Rt. Hon. Stephen Byers
Member of Parliament, UK; Chairman of the Board of YES

Rt. Hon. Stephen Byers holds a law degree from the Liverpool Polytechnic and became a senior lecturer in law at the Newcastle Polytechnic (1977-1992). He was elected as a councillor to the North Tyneside District Council in 1980, and was its Deputy Leader from 1985 until being elected to the UK Parliament in 1992. Stephen Byers was appointed an Opposition Whip in 1994 and was made Shadow Minister for Training and Employment in 1995. His political career includes positions of Secretary of State, Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (2001-2002), Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (1998-2001), Chief Secretary of the HM Treasury (1998), and Minister of State for School Standards at the Department for Education and Employment (1997-1998).

Mario David
Vice President of the European People’s Party, Member of the Board of YES 

From 1989 at the European Parliament, Mario David has been Deputy Secretary General (1990 1994), Secretary General (until November 1996) of the Group of the European Liberal, Democratic and Reform Party (ELDR), Party of which has also been Secretary General and Member of the Presidency. The PSD joined the European People’s Party (EPP) in 1996, and Mario David has been Secretary General of the Parliamentary Group in 1997-1999. Since then and until April 2002 was Special Adviser for the Enlargement of the EU of the Group. His career also includes positions of a Senior Political Adviser to the Portuguese Prime Minister (2002-2004), the Coordinator of the Cabinet of Dr. José Manuel Durão Barroso on his election as President of the European Commission (2004), and the Secretary of State for European Affairs of the XVI Portuguese Constitutional Government. Currently Mario David is Member of Parliament, serving in two Committees: European Affairs (PSD’s Spokesman) and Foreign Affairs, Chairman of the Parliamentary Friendship Group Portugal-Ukraine; Chairman of the Parliamentary Friendship Group Portugal-Russia; Deputy-Chairman of the Parliamentary Friendship Group Portugal-China. He is also European People’s Party Vice-President for the term 2006-2009, responsible for “Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy”. Member of the National Council and President of the International Relations Committee of the PSD (Social Democratic Party of Portugal). Deputy Secretary General of the Centre Democrats International – CDI.

Victor Pinchuk
Founder and Member of the Board of YES 

Mr. Pinchuk received a degree in metal forming from the Dnipropetrovs'k Metallurgical Institute and earned a PhD in new technological schemes of pipe production. He founded the Interpipe company in 1990 on the basis of implementation of patented innovations, successfully adopted by leading metallurgical factories in the USSR. In 2004, Interpipe became the first Ukrainian company member of the World Economic Forum. Mr. Pinchuk served as a Member of Parliament (1998-2006) but left politics since he believes Ukraine has reached a level of development when business and politics should be separated. For more than ten years he has been developing and supporting a number of philanthropic projects in Ukraine, and in 2006, he consolidated these activities under the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, currently the largest private Ukrainian philanthropic foundation. Its projects include the creation of a network of modern neonatal centres throughout Ukraine, cooperation programs with the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative, the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the ANTIAIDS Foundation of his wife Elena Franchuk, the creation of the Kyiv School of Economics, cooperation with the Aspen Institute, the opening of the first large scale contemporary art centre in Ukraine PinchukArtCentre, the production and promotion of a film with Steven Spielberg on the Holocaust in Ukraine, human rights projects with George Soros and support of local Jewish communities. In 2004, he created the Yalta European Strategy (YES). Its annual summer meeting in Yalta has become the main high-level Ukraine-EU forum for debate and policy recommendations development. Mr. Pinchuk serves as a member of the Board of the International Crisis Group (ICG), a member of the Board of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a member of the International Advisory Council of Brookings Institution and a member of the Corporate Advisory Board of the Global Business Coalition against HIV/AIDS. 

