Pugwash elects new President

21 May 2024  

The Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs is proud to announce that Dr. Hussain Al-Shahristani has become its new President. He succeeds Sergio Duarte, who after almost seven years in the role announced his retirement.

Dr. Al-Shahristani is a scientist, scholar, and statesman from Iraq. He obtained his Ph.D. in nuclear chemistry. In 1979 he was imprisoned in Abu Ghraib prison for eleven years after refusing to collaborate on a nuclear weapon for Iraq. After escaping to Iran during the first Gulf War, he returned to Iraq in 2005, becoming first vice-president of the transitional National Assembly. From 2006 to 2016, Dr Al-Shahristani served in government as Minister of Oil (2006-2010), Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs (2010-2014), Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs (2014), and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research (2014-16).

He has participated in over a dozen Pugwash meetings and conferences, including delivering the Dorothy Hodgkin Memorial Lecture at the 2004 Seoul conference, the keynote at the 20^th anniversary of the Pugwash/Rotblat Nobel Peace Prize, as well as plenary presentations at the 2011 Berlin conference and 2017 Astana conference. In 2012, Hussain Al-Shahristani was awarded the Freedom from Fear Award by Roosevelt Foundation.

Welcoming the appointment, Chair of the Pugwash Council, Dr. Karen Hallberg, said, “the Pugwash Council is delighted that Dr Al-Shahristani accepts our offer to become Pugwash President. We recognize an eminent scientist whose courageous stance against nuclear weapons and his scientific approach to policymaking represent the core values of the Pugwash Conferences, inspired by similar actions taken by one of our founders, Prof. Joseph Rotblat. We also sincerely thank our colleague and friend, Sergio Duarte, for his steadfast and energetic contributions to the goals of Pugwash since his election in 2017 and wish him all the best.”

Secretary General of Pugwash, Paolo Cotta Ramusino, emphasized that “Hussain Al-Shahristani is an extraordinary man who paid the price for his moral stance against nuclear weapons. His courage and knowledge make him a formidable asset for Pugwash, and we all look forward to working with him in the coming years to pursue our objectives.”