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Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Leader of the Conservative Party, Foreign Secretary, Mayor of London and is the Member of Parliament for Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
In 2019 he led the Conservative Party to an extraordinary election victory, winning their biggest majority in the House of Commons since 1987 and the highest share of the vote of any party since 1979. The result was a major realignment in British politics, with Boris Johnson’s Conservatives winning unprecedented support in areas they had never before represented.
Delivering Brexit - the UK’s exit from the European Union - was Mr Johnson’s first major achievement in Downing Street. His government shattered the political and parliamentary deadlock that crippled the process since the 2016 referendum result. Under Mr Johnson’s leadership, the UK restored sovereign control over its borders, economy and lawmaking, finally enacting the will of the British people.
At home, he unleashed a visionary agenda of domestic policy reform, with a focus on infrastructure, education and technology. He worked to ‘unite and level up’ the country, a major cross-government project to address regional economic and social disparities with his ‘levelling up’ agenda. He worked to protect the union of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and tackled unresolved challenges avoided by other administrations, such as adult social care.
When Covid-19 struck, he led the UK through the darkest days of the pandemic, at one point becoming seriously ill from the disease. He commissioned the world’s foremost scientists and industrialists to work on a UK vaccine, resulting in the discovery of the Oxford AstraZeneca jab. His government delivered the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe and the fastest booster rollout, allowing the UK economy to reopen and lifting restrictions more quickly than comparable countries. Under Mr Johnson’s leadership, the UK emerged from the global crisis as the fastest growing economy in the G7.
More recently, Mr Johnson emerged as the preeminent global leader in the effort to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian invasion. Under his leadership the UK committed more than £2.4 billion in military assistance, huge humanitarian support and became Ukraine’s foremost European political partner. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a close friend. The Kremlin said it considers Mr Johnson ‘enemy number one’.
Mr Johnson first entered Parliament in 2001 as MP for Henley. He was twice elected Mayor of London (with the biggest personal mandate ever won in British politics). As Mayor he oversaw the London 2012 Olympic Games, commissioned the new Routemaster bus, and introduced the now-ubiquitous “Boris Bike” cycle hire scheme.
After being returned to the House of Commons in 2015, Mr Johnson served as Foreign Secretary, prioritising global development work on girls’ education and female empowerment. He also led the Foreign Office response to Russia’s use of a nerve agent on the streets of the English city of Salisbury.
In addition to his work in politics, Mr Johnson is an award-winning journalist, writer and editor. He is the author of almost a dozen books, from the globally bestselling historical biography of Winston Churchill, The Churchill Factor, to the self-illustrated children’s book The Perils Of Pushy Parents. He edited the Spectator magazine for six years and has written for dozens of major publications including, most notably, London’s Daily Telegraph.
Mr Johnson, who was born in New York City, has a special affection for the United States. He was educated at Eton College and the University of Oxford, and married his wife, Carrie, in May 2021.
Dmytro Kuleba was born in 1981 in Sumy, Ukraine.
In 2003, Dmytro Kuleba graduated with honour from Institute of International Relations, Taras Shevchenko University (Kyiv,Ukraine), where he studied international law. In 2006 Mr.Kuleba obtained Ph.D. in Law.
From 2003 to 2010 he worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the OSCE.
He also worked at the office of Ukraine’s Foreign Minister from 2010 to 2013 in charge of the issues related to the image of Ukraine abroad, international organizations, relations with the United States.
During January-June 2013, Mr.Kuleba served as advisor to Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Affairs.
After quitting civil service in 2013, Dmytro Kuleba chaired the Board of the UART Foundation for Cultural Diplomacy.
In 2014 Dmytro Kuleba returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Ambassador-at-Large to launch strategic communications. He introduced the concepts of digital diplomacy, strategic communications, cultural diplomacy and public diplomacy into the Ministry’s work.
In 2016 Mr. Kuleba was appointed as Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe.
From August 2019 to March 2020 – Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine.
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine since March 04, 2020.
Dmytro Kuleba is author of a book "The War for Reality. How to Win in the World of Fakes, Truths and Communities".
Olena Zelenska has been a member of the Kvartal 95 studio team since its foundation. The studio is engaged in the production of show projects, entertainment programs, movies, series and is the most famous and the most rated in Ukraine.
Mrs. Olena is a member of the author group and participates in writing texts for all projects of the Kvartal 95 studio, worked on the concept of "Make the Comedian Laugh" program and was one of the screenwriters of “Like the Cossacks…” comedy. She is also one of the producers of "Women's Kvartal" project.
On January 13, 2020, she became a member of the Development Council of the Mystetskyi Arsenal National Art and Culture Museum Complex.
On September 11, 2020, at the initiative of the President's wife, Ukraine joined the Biarritz Partnership, undertaking commitments in the areas of gender equality and the development of barrier-free public space.
In the humanitarian sphere, Olena Zelenska takes care of sending orphans for a long-term stay abroad. The First Lady also oversees humanitarian aid to family-type orphanages, large families, and elderly people who have remained and live in the liberated territories.
