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Ambassador James “Jim” S. Gilmore III Former U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Former U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) – topic: Ukraine and Geopolitics

Virginia's 68th GovernorAmbassador James “Jim” S. Gilmore III Former U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Jim Gilmore grew up in the Fan District of Richmond, Virginia, and in 1971, he enlisted as a volunteer in the U.S. Army after college and worked as a counter-intelligence agent in then-West Germany after intensive language training in German, in which he became fluent. Gilmore graduated from the University of Virginia (UVA) and earned a B.A. degree in International Relations, Russian Area Studies (1971). He then earned his law degree at the UVA School of Law (1977). He practiced law until 1987 when he was elected as chief prosecutor for Henrico County.

In 1993 he was elected Attorney General of Virginia. In 1997 he was elected as Virginia's 68th Governor. As Governor, his administration established the first Secretary of Technology cabinet position in the nation. He led extensive work in economic development including trade missions to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Mr. Gilmore traveled to Ukraine in May 2021 and headed up a delegation. He met with numerous Ukrainian cabinet and national security officials. Today he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has lectured at the Potomac Institute on homeland security and terrorism issues. From 1999 to 2003, Gilmore served as Chairman of the Congressional panel known as the “Gilmore Commission” to assess America’s capabilities to respond to a terrorist attack.