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Jamie Patrick Shea

Jamie Patrick Shea

Former NATO Official, University of Exeter, Friends of Europe, European Policy Centre

NATO, Transatlantic Relations, Strategy & Security, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cyber defence, counter-terrorism and energy security

Biography

Jamie Shea is Professor of Strategy and Security within the Strategy and Security Institute at the University of Exeter (since September 2018). He is also a Senior Fellow responsible for security and defence programmes at Friends of Europe and a Senior Advisor with the European Policy Centre.  Both of these think tanks are based in Brussels. He holds two other academic positions:  Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and Security at the Institute of European Studies, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium;  Visiting Professor, Department of Politics at the University of Surrey.

Jamie Shea also serves as Secretary General of the Global Military Advisory Council on Climate Change (GMACCC) and is an Associate Fellow of the International Security Programme at Chatham House, United Kingdom.  He is also a member of the Senior Mentors group, advising the NATO Special Operations Forces Headquarters at SHAPE, Belgium Jamie Shea was awarded a CMG in the New Year’s Honours list 2020.

From 1980 to 2018, Jamie Shea was a member of the International Staff of NATO in Brussels. His last position was Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges where he was responsible for taking NATO’s work forward in areas such as non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cyber defence, counter-terrorism and energy security.  He oversaw strategic analysis and forecasting as well as the NATO Science for Peace and Security programme, which develops and funds capacity-building, and technology projects with NATO’s partner countries across the globe. 

Jamie Patrick Shea CMG (born 11 September 1953 in London) was Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium until his retirement in late September 2018. He received worldwide attention during the 1999 Kosovo War, when he served as the spokesperson for NATO. He described the civilians killed by the NATO bombing of Serbia in the effort to prevent the Serbs from retaining Kosovo as the “cost to defeat an evil”. He received his B.A. (Hons.) in Modern History and French from the University of Sussex (1977) and his D.Phil. in Modern History from Lincoln College, Oxford (1981). Shea was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to diplomacy and public service.

Previous Positions

From 1980 to 2018, Jamie Shea was a member of the International Staff of NATO in Brussels.

His last position was Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges where he was responsible for taking NATO’s work forward in areas such as non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cyber defence, counter-terrorism and energy security.  He oversaw strategic analysis and forecasting as well as the NATO Science for Peace and Security programme, which develops and funds capacity-building, and technology projects with NATO’s partner countries across the globe.

Education

  • D.Phil. In Modern History from Oxford University (Lincoln College) 1981. 
  • Thesis: “European Intellectuals and the Great War 1914-1918”. 
  • B.A. Hons. In Modern History and French from Sussex University 1977; First Class. 

Distinctions

  • Doctor of the University (DUniv) Honoris Causa, University of Surrey, July 2018.
  • Prix de la Fondation, Crans Montana Forum, Monaco and Crans Montana, Switzerland, June 2018.
  • International Prize for Human Rights of the AAB University in Kosovo, 2016.
  • PhD Honoris Causa, National School of Political Science and Public Administration, Bucharest, Romania.
  • Golden Eagle medal, Albania.
  • NATO Meritorious Service medal.
  • Linden medal, Czech Republic.
  • 50th Anniversary Fellow, University of Sussex, United Kingdom.
  • European Communicator of the Year (PR Week) 1999.

Advisory Boards, Associations and Memberships

  • Member of the Advisory Board, Cyber Peace Institute, Geneva.
  • Advisory Council Member/Trustee, Friends of Europe, Brussels, Belgium.  From September 2018, Senior Fellow, Peace, Security and Defence.
  • Member of the Board of the Danish Defence College, Copenhagen
  • Member of the Steering Board, Three Year Project on European Security and Defence, Chatham House, United Kingdom.
  • Member of the Global Affairs Council, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland.
  • Founder and Member of Board, Security and Defence Agenda, Brussels. 
  • Member of Advisory Council, European Policy Centre, Brussels. 
  • Senior Associate Fellow, Geneva Centre for Security Policy. 
  • External Associate, Centre for Defence and Security Studies, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. 
  • Member of the Advisory Board, Centre d’Etudes et de Prospectives Stratégiques, Paris. 
  • Member of the Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels. 
  • Associate Member, Institut Royal des Relations Internationales, Brussels. 
  • Member of the Advisory Council, Académie Diplomatique Internationale, Paris. 
  • Member, Policy Forum, London. 
  • Member of Advisory Board, Centre for Defence Studies, Tallinn, Estonia. 
  • Member of the Advisory Board, LSE Ideas Transatlantic Project.
  • International Who’s Who and Debretts Directory of Public Figures. 
  • Crans Montana Forum, Monaco.  Member of the Presidium of the Club of Ports, Africa and the Middle East.