To reinforce the connection with the Homeland for forcibly displaced people, the First Lady initiated the project "Books without borders". 260,000 books in Ukrainian were printed for children who left their homes due to Russian aggression and found shelter in 20 countries.
In June 2022, together with the First Lady of Latvia, she opened a joint summer camp for Ukrainian and Latvian schoolchildren on the basis of the Riga Ukrainian Secondary School. And together with the First Lady of Lithuania, she opened the first Ukrainian center in the European Union in Vilnius for citizens who were forced to leave Ukraine. It will become a place of training, career counseling, psychological help, recreation for children, youth and adults. It is also a platform for cultural diplomacy between countries.
On September 22, Olena Zelenska presented her Foundation during a charity evening in New York during the 77th UN General Assembly.
The Foundation's primary goal is to restore Ukraine's human capital so that every Ukrainian feels physically and mentally healthy, protected, and able to exercise their right to education, work, and build a future in Ukraine.
Nuseir Yassin is the Founder and CEO of - Nas Company and Nas Studios, with over 60 Million followers across the world. Nas.io and Nas Academy are housed under Nas Company with the mission to Bring People Together by building innovative education and community tools for creators.
Nuseir started out by creating of a Facebook page known as Nas Daily, where he would create and release a one-minute-long video daily for 1,000 days. After meeting Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in early 2018, Nas Daily was upgraded to "show" status, and by September 2018, his page had amassed over 8 million followers.
In 2020, Yassin created Nas Academy, a school for video creators and Nas Studios, a video-production studio. He also released a series of podcasts.
Peggy Liu, Chairperson of JUCCCE, is a leading environmentalist at the heart of the greening of China since 2007. Named the "Green Goddess of China" by Chinese press, she travels the world to consult companies and governments on how to catalyze societal-scale change, scale sustainable innovation, and collaborate with China.
Peggy keynotes around the world on lessons she learnt in tackling China's toughest environmental challenges: pollution, urbanization, epidemics, drought, obesity and diabetes.
Introduced Smart Grid to China and catalysed the revolution of electricity distribution to allow for renewable energies and energy efficiency at scale. Now China is the world leader in implementing Smart Grid innovations.
Catalysed China’s change from incandescent lighting to energy efficient lighting, the largest leverage point in saving energy. Now China is the world leader in LEDs.
Launched Food Heroes in 2013, teaching young kids and parents to eat in a way that is good for themselves and the planet. Now China's diets are incorporating more planetary friendly foods and food waste policies are strictly implemented.
Peggy is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. She was awarded the "Nobel" of climate change, the "Hillary Step". The Economist called her "one of the most innovative thinkers in Asia." Previously, she was a venture capitalist and founded one of the earliest ecommerce companies in Silicon Valley. A "Red Herring" cover story dubbed her an "Internet Pioneer". She started her career as an MIT-trained engineer and McKinsey consultant.
Mishal was a former presenter on BBC World News, spending time in Singapore and Washington as well as presenting live on location from around the world in places as far and wide as Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, China, Egypt and Norway. She has covered international summits, royal weddings, assassinations and reported from refugee camps as well as live stories documenting the deaths of Osama bin Laden and Benazir Bhutto.
She is now part of the Radio 4 Today presenting team, reads the Sunday evening bulletin on BBC1 and appears across BBC News. Her first book, The Skills: From First Job to Dream Job – What Every Woman Needs to Know was published in 2018.
H.E Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi is UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, a position he has held since July 2020. His primary responsibility is to oversee the development of non-oil foreign trade, the expansion of global trade partnerships and the increase of UAE exports.
His Excellency is currently presiding over the nation’s efforts to secure Comprehensive Economic Partnerships Agreements with strategic allies around the world, a key part of the UAE’s efforts to boost exports by at least 50 percent by 2030. In May 2022, the first of these CEPAs, and the first ever bilateral deal signed by the UAE, was concluded with long-standing trade and investment partner India.
His Excellency also leads the efforts to enhance the UAE’s investment climate and strengthen its position as a prime destination for business and investments at both regional and global levels. This includes his portfolio as Minister in Charge of Talent Attraction and Retention, in which he ensures the best global talents have the pathways, incentives and opportunities to contribute to the UAE’s long-term economic objectives.
Dr Thani serves as Vice Chairman of the Industry Development Council and Chairman of the Council’s Executive Committee, as well as Deputy Chairman of Etihad Credit Insurance’s Board of Directors. His Excellency is also a member of the Supreme Committee for the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), the decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Prior to his appointment as the Minister of State for Foreign Trade, H.E. held the position of Minister of Climate Change and Environment and supervised the implementation of the country’s strategies on climate action, agricultural development, animal husbandry and fisheries, in addition to combating desertification and preserving biodiversity. He led efforts to enhance the sustainability of natural systems, food diversity and the transition to a green economy.
His Excellency led the UAE’s efforts to mitigate and adapt to the impact of climate change, and protect the country's natural ecosystem by developing and implementing a set of effective policies and initiatives to achieve sustainable development at both regional and international levels. This was achieved by forging and strengthening partnerships with government and private sector entities, ensuring food security and biosafety in the country as well as increasing the quality of national agricultural production.