Marek Siwiec
Vice President of the European Parliament, Member of the Board of YES 
Mr. Siwiec received a degree of Master of Engineering at University of Mining and Metallurgy in Kraków (1980). He also took post-graduate study in journalism at the Academy of Social Sciences - Centre for Education of the Foreign Service (1989). He was elected a Member of Parliament of the Polish Republic (1991-1997) and was the spokesman for the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) Parliamentary Party (1993). Mr. Siwiec was also a Member of the National Council for Radio and Television (1993-1996), Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (1993-1996) and the Secretary of State at the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland (1996-2004). He also served as the Chief of the National Security Office, Vice-Chairman of the Consultative Committee of the Presidents of Poland and Ukraine (1997-2004) and the Secretary of the National Security Council (2000-2004). He is a Member of the National Administration of the SLD and Head of the national delegation to the PSE in the EP, Member of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, member of the Delegation to the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Cooperation Committee. 

Aleksander Kwasniewski
President of Poland (1995-2005), Member of the Board of YES 

From 1985 to 1987, Minister for Youth Affairs in the Zbigniew Messner government, and then Chairman of the Committee for Youth and Physical Culture till June 1990. A member of the Mieczyslaw Rakowski government, then a cabinet minister and Chairman of the government Social-Political Committee from October 1988 to September 1989. A participant at the Round-Table negotiations, co-chairing with Tadeusz Mazowiecki and Romuald Sosnowski the task group for trade union pluralism. A member of the Polish United Workers' Party from 1977 to 1990. A co-founding member of the Social Democratic Party of the Republic of Poland from January to February 1990, and its first chairman till December 1995. One of the founding members of the Democratic Left Alliance in 1991. A sports activist in the Student Sports Union from 1975 to 1979 and the Polish Olympic Committee (PKOL). PKOL president from 1988 to 1991. Distinguished with the Golden Olympic Order of the International Olympic Committee in 1998 and the Golden Order of Merit of the International Amateur Athletic Federation in 1999, and in 2000 Order of Merit EOC (European Olympic Committee). 

Running for the Sejm (lower house of Parliament) from the Warsaw constituency, he won the largest number of votes, 148,533 to be exact. Leader of the parliamentary caucus of the Democratic Left Alliance in the first and second term (1991-1995). A member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and chairman of the Constitutional Committee of the National Assembly from November 1993 to November 1995. 

Aleksander Kwasniewski won the presidential elections for the first time in 1995 on the election campaign slogans: "Let's choose the future" and "Common Poland," collecting 51.7 percent of votes, against 48.3 percent cast on Lech Walesa. In a year 2000 he won again collecting 53,9% of votes in the first run. His election campaign slogan was: "The home of all - Poland". Sworn into office on December 23rd, 1995, as President of the Republic of Poland. On the same day, President Kwasniewski took an oath as Superior of the Armed Forces at the First Fighter Wing, "Warszawa", in Minsk Mazowiecki. On December 23rd, 2000 he took his office for the second term. 

A co-author of the Constitution draft and a mover of the referendum campaign in favour of passing the Constitution of the Third Republic of Poland, which he signed into law on July 16th, 1997. In 1996, President Kwasniewski submitted the draft of a convention on fighting organised crime to the UN. Took an active part in the efforts to see Poland in NATO. Head of Poland's delegation at the Madrid and Washington summits in 1997 and 1999 respectively. On February 26th, 1999, he signed the instruments ratifying Poland's membership of NATO (during a joint ceremony with the President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel). He also took active part in further enlargement of an Alliance supporting invitation for seven new states (NATO Summit 2002 in Prague) and the 'open door' policy. Following the September 11th 2001 events upon his initiative and within antiterrorist coalition there was an international conference organized in Warsaw with participation of leaders from Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe to strengthen regional activities in combating international terrorism. An advocate of regional cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe. Host of the meeting of the Presidents from the region at Lancut in 1996. An active participant at such meetings in Portoroz in 1997, Levoczy in 1998, Lvov in 1999. Jointly with Lithuania's President, the driving force behind the meeting "Coexistence of Nations and Good-Neighbourly Relations: the Guarantee of Security and Stability in Europe," held in Vilnius in 1997 and the follow-up conference "Baltic-Black Sea Cooperation: Towards the Integrated Europe of the 21st Century Free of Dividing Lines," held in Yalta in 1999. Author of the 'Riga Initiative' (2002) - a forum for cooperation of Central Europe states towards further enlargement of NATO and the European Union.

