Dr. Zia Nezam
Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
His Excellency Dr . Zia Nezam was appointed by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan as Chief of this country’s Mission to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of Netherlands, Grand Duchy Luxembourg and Greece, Chief of the Afghanistan Mission to the European Community and responsible with relations between Afghanistan, EU and NATO. H. E. Dr. Zia Nezam was born on October 6, 1947 in Kabul, Afghanistan. He holds master degrees in Constitutional and Developmental Law and doctorate in International law at Nice University, France. Previously he had worked for various Ministerial Departments of Afghanistan and as Financial Consultant in Noble Wealth Corporation. In addition he taught in different languages and legal centres.
Drs. Ehsan Turabaz
President of the Netherlands-Afghanistan Business Council
Honorary Consul of Afghanistan in Rotterdam
Ehsan Turabaz (1959) was born in Kabul. At the age of 21, while studying Law and Political Science, he fled his country. At the Vrije Universiteit and University of Leiden he completed masters in Political Science and International Relations. Since 1991 Ehsan Turabaz has worked for IKEA as a manager. In this position he looks after the protection of IKEA’s trademark and advises the legal department. In 2002 he founded the Netherlands-Afghanistan Business Council desk to actively promote bilateral trade between the Netherlands and Afghanistan. This desk is part of the Netherlands Council for Trade Promotion (NCH). In addition, he is the chairman and founder of the Foundation Friend of Afghanistan, which focuses on education and cultural heritage of Afghanistan. Furthermore, he is Honorary Consul of Afghanistan in Rotterdam.
Christa Meindersma
Deputy Director of The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies
C. Meindersma, LL.M is Deputy Director External Affairs and Director Conflict Management at HCSS. She is an international lawyer with broad experience in international affairs and diplomacy. Previously she worked as senior political adviser at the United Nations and the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Christa Meindersma has been involved in peace negotiations and policy advice in East Timor, Nigeria, Cameroon, Kosovo, Darfur, Nepal and New York. Christa is a member of the Committee on Peace and Security of the Advisory Council on International Affairs.
Dick Oosting
Europe Director of the International Center for Transitional Justice
A Dutch lawyer, Dick Oosting (1946) has worked since the 70s on human rights and related issues. From 1973 he ran Amnesty International's first major campaign against torture, then served as Deputy Secretary General at its International Secretariat in London. In the 80s and 90s he headed Amnesty’s Dutch section, worked for the Dutch government as director of a child protection agency, and was director of the Dutch Refugee Council, to return in 1999 to Amnesty International as director of its EU Office in Brussels. In early 2008 Dick Oosting joined the International Center for Transitional Justice as Europe Director. In his various activist and leadership roles, Dick Oosting has been closely involved in the development over the past three decades of the international human rights movement.
Andrew Mann
Counselor for Political & Economic Affairs
U.S. Embassy The Hague
Andrew Mann returned to U.S. Embassy The Hague last summer as Counselor for Political and Economic Affairs for his third assignment in the Netherlands. Trained as a lawyer, Drew was an attorney in private practice in Seattle before joining the Foreign Service in 1985. He has served in several developing countries, including Mexico, India, Sri Lanka and Bosnia. He has also been involved with legal and rule of law issues throughout his career. As a Pearson Fellow, he taught international law, human rights and U.S. diplomacy at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington. Most recently, Drew spent two years in Afghanistan (from 2005 to 2007).
Lieutenant Colonel Wilfred Rietdijk
Ministry of Defense of The Netherlands
Lieutenant Colonel Wilfred Rietdijk has joined the military in 1984 as an artillery officer. He graduated from the Royal Military Academy in 1988 and followed the Dutch and German War College during his career. In 1992 and 1994 he has been involved in United Nations peace missions in Angola, Afrika. His latest assignment was Commanding Officer of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Uruzgan. Currently he is working at the Operations Directorate in the Netherlands Ministry of Defense.
Drs. Marie José Alting von Geusau
Director of the Center for International Legal Cooperation
Marie José Alting von Geusau (1959) is a historian specialized in international relations. She graduated in 1985 from Leiden University on “Reagan’s Lebanon Policy”. She started her professional career as advisor at the European Commission and the Dutch Parliament. Then she worked for several years as fundraiser at an NGO for development cooperation. Switching to the Dutch ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports she concentrated on international social policies within the European Union and worldwide. From 2000 onwards she was employed as an interim manager at several ministries, the Foundation Federation of Shelters, the Inspectorate, and the Government Buildings Agency. In 2008 Marie José Alting von Geusau took up her position as the new director of the Center for International Legal Cooperation.
Dick Scherjon
Board of Directors of Rabobank Netherlands
Dick Scherjon occupies himself with “Entrepreneurship” within Rabobank Netherlands, in the broadest sense of the word. Rabobank invests in customers, among others by making available knowledge and research, organizing gatherings, etc. In this effort, Rabobank also directs itself toward developing countries. This approach can also bear fruit for investors in (post-) conflict areas. He developed a project whereby Dutch reserve officers, who are entrepreneurs and advisors in their daily lives, provide colleagues in (post-) conflict zones (Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan) with advice. His recent initiatives are about increasing the involvement of Dutch businesses in the development of fragile states. Dick Scherjon is a reserve Colonel of the Royal Netherlands Army, and among others lector entrepreneurship at Hogeschool INHolland.
Prof. Dr. Giles Scott-Smit
Professor in International Relations
Ernst van der Beugel Chair in Diplomatic History at Leiden University
Giles Scott-Smith (1968) went to the University of Ulster in 1988 to study European and Asian Studies. After gaining his degree he undertook an MA in International Relations at Sussex University, and then moved to Lancaster University for a Ph.D. He joined the Roosevelt Study Center in Middelburg in 2002 as a post-doctoral researcher, and was given a permanent position as a full-time researcher in 2005. Since the first academic year in 2004 he has been lecturing at Roosevelt Academy. In 2009 he was appointed to the Ernst van der Beugel Chair in Diplomatic History at Leiden University. His research into Cold War history covers the role of non-state networks and non-state actors and how they have contributed, in combination with branches of the State, to the overall outlook and practice of transatlantic relations since 1945.