Dr Alison Weston

Dr Weston is Senior Coordinator for Maritime Security and Deputy to the Director for Security and Defence Policy in the European External Action Service. She is responsible for policy development and coordination on maritime security, as well as for the implementation of the political aspects of the EU Coordinated Maritime Presences concept in the Gulf of Guinea and the North West Indian Ocean. She leads the EEAS contribution to the implementation of the EU’s updated Maritime Security Strategy, adopted in October 2023. Prior to this, Dr Weston has held a range of posts in the EU’s security and defence policy structures. She has extensive experience of the EU’s crisis management structures, both civilian and military, and been involved in the planning and conduct of many of the EU’s civilian crisis management missions in the Western Balkans, Southern Caucasus, Middle East, and Asia. In 2008-2010, she served as Chief of Staff in the International Civilian Office/ Office of the EU Special Representative in Kosovo, led by Pieter Feith. In 2018-19, she was seconded to the European Commission in the framework of the Security Union Task Force, under the leadership of Commissioner King. Dr Weston holds a doctorate in Political and Social Science from the European University Institute in Florence and is a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe, where she teaches a Seminar on European security and defence.