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21. Interview with Ambassador Richard Holbrooke

Author:
Nermeen Shaikh
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
Ambassador Richard Holbrooke is vice chairman of Perseus LLC, a leading private equity firm. He is the former US ambassador to the UN and was the chief architect of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement (which ended the war in Bosnia). He is the chairman of the Asia Society, chairman of the American Academy in Berlin, and president and CEO of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS.
Topic:
International Relations, Peace Studies, and United Nations
Political Geography:
America, Bosnia, Asia, and Berlin

22. Interview with Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary General of UNCTAD, and former Director General of the WTO

Author:
Nermeen Shaikh
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi is the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). He previously served as Director-General of the World Trade Organization (September 2002 to August 2005).
Topic:
Development, Economics, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Asia

23. Interview with Shashi Tharoor, UN Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information

Author:
Nermeen Shaikh
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
Well it all depends, of course, on how people react to internal experience. I obviously see this as a major asset because I spent 28 years in the United Nations system in a wide variety of activities. I have worked for refugees and humanitarian operations, as well as in peacekeeping at the end of the Cold War; in the Secretary-General's own office, where I've seen his work at close quarters, and then in the management of a rather large department which I have essentially been able to reform.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Diplomacy, and United Nations

24. Interview with South Korean Foreign Minister and UN Secretary General-designate Ban Ki-moon

Author:
Nermeen Shaikh
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon is presently the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea. His election as new UN Secretary-General seems certain following the decision by all the other candidates to withdraw from the race. This interview with AsiaSource was conducted by Nermeen Shaikh on September 26th, while Foreign Minister Ban was in New York for the UN General Assemby session. The Foreign Minister also delivered a speech to the Asia Society the previous day, "The Quest for Peace and Prosperity in the Asia-Pacific and Beyond".
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and United Nations
Political Geography:
New York, Asia, and South Korea

25. AsiaSource Interview with Karim Sadjadpour on Iran's Nuclear Aspirations

Author:
Nermeen Shaikh
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
In this interview, Karim Sadjadpour, the International Crisis Group's Iran analyst, discusses the possible outcome of the present impasse between the United States and Iran on the latter's nuclear aspirations. Mr Sadjadpour has written on Iranian society and politics, Iran's nuclear program, Iran-Iraq relations, and U.S.-Iran relations. He is a regular contributor to BBC World and National Public Radio, and has also published pieces in the Washington Post, International Herald Tribune, New Republic, and others. This interview was conducted the day after the Asia Society event "Understanding Iran's Nuclear Aspirations: Pragmatism or Brinkmanship?" on March 28, 2006.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:
United States, Iran, and Middle East

26. Torben Gettermann on the Danish Cartoon Controversy

Author:
Nermeen Shaikh
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
In this interview, Torben Gettermann, the Consul General of Denmark to New York, discusses the controversy over the publication of cartoons depicting caricatures of Prophet Mohammad in the Danish Jyllands-Posten. Mr Gettermann entered the Danish Foreign Service in 1980. He has had postings in Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Hungary, among others. Prior to arriving in New York in September 2005, Mr Gettermann served as Denmark's Ambassador in Baghdad, Iraq. This interview was conducted prior to the Asia Society event Not a Laughing Matter: Behind the Danish Cartoon Controversy on March 22, 2006.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Diplomacy
Political Geography:
New York and Europe

27. José Ramos-Horta on Reconciliation in East Timor

Author:
Nermeen Shaikh
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
José Ramos-Horta, the Foreign Minister of East Timor, was a leading figure in the country's liberation movement. Mr Ramos-Horta lived in exile for the duration of the Indonesian occupation, during which time he also served as the Permanent Representative to the UN of the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin). In 1996, Mr Ramos-Horta was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with his compatriot, Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo. In granting the prize, the Nobel Committee highlighted their 'sustained efforts to hinder the oppression of a small people', hoping that 'this award will spur efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict of East Timor based on the people's right to self- determination." The Committee considers José Ramos Horta "the leading international spokesman for East Timor's cause since 1975." Mr Ramos-Horta has been foreign minister since East Timor's independence in 2002
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Diplomacy
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia

28. A Conversation with Henry Kissinger

Author:
Nermeen Shaikh
Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
Henry Kissinger was US Secretary of State from 1973 to 1977. He served as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs from 1969 to 1975. In July 1983 he was appointed by President Reagan to chair the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America until it ceased operation in January 1985, and from 1984-1990 he served as a member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. From 1986-1988 he was a member of the Commission on Integrated Long-Term Strategy of the National Security Council and Defense Department. Among the awards Dr. Kissinger has received have been the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973; the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the nation's highest civilian award) in 1977; and the Medal of Liberty (given one time to ten foreign-born American leaders) in 1986. Dr. Kissinger was born in Germany and came to the United States in 1938 and was naturalized a US citizen in 1943. He served in the army from 1943 to 1946. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1950 and received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University in 1952 and 1954. At present, Dr. Kissinger is Chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc., an international consulting firm. This interview with AsiaSource was conducted by Nermeen Shaikh prior to the Asia Society 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner of which Dr. Kissinger was an honorary chairman.
Topic:
International Relations, Government, and National Security
Political Geography:
United States, America, and Central America

29. Isher Ahluwalia on India in the Global Economy

Author:
Nermeen Shaikh
Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
Isher Ahluwalia is currently the Vice Chairperson of the Planning Board of the Government of Punjab, India and Member of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council, Government of India. Dr. Ahluwalia is also Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), a research institute based in New Delhi. She had earlier served as ICRIER's Director and Chief Executive from 1997-2001. Dr. Ahluwalia was a Visiting Professor at the School of Public Affairs, University of Maryland--College Park in 2002 and 2003. She received her B.A. from Presidency College at Calcutta University, her M.A. from the Delhi School of Economics, and her Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, all in economics. This interview with AsiaSource was conducted on February 2nd, 2006, while Dr. Ahluwalia was in New York for the Asia Society panel discussion on Encyclopedic India: Ancient Cultures and New Opportunities.
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, and Globalization
Political Geography:
New York, India, Asia, New Delhi, Punjab, and Calcutta

30. Interview with Sam Brownback

Author:
Nermeen Shaikh
Publication Date:
05-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
Sam Brownback was born in Kansas on September 12, 1956. He studied Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University, where he was elected student body president, and went on to earn a law degree from the University of Kansas. He was chosen as the youngest Secretary of Agriculture in Kansas state history in 1986. He also served for one year as a White House Fellow in the Office of the US Trade Representative. Brownback was elected to the US Congress in 1994, representing the Second District of Kansas. He was elected to a full six-year term in 1998 and was re-elected to a second six-year term in November 2004. Brownback is the chairman of the Helsinki Commission. He also chairs the Values Action Team, co-chairs the Senate Cancer Coalition, and is a member of both the Army and Air Force Caucuses. This interview was conducted following the Asia Society Luncheon program with Senator Sam Brownback on May 8, 2006. You have taken an active interest in the situation in Darfur, Sudan, North Korea and in the Middle East, to name only a few. Can you briefly outline what you think are the most pressing foreign policy issues confronting the United States at this time? It's probably the lead ones now: Iran. If you're just looking at straight foreign policy issues, I think, with Iran being the lead sponsor of terrorism around the world and with US foreign policy just being formulated at this point in time. It's tied in intimately with the global war on terrorism, which has been, for us to date, a sequential war. It's been Afghanistan, then Iraq and now you're seeing really the focus step up on Iran. That's probably, if you're looking at the most pressing issues, I think that's it for us today.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States, Iran, and Middle East