US national named as new director of peace research institute SIPRI

Mar 15, 2007, 14:43 GMT

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.