headed the Rectorate’s International Office at the University’s Smolny Campus. Dr Gretskiy has frequently authored op-eds and provided expert commentary to the media on major developments in Russia’s foreign policy, as well as in the region of Central and Eastern Europe.
Leah Scheunemann
Deputy Director, Transatlantic Security Initiative, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Atlantic Council of the United States
Leah Scheunemann
Deputy Director, Transatlantic Security Initiative, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Atlantic Council of the United States
Archil Karaulashvili
Ambassador of Georgia to Estonia
Jaanika Merilo
Advisor to Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Global Head of PR and Marketing at Funderbaum
Jaanika Merilo
Advisor to Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Global Head of PR and Marketing at Funderbaum
Toms Rostoks
Director at the Centre for Security and Strategic Research, Latvia
Dagnija Lejina
Chair of Latvian Transatlantic Organization (LATO), Co-founder of Novatore
Myroslava Gongadze
VOA's Eastern Europe Bureau Chief
Sintija Broka
Latvian Institute of International Affairs
Indrė Makaraitytė
Journalist, Head of the Investigative Board at LRT, Lithuania National Broadcaster
Indrė Makaraitytė
Journalist, Head of the Investigative Board at LRT, Lithuania National Broadcaster
Prof. Jacek Reginia Zacharski
Director of the Policy Planning Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Poland
Prof. Jacek Reginia Zacharski
Director of the Policy Planning Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Poland