James Appathurai

Spokesman, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

 

You are Canadian by birth and finished your university education in Toronto in 1991, before moving to Europe to do a Masters of International Relations in Amsterdam. How was your first experience of Europe?

It was not my first stay. In fact, my family had a strong connection to Europe. We lived in the UK for 18 months when I was seven or eight, my sisters both married French men and we all lived in Aix-en-Provence together for a year and a half before my trip to Amsterdam. So we are Europhiles. Looking back, I would say that Amsterdam was a wonderful time, and very eye-opening for a Canadian. The cultures are very different, the city is very international and I had the real advantage of having a nice Dutch girlfriend whose family welcomed me into their circle. I got a true vision of Dutch life and have been a Dutchophile ever since.

James Appathurai

James Appathurai has been NATO’s spokesman since 2004. Prior to that he was Deputy Head and Senior Planning Officer Policy Planning and Speechwriting at NATO’s Section Political Affairs Division. Before joining the organisation he worked as a Policy Officer in the Canadian Department of National Defence in Ottawa and as an Editorial Assistant for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Toronto. He has published articles and book chapters on security issues including NATO, peacekeeping, Euro-Atlantic and regional security cooperation.