GRAHAM WATSON MEP, LEADER OF THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Graham Watson was born in Rothesay, Scotland, in March 1956, the son of a Royal Naval Officer and a teacher.  He was educated at The City of Bath Boys' School and at Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, where he gained an honours degree in Modern Languages.  He is a qualified interpreter who speaks four European languages.

From 1983 to 1987 he served as Head of the Private Office of the Rt.Hon. Sir David Steel MP, then Leader of the Liberal Party.  He had previously been active as General Secretary of the Liberal International's youth movement, and was a founder of the European Communities' Youth Forum.

Immediately before entering parliament Graham Watson worked for the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation in their London and Hong Kong offices.  His six years with HSBC encompassed a three-month stint with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.  He maintains an active interest in the Far East and is an Adviser to the Asia Pacific Public Affairs Forum.

Graham Watson was the first British Liberal Democrat ever to be elected to the European Parliament, winning the Somerset & North Devon constituency with a majority of over 22,500.  In June 1999 Graham was elected to represent the new enlarged South West of England constituency, which covers Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon and Cornwall and which he has held since then.

From 1994 to 1999, Graham was a member of the Committee for Economic & Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy and the Budgets Committee.  From July 1999 to 2002 he served as Chairman of the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs. In January 2002 Graham Watson was elected as Leader of the European Parliament’s Liberal Democrat group, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.

Graham’s publications include ‘To the Power of Ten: UK Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament’ (2000),  ‘2020 Vision: Liberalisation and Globalisation’ (2001), ‘Liberal Language’ (2003) and ‘Eu’ve got mail’ (2004).

His hobbies and leisure interests include sailing and listening to jazz music.  Graham lives with his wife and two young children (daughter born 1992 and son born 1995) in the small market town of Langport, Somerset.

MARIO TAGUIWALO, PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES, MANILA

Mario Taguiwalo is civil society. His eloquent views are sought-after in circles of Filipino thinkers, intellectuals and social movers, among idealists and realists, and above all, among those who dream, and indeed believe, in that elusive bright future for the country. Mario once served as a pubic official, having been Health Undersecretary in the Aquino Administration. He is now an independent consultant to governments and international organizations on health, education and governance issues in Vietnam, Cambodia, China and the Philippines.

That he finds himself in the company of Liberals today is another interesting detail to a life more colorful than most. Born in 1951 to public school teachers in Bacolod City, Mario was drafted into the first batch of the elite Philippine Science High School, which then accepted only 150 of the best and the brightest students in the country.

Soon after, Mario proceeded to the University of the Philippines in Diliman where the young scholar was transformed into a student activist. Joining the movement and finding himself caught up in the First Quarter Storm, Mario soon dropped out of UP and worked full-time underground, organizing peasants and youth in Western Visayas.

Like many activists of his time, Mario was arrested a few days after Martial Law was declared. Granted amnesty in 1973, he was permitted to finish college in Bacolod, where he was still under city arrest, and later returned to UP to take up his Masters in Economics.

Despite the relatively favorable turn of events, Mario was not about to give up the struggle. After Ferdinand Marcos attempted to steal the presidency following the 1986 snap elections, Mario joined the protest movement. He worked with many others who helped broadcaster June Keithley operate the renegade Radyo Bandido program that reported on the critical moments leading to the ‘86 EDSA revolution. 

BARUN MITRA, DIRECTOR OF THE LIBERTY INSTITUTE, INDIA

Barun S. Mitra (b. 1960) is a writer and commentator on public policy with a special interest in development, environment, trade and technology related issues. He has been published in a wide range of national and international newspapers and magazines including The Economic Times in India, and The Wall Street Journal. He has also contributed essays for books published by Hoover Institute at Stanford University, and others.

He has been ardent advocate of rapid economic liberalization and globalization.  He seeks to identify ways of harnessing the forces of the marketplace for the benefit of all, particularly those at the lower end of socio-economic ladder. He has been working with the farmers and other informal sector groups as natural supporters for economic liberalization.  He seeks to highlight the fundamental unity between economic market and political democracy, stemming from the basic respect for freedom of choice.

He is founder and president of the Liberty Institute (www.libertyindia.org), a non-profit, independent public policy research and educational organisation. He edited a volume "Population: The Ultimate Resource", published by Liberty Institute, which was awarded the Sir Anthony Fisher Memorial International Prize 2001, for the best book from a new think tank.  The Institute was awarded the inaugural Templeton Prize for Social Entrepreneurship 2003 for the language of liberty summer camp organised for rural youths. In recognition for his work to promote the ideals of liberty around the world, Mitra has been awarded the Freedom Torch 2004, by the International Society for Individual Liberty.