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We are pleased to announce that Amb. Charles Ray, Chair of the Africa Program and Trustee of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, will be giving a powerful keynote at the inaugural ACFR Europe International Relations Conference on July 31, 2026. This great program marks the official launch of ACFR Europe Program, the expansion of the African Council on Foreign Relations in Europe.

Charles Ray retired from the US Foreign Service in 2012 after a 30-year career. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, he spent 20 years in the US Army, retiring with the rank of Major. During his army career, he did two tours in Vietnam, served in Military Intelligence, Special Operations and Public Affairs, with assignments in Germany, Korea, Vietnam, and Panama, as well as several posts in the United States.

During his 30 years in the Foreign Service, he was posted to China, Thailand, Sierra Leona, Vietnam, Cambodia and Zimbabwe. He served as deputy chief of mission in Sierra Leone, was the first US consul general in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and served as ambassador to Cambodia and Zimbabwe. In 2005, he was diplomat in residence at the University of Houston (TX), and from 2006 to 2009 served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs and director of the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office.

Since his retirement from public service in 2012, he has been a fulltime freelance writer, lecturer and consultant, and has done extensive research on international relations, leadership and ethics. He is the author of more than 300 books of fiction and nonfiction. His book Ethical Dilemmas and the Practice of Diplomacy addresses the gray area of conflicting values in the diplomatic service. Ray is a trustee and chair of the Africa Program of the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He is a frequent contributor to online and print news media and is an avid photographer and artist whose work has appeared in a number of publications in the United States and abroad. He currently teaches three online graduate courses for Arizona State University, on the geopolitics of Africa and the Indo-Pacific and the International Affairs and Leadership program’s Capstone course.

He is a member of the American Foreign Service Association, a fellow of the American College of National Security Leaders, a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy, a member of the board of the Cold War Museum, and a member of the Association of Black American Ambassadors.

The event's attendance is by invitation only and the conference link will be shared starting next Wednesday, July 22, 2026. In the meantime, learn more about the ACFR Europe Program on our website at: https://lnkd.in/d6vEEehx