Category: Invited guests

Former Prime Minister of Bulgaria (2014). He is professor in Constitutional law at Sofia University since 1983. Since 2012 he is visiting professor at South-West University “Neofit Rilski”. From February to May 214, he served as Chair-person of the Initiative committee for the organisation of a national referendum on election rules reform. He was a member of the 40^th Bulgarian Parliament (2005-2009). In 2007, he was a member of the European Parliament. From 2005 to 2006, he was a Bulgarian observer at the European Parliament. He was also a member of the 36^th Bulgarian Parliament (1991-1994). He graduated from Sofia University. He holds a PhD in Constitutional law.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar since 2013. Previously, he was Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Member of the Council of Ministers. He also served as Chairman of the Board of the Qatar’s Stock Exchange, Vice Chairman of the Qatar Financial Center Authority, Acting Minister of Business and Trade and Minister of State for International Cooperation. From 2003 to 2008, he was President of the National Committee for Human Rights. He started his career as a Fighter Pilot in Qatar’s Emiri Air Force (1987-1995). He graduated from King Faisal Air Academy and Beirut Arab University. He holds a doctorate in Law from Cairo University.

Managing Partner and Founder, Blue like an Orange Sustainable Capital. Former Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the World Bank Group. He chairs the advisory board of Project Syndicate and he is a member of the board of CGDev and IDDRI. He is also a trustee of the IFRS Fondation. Previously, he served as the Group Chief Financial Officer at Société Générale, and before that as the Group Chief Financial Officer of Crédit Agricole (2007-2011). He was Managing Director of Lazard in Paris responsible for the Financial Institutions Group (2004-2007). In 2003, he was invited to join President Chirac’s diplomatic team and was closely involved in the preparation of the G8 summit in Evian. He graduated from the Ecole nationale d’administration (ENA), the Institut d’études politiques de Paris, Sorbonne Paris IV University and from HEC.

Chairman of France Brevets, Scientific Advisor of the Center for Energy and Climate of Ifri, former President of the French Energy Council. He is a member of the French Academy of Engineering. He has been General Delegate of the French Academy of Engineering. Previously, he was Chairman and CEO of IFP Energies Nouvelles (2003-2015). Prior to that, in 1999 he was appointed Director of the International Energy Agency’s Long-Term Cooperation and Policy Analysis Directorate. From 1989 to 1994, he headed the oil and gas department of the French Industry Ministry. He worked as Executive Vice-President of the IFP in charge of research and development activities (1994-1998). He graduated from the École Polytechnique and the École des mines.

Former Executive Director of the Balkan Political Club (2005-2014). He was Secretary for the International Cooperation, Office of the President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (2005-2012), Adviser to UNESCO on the Scientific Co-operation among the Countries of Southeast Europe (1999-2004) and Representative to UNESCO’s Executive Board (1993-1997). He also served as Bulgarian Ambassador to France (1991-1997) and permanent delegate to UNESCO (1992-1998). He was Senior Research Fellow, Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (1981-1990). He holds a PhD in Chemistry.

Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Countries, Islamic Republic of Iran, since 2011. Previoulsy, he was Director General for the Persian Gulf and the Middle-East (2010). He was also Iran’s Ambassador to Bahrain (2007-2010), Head of the Special Department for Iraq (Foreign Ministry) (2006-2007), Deputy Director General for the Persian Gulf and the Middle-East (2006), Special Assistant of the Foreign Minister for Iraqi Affairs (2003-2006), Deputy of the First Persian Gulf Political Department (2001) and Political Expert and Deputy Ambassador in the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad (1997-2001). He is a Founding Member of the West Asia Research Center. He holds a PhD. in International Relations from Tehran University.

Diplomat, Special Advisor, Diplomatic Affairs, to the President of the Republic of Benin since 2007. Previously, she was Minister of Foreign Affairs (2006-2007). She served as Ambassador, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and African Integration (2004-2006), Ambassador, Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and African Integration (2002-2004) and analyst at the Permanent Secretariat of the Strategic Analyses Cell at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and African Integration (2001-2002). She held various positions at the Embassy of Benin in Bonn. She graduated from the University of Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration, Francophonie and Beninese Diaspora. Previously, he served as Mayor of the Municipality of Pobè (2008-2015). He was Foreign Affairs Inspector (2006-2008), Director of Europe Department (1996-1998) and Director of Legal affairs, Analysis and Forecasting (DAJAP) (1986). From 1998 to 2006, he was Chief of Staff of the General Administrator at the International Francophone Organization (OIF). He graduated from the Faculty of Law, Economics and Politics (FASJEP), Cotonou, University of Dahomey, the Centre of Administrative Training and Refresher’s Course for Public Administration Executives (CEFAP), the International Institute of Public Administration (IIAP) Paris and the Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne University.

