Topic: Security Issues

Andrew Wilson

A veteran presenter of live television programmes and an award-winning foreign correspondent, Andrew Wilson is a leading news and communications professional.

Andrew’s is an experienced conference moderator and event host. He is also an expert interviewer having hosted his own current affairs show on Sky for ten years. Those skills have been deployed in any number of corporate productions including a series of International CEO sit-down interviews around the world for Reuters and thought leadership exchanges at the WEF in Davos.

For ten years Andrew worked on the news front line as a foreign correspondent bureau in Moscow, Jerusalem and then Washington DC. He covered conflicts and breaking news, reporting live and presenting programmes from Afghanistan, Libya, Gaza, Chechnya, Haiti, the Asia Tsunami, Ukraine, Egypt, Africa, Lebanon and Iraq. He covered three US elections, two in Israel, two in Russia and any number in the UK.

On his return to the UK his program, Live at 5 on Sky News won best RTS best news program in 2016. He was also awarded numerous international awards for his coverage overseas.

Ever since he covered the first Earth Summit in Rio, Andrew has harboured a special interest in environmental stories. He presented a series of live shows from the Amazon jungle ahead of COP 15 in 2009 and has moderated environmental and business conferences in the City as well as hosting numerous Virgin Formula E events in New York and Paris.

Andrew is an experienced media and skills trainer and regularly works with news presenters and reporters. He works with the John Schofield Trust to mentor young journalists and is a contributor to the Westminster Foreign Affairs think tank Global Strategy Forum and a member of BAFTA.

Jaap De Hoop Scheffer

Jakob Gijsbert de Hoop Scheffer (often called ‘Jaap’ de Hoop Scheffer) was born on the 3rd of April 1948 in Amsterdam.

He studied at Leiden University, graduating in 1974, after which he joined the air force, eventually becoming a reserve officer. After leaving the air force in 1976, De Hoop Scheffer began working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He remained in the job for a decade, initially working in Ghana at the Dutch Embassy, before taking on a role at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels. In 1997, De Hoop Scheffer became the party leader of the Christen-Democratisch Appèl (CDA), a position he retired from in 2002, prior to the elections.

The CDA (under the leadership of De Hoop Scheffer’s successor, Jan Peter Balkenende) went on to win the majority role in the new coalition government. De Hoop Scheffer was appointed Foreign Minister, a role in which his experience was invaluable.

During his time as Foreign Minister, De Hoop Scheffer offered political support to Operation Iraqi Freedom, contributing 1,100 servicemen to the Stabilisation Force. De Hoop Scheffer was appointed Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in 2003. In 2004, De Hoop Scheffer became the 11th NATO Secretary General.

In this role, he was not afraid to say what he felt needed to be said, commenting on the security of oil lines and infrastructure, and encouraging Canada to continue to keep some of their forces in Afghanistan after their initial withdrawal date (2009). De Hoop Scheffer remained the Secretary General of NATO until July 2009, when he suffered from a heart attack and required emergency surgery.

After making a full recovery, he was invited to take Leiden University’s Pieter Kooijmans Chair for Peace, Law and Security. De Hoop Scheffer has been awarded numerous accolades from countries throughout Europe in recognition of his work with NATO.