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François Heisbourg
Special advisor, Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique
François Heisbourg’s long and distinguished career began as a member of the French foreign ministry’s policy planning staff in charge of nuclear non-proliferation issues in 1978-79. He then acted as First Secretary at the French Permanent Mission to the UN (New York), dealing with international security and disarmament issues until 1981. From 1981 to 1984, he was the International Security Advisor to the French Minister of Defense as well as a founding member of the French-German Commission on Security and Defense. From 1984 to 1987, Mr. Heisbourg was Vice President of Thomson-CSF, in charge of European and Euro-American cooperation, and in 1987 he took over the Directorship of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London. From 1992 to 1998, he was Senior Vice President of Strategic Development at Matra Défense Espace and was subsequently made Director of the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique in Paris. Mr. Heisbourg’s professional affiliations include: Chairman of the IISS Council; Advisor to the French Foreign Ministry Planning Staff; Board member of the Aspen Institute in Berlin and Member of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce. Mr. Heisbourg has contributed numerous articles and interviews to the academic and general media. His books, in both English and French, include La Puce, les Hommes et la Bombe (1986) with Pascal Boniface, The Future of Warfare (1997), European Defense: Making It Work (2000), Hyperterrorisme : La nouvelle guerre (2001), L’épaisseur du Monde (2007), Iran, le choix des armes (2007) and Après Al Qaida : la nouvelle generation du terrorisme (2009). His most recent book, Vainqueurs et vaincus : Lendemains de crise, was released in February 2010.