Ambassador of Bangladesh to the Swiss Confederation and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva. Former Ambassador of Bangladesh to Brazil. Former High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Brunei Darussalam (2009-2012). From 2005 to 2008, he served as Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran with concurrent accreditation to Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. He joined the Bangladesh Foreign Service in 1986. He is a medical graduate of the University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. He was also awarded the post-graduate “Diplôme d’etudes Supérieures Specialisés (DESS)” in Diplomacy and Administration of International Organizations from the Jean Monnet-Sceaux Law Faculty of the University of Paris XI.

Chun Yungwoo is a Senior Advisor at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. He is also the Chairman and Founder of the Korean Peninsula Future Forum (KPFF). Previously, he served as the National Security Advisor to President Lee Myung-Bak, from 2010 to 2013. In his 33 years of service in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, He served as Second Vice Foreign Minister (2009-2010), Korean Ambassador to the United Kingdom (2008-2009) and Head of the ROK Delegation to the Six-Party Talks (2006-2008). He received a Master of International Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.

Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to the Republic of Korea. Previously, he had worked at the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, first as Head of the Department for Regional Initiatives (2011-2012), then as Head of the Department for Europe (2012-2013).  He has also been Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand, to the Republic of Singapore, to the Kingdom of Cambodia, to the Republic of the Philippines and to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Belgrade.

Chief Executive Officer of NABARD Consultancy Services (NABCONS). He has been working at the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development for 30 years. He has published two books on microfinance and written on rural banking for several papers. He holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, in Ahmedabad, India, and a master’s degree in Agriculture and Rural Development from the University of Western Sydney, in Hawkesbury, Australia.

Professor of economic development at Seoul National University and Tübingen University. Formerly, he taught the same course at the Moscow Higher School of Economics. He has also taught economics at Seoul National University since 1977, as assistant, associate, and full professor until 2010, and is now a professor emeritus of the same university. He served as Director of the Institute of Social Sciences at Seoul National University, first Chairman of the Korean Electricity Commission and Co-Chairman of the Green Growth Committee of the Korean government. He holds a BE degree in electronics from Seoul National University and a PhD in economics from Northwestern University. He also studied energy economics and economic development.

Landry Signé is a David M. Rubenstein Fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution and Founding Chairman of the Global Network for Africa’s Prosperity. He is also fellow at Stanford University’s Center for African Studies, chair of the Faculty Senate Committee on Research and Creative Activity and assistant professor of political science at UAA, and lecturer in Emerging Markets at Stanford University’s Continuing Studies. His research and policy work focuses on the transformation of African economies, governance, political processes, development, and the role of international actors in Africa. He is the recipient of 2014 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research and Creative Activity and the Governor General of Canada Award.

Country Manager for Côte d’Ivoire, General Electric, since 2014. Prior to joining General Electric, he worked 12 years for Citi where he held various positions, including CFO for West and Central Africa based in Côte d’Ivoire. From 2012 to 2013, he was Acting General Manager for Citi’s operations in Côte d’Ivoire. He also served as board member and vice president of Citibank Cote d’Ivoire S.A. He has also been a lecturer at the National school of statistics and applied Economics (E.N.S.E.A.) in Côte d’Ivoire for the past 10 Years. He graduated from the National school of statistics and applied Economics (E.N.S.E.A.) in Côte d’Ivoire, and he holds a MBA TRIUM, an alliance of New York Stern University, London School of Economics, and H.E.C. Paris.

Executive President of the Policy Center for the New South, and Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences and Executive Vice-President of the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University. From 2005 to 2012, he worked at the Central Bank of Morocco as the Director of Economics, Statistics and International Relations. Prior to this, he served as an economist at the World Bank. He holds scientific and advisory positions in various institutions, including the Malabo-Montpellier Panel, the Moroccan Capital Market Authority, and the French Institute of International Relations. He is also advisor to the CEO and Chairman of the OCP Group, and serves as a board member of the OCP Foundation and as a global member of the Trilateral Commission. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Bordeaux.

Associate Director, Government Relations – Growth Markets at Accenture. Previously, she handled U.S. federal and state government relations based in Washington, DC. She joined Accenture in 2007 from government relations firm Fabiani & Company, where she advocated on behalf of clients before the U.S. Congress and federal agencies. She holds a bachelor degree in international economics from Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, United States.

