Stockholm - American national Bates Gill was Thursday named
new director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
(SIPRI).
The Swedish government confirmed the nomination of Gill, an expert
on China, earlier backed by the SIPRI board, research staff collegium
and staff unions.
Gill, the first American to head the institute set up 1966 by the
Swedish parliament, was due to commence his position in September.
Outgoing director Alyson J K Bailes of Britain was to take up a
post as visiting professor at the University of Iceland.
Gill said in a statement he hoped to help 'further strengthening
SIPRI's global role as a principal source of reliable, lucid, and
intelligent information, analysis, and policy guidance on issues from
nonproliferation to peacekeeping, from military spending to regional
security affairs.'
Among his prevous posts, Gill has been director of the Centre for
Northeast Asian Policy Studies, and is currently holder of the
Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Centre for Strategic and
International Studies in Washington.
After a PhD in Foreign Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson Department
of Government and Foreign Affairs, University of Virginia, Gill has
been engaged in research on arms control, nonproliferation, strategic
nuclear relations, peacekeeping, and military-technical development.
Married to virologist Sarah Palmer, he has lived in China and
Taiwan as well as France, Sweden and Switzerland and speaks, reads,
and writes in Chinese, English and French.
In February he published the book 'Rising Star: China's New
Security Diplomacy.'
SIPRI tracks military spending and conflicts, and publishes a
yearbook with data.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
USA
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