Alexander Rahr
Program Director, Russia/Eurasia, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), Berlin, Member of the Board of YES 

M.A. from Munich State University (1988) in East European History, Modern History, Political Science. Career: Researcher Analyst, Senior Researcher Analyst, Research Institute of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Munich (1982-1994); Project Leader, long term study on Soviet elite, Federal Institute for East European and International Studies, Cologne (1977-1986); Political Consultant, Rand Corporation, Santa Monica (1986-1991); Researcher Analyst, Research Institute of the German Council on Foreign Relations, Bonn (1994-1995); Head, Program Director, Russia/Eurasia, German Council on Foreign Relations, (1995- ). Other affiliations, posts: Fellowship, USSR parliament, Moscow (1990); Fellowship, Institute for East-West Security Studies, New York (1990-1991); Regular commentator for Deutsche Welle, Radio Liberty, BBC; Consultant to the General Secretary of the Council of Europe (1993-98); Anchorman, TV-Program “Europe today”, Deutsche Welle (1999-2000); Coordinator, Russia-EU Forum for foreign and security policy (initiated by the EU Commission, now in cooperation with the Russian Presidential Administration) (1999- ); Member, Editorial Board, journal “Vestnik analitiki”, Moscow (2002- ); Member, Steering Committee, Petersburg Dialogue (2003- ); Honorary Professorship, Moscow State Institute for International Relations (MGIMO) (2003- ); Head, Working Group on Kaliningrad, German Council on Foreign Relations (2002- ). Awards: Federal Merit Cross (2003), Lomonosov Medal (2005). Books: Biographical books in German: „Gorbatschow. Der neue Mann“, Muenchen 1987 (2nd edition); „Wladimir Putin. Der Deutsche im Kreml“, Muenchen 2000 (3rd edition, 2002). Experience: Leading expert on the post-soviet region in Germany; extensive network building in Russia and other CIS countries; organization of regular international conferences and seminars with high-level politicians from Russia, Germany, EU; monitoring and analyzing of situation in post-soviet space; extensive travels into countries of the post-soviet space; high-level contacts up to presidential levels, long year experience of cooperation with local politicians, scientists, analysts, journalists. 

Stephane Fouks
Executive Chairman of Euro RSCG Worldwide, Managing Director of HAVAS, Member of the Board of YES 

Stephane has entered the Group Euro RSCG Worldwide in 1988, to co-found “RSCG Public» a Corporate Communication agency. He has developed this agency that has since then become Euro RSCG C & O, and conquered the place of first French Corporate & Financial Communication agency. In 2003, he becomes Chief Executive Officer France of Euro RSCG Worldwide and, in 2005, Executive Co-Chairman. Stephane is also an international political advisor. He has, for example, been an advisor to the Polish President (Aleksander Kwaśniewski (1995 - 2005)), and to the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak. Stephane frequently gives speeches during seminars. He has recently spoken for the French American Foundation, in the prestigious American University of Princeton and during the Young Leaders convention in New York. Stephane has a Master degree in Public Law (University Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne), a DESS (degree awarded after a five-year course of study) in Political and Social Communication (Paris I), has studied at the IEP (Political sciences), Former principal private secretary of Michel Rocard, Minister of Agriculture (1984-85) and finally, was appointed “Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite” (May 12th 1999).



Jean-Pierre Saltiel 
Former President of Rothschild Conseil International, Member of the Board of YES 
Jean-Pierre Saltiel was educated in Paris at the Sorbonne University at the Faculty of Law and Economics, l'Institue d'Etudes Politiques, School of Oriental Languages. He received his Ph.D. in Economic history  and also studied as "Aspirant" at the Moscow State University (MGU). Jean-Pierre Saltiel served at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France. He was also the Deputy Director of the Credit Industriel et Commercial, the Partner at maison Lazard et Cre, Paris, and President of the Rothschild Conseil International (1999-2004), France. Jean-Pierre Saltiel has been a member of the Board of YES since 2004, and co-Chairman of the YES Ukrainian Economic Advisory Council since 2007.