The Atlantic Council today announced that J. Peter Pham had been named as director of the Michael S. Ansari Africa Center, where he will oversee the Council’s expanding work on African political, security and economic issues.

The Atlantic Council today announced it will host its Annual Awards Dinner with a keynote address by Vice President Joe Biden and presentation of its annual Distinguished Leadership Awards, the organization’s highest honor to one of the world’s pre-eminent business executives; NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander; and a world-renowned tenor and conductor.

Senator John McCain and Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski will deliver the Atlantic Council's second annual Geremek Lecture on March 1st.

The Atlantic Council is pleased to announce that former National Security Advisor General James L. Jones has rejoined its Board of Directors, which he chaired from June 2007 until joining the Obama administration on January 20, 2009.

The Atlantic Council has appointed Zeynep Dereli as Director of the Black Sea Energy and Economic Forum. In this position, Ms. Dereli will manage and develop the Black Sea Forum, broadening and deepening this Council initiative that made great progress in Bucharest in 2009 and Istanbul in 2010 toward strengthening energy, economic and political dialogue among the Black Sea and adjacent states.

Former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and Atlantic Council Board Director Marc Grossman encourages the Obama Administration to view the bureaucratic challenge of managing the upcoming NATO, U.S.-EU and OSCE summits as an opportunity to create a more coherent, strategic transatlantic relationship that maximizes the capabilities of all three organizations.

In celebration of Solidarity’s 30th Anniversary, the Atlantic Council Freedom Awards ceremony in WrocÅ‚aw honors Solana, Buzek, KwaÅ›niewski and the Ladies in White on October 7.

At the Annual Board Dinner held Thursday evening, the Atlantic Council Board of Directors officially ratified 18 new Directors.  Nominated by Board Directors and carefully chosen by the Atlantic Council Nominating and Governance and Executive Committees, each new member has a proven track record of deep commitment to the trans-Atlantic community and demonstrated excellence and service in their field.

Public confidence in the running of financial institutions will not be restored without major reform to the way their boards operate. This is a key point in Issues Concerning Effective Corporate Governance, a statement published today by the British-North American Committee (BNAC), which last year was an outspoken early advocate of the need for the respective countries to review their mounting public sector pension liabilities.

Today, the Atlantic Council's International Security Program released new issue briefs examining two key points in the current cyber defense and security debate: the need for an integrated governmental approach and for consensus on the fundamental strategic assumptions.