Positions within NATO

  • October 2010 – September 2018 : Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges
  • August 2005 – October 2010 : Director of Policy Planning
  • April 2003 – August 2005 : Deputy Assistant Secretary General for External Relations, Public Diplomacy Division
  • October 2000 – March 2003 : Director of Information and Press
  • 1993–2000 : Spokesman of NATO and Deputy Director of Information and Press.
  • 1991–1993 : Deputy Head and Senior Planning Officer, Policy Planning Unit and Multilateral Affairs Section of the Political Directorate, NATO. Speechwriter to the Secretary General of NATO.
  • 1988–1991 : Assistant to the Secretary General of NATO for Special Projects.
  • 1985–1988 : Head of External Relations Conferences and Seminars.
  • 1982–1985 : Head of Youth Programmes.
  • 1980–1982 : Administrator in Council Operations Section of Executive Secretariat.

Academic positions

  • As of 2006 (start dates unknown) : Professor, Collège d’Europe, Bruges, Lecturere Brussels School of International Studies, University of Kent.
  • 1993 onward : Lecturer in the European Studies Program of the University of Antwerp.
  • 1991 onward : Course instructor, Boston University, Massachusetts.
  • 1988 onward : Member of the Advisory Council, International Relations Studies and Programme of Université Libre de Bruxelles.
  • 1987–1990 : Lecturer in Defence Studies, University of Lille.
  • 1987 onward : Adjunct Associate Professor of International Relations, James Madison College, Michigan State University, Director of the Michigan State University Summer School in Brussels.
  • 1985 onward : Associate Professor of International Relations, American University, Washington, D.C.
  • 2014 onward : Honorary Fellow of the Security and Strategy Institute, University of Exeter, United Kingdom.
  • 2020 onward : President of the Center for War Studies, University of Southern Denmark.

Current and Previous External or Academic Positions

  • Member of the Planetary Security Initiative Advisory Council, sponsored by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  • Member of the Advisory Board for the United Kingdom Security and Defence Expo.
  • Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and Security, Vesalius College, Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB), Belgium.
  • Honorary Fellow of the Security and Strategy Institute of the University of Exeter, United Kingdom.
  • Senior Fellow, Centre for War Studies, University of Southern Denmark, Odense.
  • Visiting Professor, London School of Economics and Visiting Senior Fellow, LSE IDEAS (Diplomacy and Strategy).
  • Visiting Professor, National School of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest, Romania.
  • Senior Transatlantic Fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States.
  • Visiting Lecturer in international security and diplomacy, School of Global Studies, University of Sussex, United Kingdom, 2010-2013.
  • Professor, College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium, 1995-2016.
  • Lecturer, Brussels School of International Studies, University of Kent, 2003-2005. 
  • Adjunct Professor of International Relations, American University, Washington DC; Director of the Brussels Overseas Study Programme, 1985-present. 
  • Adjunct Professor of International Relations, James Madison College, Michigan State University – former Director of the MSU summer school in Brussels, Belgium,1985-2012. 
  • External Advisor and course validator, post-graduate curriculum development, University of Sussex, United Kingdom, 2008-2013. 
  • Chair of Transatlantic Programme, Royal Holloway College, University of London, United Kingdom, 2004-2008.

Other Professional and Academic Pursuits

  • Regular lecturer and conference speaker on NATO and European security affairs and on public diplomacy and political communication and lobbying. 
  • Associate Editor, Europe’s World, Brussels-based journal on international affairs. 
  • External examiner, candidates for PhD degree, London School of Economics, University of St Andrews, Department of War Studies, King’s College, University of London, University of Kent, Canterbury, and Bundeswehr University of Munich.
  • Editorial Board, Media, War and Conflict Journal, United Kingdom.