Professor Abe is the Director of the Center for the Promotion of Disarmament and Non-Proliferation at the Japan Institute of International Affairs. He also serves on the U.N. Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, the United Nations University Council, and the Board of the World Institute for Nuclear Security. Previously, he served as the U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs from 2003 to 2006, and was on the Advisory Board of the International Commission on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament between 2008 and 2010. During his distinguished career he also served as Ambassador of Japan to the IAEA and other international organization, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland as well as Director-General for Arms Control and Science Affairs at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He graduated from Amherst College in 1969, and was an International Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University, between 1986 and 1987.