Olamide Samuel is a Track II diplomat and Policy Fellow at the European Leadership Network. Olamide came into his role at the ELN after several years as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Nuclear Politics at the University of Leicester, and as a Senior Teaching Fellow at SOAS University of London. While at SOAS, Olamide lectured in the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy, teaching MA courses on International Security, and Diplomatic Practice. In addition, Olamide led the university’s global nuclear disarmament programme, SCRAP Weapons, from 2019 to 2021. He led the programme’s efforts to strengthen arms control diplomacy at the United Nations and African Union.
In 2020, Olamide was appointed as a member of the Vatican Covid-19 Security Task Force inaugurated by Pope Francis. In this capacity, he convened the Global #FreezeWeapons Campaign which was adopted by the Holy See. Since 2023, Olamide has served as Special Envoy of the Executive Secretary of the African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE), and has worked closely with various states, the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), and the Managing the Atom Project at Harvard University, to advance nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. He sits on the advisory boards of various non-profit organisations, including the Nuclear Information Service, 1.2 Diaries, Centre de Recherche et d’Information pour le Désarmement et Sécurité, among others.
Olamide holds an MA in Security, Intelligence and Diplomacy (2015), and a PhD in Security and Intelligence (2019), both from the University of Buckingham’s Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies (BUCSIS). He also holds a B.ILD in International Law and Diplomacy, from Babcock University (2009).
Olamide’s regularly comments on security and defense issues to global media outlets, and has been featured on Al-Jazeera, The BBC, France 24, allAfrica, ChannelsTV and more.
Expertise:
- Nuclear Risk Reduction
- Nuclear Safety and Security
- Security and Intelligence Tradecraft and Machinery
- Multilateral Diplomatic Practice