H.E. has also served as the Director of the Department of Energy and Climate Change at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and was appointed as the UAE’s Permanent Representative to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) as extraordinary Ambassador.
Minister Al Zeyoudi started his career as an oil engineer at the Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (ADMA-OPCO), and then moved to Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), where he worked on the development of renewable and clean energy technologies and solutions. He also played a key role in the success of the UAE’s 2009 campaign to host the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Abu Dhabi.
In 2020, H.E. was chosen by the Davos World Economic Forum to become a member of the Young Global Leadership Council, recognizing his outstanding international efforts in the field of environment and climate. In 2015, Dr. Al Zeyoudi received the first award for Excellence from the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf in recognition of his pioneering efforts in the field of renewable energy.
Fredrik Reinfeldt has been active in Swedish and international politics for over 25 years. As Party leader and Swedish Prime Minister, Mr Reinfeldt reinvented the Moderate Party (centre-right) and formed a four-party alliance that won two successive elections.
Today Mr Reinfeldt is active giving lectures on geopolitical situation, leadership, economy and European and Nordic politics.
In August 2019 he was appointed chair of the newly formed Centrum for AMP. Centrum for AMP is a centre of excellence in the field of activating public spaces. It´s a Swedish model of the BID-concept (Business improvement district) that successfully has been used in for example New York and London.
During the years 2016-2019 Mr Reinfeldt held the post as chair to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). The EITI is an international coalition of stakeholders working together to promote open and accountable management of natural resources.
In May 2022 Mr Reinfeldt was appointed chair of Visita. Visita represents approximately 8.000 hotels, restaurants and other enterprises in the Swedish hospitality sector.
Since May 2021 Mr Reinfeldt is chair of Drivkraft Sverige. The Swedish Industry Organisation for Sustainable and Innovative Mobility (Drivkraft Sverige) is a national industry organisation for fuel and biofuel producers and marketing companies its members. Drivkraft Sverige works actively with the change to a carbon neutral society by 2045.
Helen Brocklebank is the Chief Executive of Walpole, the industry association for the British Luxury sector. Walpole's mission is to promote, protect and develop luxury in the UK in fashion, automotive, retail, e-commerce, wines and spirits, hospitality, jewellery and watches, small leather goods, ceramics. It represents 270 British luxury brands and develops a pipeline of economic growth for the sector through its flagship programme, Brands of Tomorrow, which invests the time and talents of established luxury players into 12 fledgling brands each year. In 2020, Walpole launched the British Luxury Sustainability Manifesto, developed with McKinsey.
In addition to her role at Walpole, Helen is an Executive Member of ECCIA, the European Cultural and Creative Industries Alliance, working with sister luxury associations across Europe to ensure the legislative and regulatory framework supports and protects the business of luxury. She is also a Member of the DIT Trade Advisory Group for British Manufactured and Consumer Goods, Chair of Consumer Goods Advisory Group and is a Member of the London Philharmonic Orchestra Advisory Council and on the Duke of Edinburgh's Women in Business Committee.
Andrew Neil is a publisher, broadcaster, speaker and company chairman working out of London, New York, Dubai and the Côte d’Azur.
In March 2015 The Times said: “The ultimate test for assessing whether a party leader was fit to be Prime Minister is to put them in front of Andrew Neil for 40 minutes, the most forensic interviewer in broadcasting.”
In April 2016, a poll of UK Members of Parliament voted him the best overall political journalist in the country.
In the 2019 General Election his prime-time interviews with the party leaders were among the most talked-about broadcast events of the election, including the one Boris Johnson refused to do!
In the course of his career, he has interviewed seminal world leaders such Kofi Anan, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan; Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher and Boris Johnson; Boris Yeltsin; Nicholas Sarkozy and Valery Giscard D’Estaing; PW Botha.
In September 2020 he announced he was leaving the BBC to be Chairman and lead prime time presenter of GB News, a new news channel to be launched early 2021. He left GBN shortly after its launch in June 2021, citing irreconcilable differences about the direction of the channel with the Board and CEO.
In May 2022 he launched a new political programme, The Andrew Neil Show, for Britain’s Channel 4 Network. In the aftermath of the Queen’s death he hosted a 90-minute special prime time discussion programme for Channel 4
His final major broadcast for the BBC was to anchor BBC TV’s 10-hour global coverage (BBC1, BBC News and BBC World) of the US election results on November 3rd, as he did from Times Square in 2016.
Deborah Bonetti is the Director of the Foreign Press Association in London and the UK Correspondent for Il Giorno, an Italian national daily newspaper.
She is a member of the UK Lobby and Chair of the Foreign Lobby (the group of International Journalists who have regular briefings with departments of State and Number 10 Downing Street).
She is also an Observer on the National Committee for the Safety of Journalists (DCMS) and a Royal Commentator on various outlets, including RAI (the Italian public broadcaster).
She has co-written a book on “Boris Johnson, the Media and the Pandemic” and one on Brexit, titled: “Do They Mean us? The Foreign Correspondents’ View on Brexit”, both published by Bite-Sized Books.
