2019 Distinguished Speakers

H.E. Thamir Al-Ghadhban

Minister of Oil and Deputy Prime Minister for Energy

Federal Government of Iraq

Mr Thamir Abbas Al-Ghadhban is a former Iraq Oil Minister and currently the Energy Adviser to the Prime Minister of Iraq. In recent years, Mr Al-Ghadhban served as a member of the National Assembly in Iraq and was a member of the committee tasked with drafting the new constitution for Iraq. He served as Chairman of the Advisory Committee for the Prime Minister between 2007 and 2015.

Mr Al-Ghadhban represented Iraq on the Executive Bureau of OAPEC, led Iraq’s post-war delegation to the OPEC ministerial meeting in 2004, was awarded OAPEC Scientific Prize in 2000 and is a three-time holder of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil Scientific Award for Excellence. His career in Iraq’s oil sector spans over three decades, where he started in the field as a petroleum engineer, then being appointed to the Ministry of Oil headquarters as Director General of Reservoir and Field Development, and later Director General for Planning before becoming Minister of Oil. He played a leading role in rehabilitating the severely damaged oil industry after the fall of the regime in 2003.

Mr Al-Ghadhban has been a frequent lecturer and keynote speaker at international conferences and seminars on the state of the global oil industry and particularly on the role of Iraq in the global energy sector. In May 2016, Mr Al-Ghadhban was awarded the "Order of the Rising Sun, Golden and Silver Star" from the Emperor of Japan for his outstanding contribution to enhancing economic relations and promoting friendship between Iraq and Japan. In April 2017, Mr Al-Ghadhban was awarded the award of Iraq Energy Forum 2017 for his significant contribution to the development of Iraq's Energy Sector.

Ambassador Jonathan Paul Wilks CMG

Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Iraq

Baghdad

Chairman: Ambassador Ramon Blecua

Ambassador / Head of Delegation

Delegation of the European Union to Iraq

Ambassador Ramon Blecua has held several postings in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassies of Spain in Ghana, Indonesia, Egypt and Guatemala from 1988 to 1996. He was Spanish Representative to the Palestinian/Israeli peace negotiations in Cairo from 1992 to 1995. He participated in the International Commission Security Sector Reform of Guatemala as Cooperation Aid Coordinator for implementation of the peace agreements.

In 1997, he was appointed Head of Office of the Director of the Institute for Cooperation with Latin America in the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Adviser of the Deputy Minister for International Cooperation and Latin America. Subsequent postings include Chief of Cabinet of the Director of the Cervantes Institute, Deputy Head of Mission in Teheran, Deputy Consul General in Buenos Aires and Cultural Counsellor in Cairo. He was Adviser for the International Centre Oscar Niemeyer in Aviles for Cultural Diplomacy Projects, Deputy Head of Mission in the Spanish Embassy in New Delhi from 2011 to 2014 and since 2014 Head of Political Section of the EU Delegation in Sana.

He has been invited to lecture by International IDEA, the Latin American Centre of Administration for Development, Argentinian Centre for Foreign Relations, Aspen Institute, universities and research centres on issues of international cooperation, democratic governance and international relations. Ambassador Blecua Casas holds a M.A in history from Madrid Complutense University, and has studied international cooperation, foreign relations and cultural management. He has also published articles and essays on international relations, development cooperation and cultural diplomacy. He speaks English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Persian and Arabic.

H.E. Kameran Ali Hasan

Deputy Minister of Environment

Ministry of Environment, Federal Government of Iraq

Dr Kameran Ali Hasan holds a Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in Law, as well as a Master of Business Administration from Jules Vernier-Picardy University, France. He also holds a PhD in Management of Institutions.

Dr Kameran has experience in the management of government institutions and the development of annual budgets of ministries and how to implement them and the development of public administrative policies and deal with the challenges facing the implementation of these policies. He has also held the following positions: Director General of Planning in the Ministry of Health in the Kurdistan Region and Director General of Social Welfare Director of Relief and Reconstruction Organisation funded by the United Nations.

Sir John Jenkins KCMG LVO

British Former Ambassador to Iraq & KSA

United Kingdom

Dr Falah Al Amri

Minister’s Advisor for Oil & Gas Supply Affairs

Federal Ministry of Oil, Federal Government of Iraq

Nafaa Abdulsada Ali Al-Hmidawi

Senior Deputy Minister

Ministry of Electricity, Federal Government of Iraq

Mr Al-Hmidawi holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering  and attended a number of courses related to power and energy both in Iraq and abroad, the last in 2016 is the United States program (IVLP) entitled “Increasing Energy Efficiency”.

He has held several posts including Director of the Rusafa operation department, Director of the control and communications department, Assistant General Manager of Baghdad Distribution, Director General of Baghdad Electricity Distribution, Director General of the Energy Distribution Office, and is currently Director General of the Training and Development Office.

Ihsan Abduljabbar Ismaael Al – Saade

Director General of the Basra Oil Company

Ministry of Oil, Federal Government of Iraq

Michael Townshend

Regional President

BP Middle East

Majid Jaffar

CEO

Crescent Petroleum

Clarisse Pasztory

Head of Office, EU Liaison Office Erbil

Delegation Iraq

Gati Saadi Al-Jebouri

Managing Director

LUKOIL Mid-East Limited

Mr Al-Jebouri is the Representative of PJSC LUKOIL President for Iraq and Arab Gulf States and Managing Director of LUKOIL Mid East Ltd. Prior to joining LUKOIL Europe Holdings Ltd as Director of Investments and Finance in 1998, he worked at KPMG, first as Manager of the London office and later on as Head of Audit and Accounting for KPMG in Bulgaria.

In 2001 Mr Al-Jebouri was appointed Deputy Minister of Energy of Bulgaria and in 2002 became First Deputy Minister of Finance. In 2003-2010 he worked at LITASCO (LUKOIL International Trading and Supply Company) as a Chief Financial Officer and later as a Chief Executive Officer. In 2010 he became Executive Director for Finance and Marketing of the Operator of West Qurna-2 Project in Iraq and in 2016 Vice President of PJSC LUKOIL and Head of LUKOIL Middle East and North Africa upstream operations. Since 2017 Mr Al-Jebouri is the Representative of PJSC LUKOIL President for Iraq and Arab Gulf States and Managing Director of LUKOIL Mid East Ltd.

Mr  Al-Jebouri received the Certificate of Honor from PJSC LUKOIL in 2007 and the Letter of Appreciation from the President of PJSC LUKOIL in 2014. He is a Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) and holds a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Bristol.

MP Dr Beriwan Khailani

Advisor to the Iraqi Minister of Higher Education

Federal Government of Iraq

Nisar Talabany

Former Advisor to KR Prime Minister

Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Nisar Talabany is a Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government; she is also the Head of the Office of Governance and Integrity. Nisar began her career with the KRG in 2005 as the Director of Communications for the KRG-UK representative office, and in 2006 she returned to Kurdistan to help establish the KRG's Department of Foreign Relations as the Assistant Director.

Nisar holds a Masters degree in Pharmacy from the University of Brighton, UK, and a Masters in Diplomacy & International Studies from SOAS, University of London. Her main area of focus is on good governance, health, and economic and social reforms. She is fluent in English, Arabic, and Kurdish, and regularly participates as a guest speaker in international conferences related to good governance and transparency.

Before her career with the KRG, Nisar was a qualified Pharmacist in the UK, with an interest in health sector reforms throughout Kurdistan. In her capacity as a KRG employee, she has assisted in various public health management projects.

Dr Jehan Baban

President

Iraqi Environment and Health Society-UK