Ambassador of Georgia to the Republic of Korea since February 2012. He has also been Minister-Counselor at the Embassy of Georgia in Japan (2008-2011), Ambassador-at-large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia (2008), Deputy Head of the Legal Unit at Hagler Bailly Consulting (1997), and Deputy Head of the Legal Department of the Georgian International Oil Corporation (1996). He has studied in Georgia, Italy, and Japan, and holds a LLD from the Graduate School of Social Sciences, Yokohama National University.

Ambassador of Romania to the Republic of Korea. Previously, he had served as Ambassador of Romania to the Kingdom of the Netherlands (2007-2012), Diplomatic Advisor to the Prime Minister’s Office of Romania (2005-2007), and Vice-president of the Danube Commission (2002-2005).  He has also been Visiting Professor to the University for Political Sciences in Bucharest (2006-2007), Counselor and Head of the Department for Central and South-East European Affairs (DECSE) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Visiting professor to the University Babes-Bolyai, in Cluj (2001-2002). He holds a BS in geological sciences from that same university and a PhD.

Ambassador of Côte d’Ivoire to the Republic of Korea since 2012. Prior to that, H.E. Mr. Kouassi Bile served at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Côté d’Ivoire as Ambassador of the Director of the Africa Department, Deputy Director in Charge of Inter-African Cooperation Organizations and Deputy Director of West Africa. He started his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1977. He graduated in politics and social sciences at the University of Leuven in Belgium, and in Diplomacy at the National School of Administration of Abidjan.

Former Secretary-General of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS). His latest posts include Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Austria (2010-2013) and Kenya (2007-2010), and Consul-General of Japan in Honolulu (2005-2007). He has also been Director for Abandoned Chemical Weapons Office at the Cabinet Office (2002-2004), and Minister to the Embassy of Japan in China, in charge of cultural affairs (1996-1998). He graduated from Hitotsubashi University Faculty of Law.

Ambassador, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Korea (since January 2011). Since 2004, he has been working for the European Union Institutions in Brussels as Head for Asia at the Office of the EU High Representative Javier Solana and later as Principal Adviser for Asia at the European Commission. He was the Ambassador of Poland to Pakistan (concurrently accredited to Afghanistan) in 2001 – 2003, and the Asia Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw in 2003 – 2004.

Ambassador of Morocco to the Republic of Korea. Prior to that, H.E. Mr. Chraibi was Director of Direction of Financial Affairs, Chairman of the Group of 77 for the year 2003 at Nairobi, and Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). He was also Ambassador of His Majesty the King to the Republic of Kenya, to the Union of Comoros, to the Republic of Seychelles. He graduated from the National School of Public Administration, Diplomatic section, Rabat.

Head of the World Food Programme (WFP) Korea office since November 2011. He joined the WFP in 2002 as a Junior Professional Officer in several countries before moving to WFP headquarters in Rome, Italy, where he served as a donor relations officer in charge of Asia. He contributed to newspapers, including a weekly column to Hankyoreh, one of the major Korean dailies, from 1997 to 1998, and a monthly column to Hanwoolan in the mid 2000s. He holds a BA in language and diplomatic science, an MA in political science from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) and an MPA from John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Korea. Previously, he had been Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Law of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Lawyer at the European Court of Human Rights, in Strasbourg, and a Partner of the Ukraine-based law firm Yuris Law Offices. He has also served as Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ministry of Economy of Ukraine. He holds a PhD in Law from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. He also studied at the London School of Economics (UK), Sidney Sussex College (Cambridge, UK), International Institute of Human Rights (Strasbourg) and Stanford University (USA).

Ambassador of Mongolia to the Republic of Korea. Formerly, he  served as Director-General of the Asia and the Pacific Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Mongolia (2008-2013). He has also been Ambassador of Mongolia to Vietnam (2004-2008), State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia (2001-2003) and Director-General of the Public Affairs Department at the Ministry of External Relations of Mongolia (1998-2000). He has studied at the Pedagogical Institute of Russian Language, at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations and at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, United States.

Distinguished Professor at Yonsei University’s Graduate School of Economics (since May 2013). Between 2009 and 2013, Dr. Jun served as Chairman and CEO of the National Pension Service (NPS) of Korea. In 2008-2009, Dr. Jun served as founding Chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC). From 2004 until 2008, he was Chairman of Deloitte Korea. He worked for the World Bank for more than 12 years in various capacities. He received his BA in economics from Seoul National University, and MBA and PhD in finance from Indiana University.