Mr. Juri T. Nicolaas MA is the current director of the National Security Service of Aruba (NSSA). He received his master’s degree in Political Science and International Relations from the Radboud University Nijmegen in The Netherlands. He started his career at the NSSA as an Intelligence Analyst, which he did for eight years. He joined the management staff of the security service and was eventually selected and appointed as its director in August 2008. During his ongoing tenure of sixteen years as director, Mr. Nicolaas has pursued regional cooperation and information-sharing and the exchange of know-how and best practices to elevate the standard and to promote professionalism. He has also actively championed the importance of having more civilian intelligence and security services within the Caribbean and South American region, without minimizing the importance of both military and law enforcement when it comes to intelligence gathering. He continuously stresses the significance of proper oversight to be in place for Intelligence and security Services. He has collaborated as a guest speaker at regional conferences on topics ranging from critical infrastructure protection to the “insider threat” emanating from transnational organized crime to national security. Mr. Nicolaas was awarded the “Intelligence Directorate” medal, “Teniente Coronel Javier Antonio Uribe Uribe by the Ministry of Defense of Colombia and received the highest decoration of the Colombian National Police, for his valuable contribution to the Colombian National Police, it’s Intelligence Agency as well as its regional partners. As director of the National Security Service of Aruba, Mr. Nicolaas interacts with a broad range of actors, including but not limited to government, law enforcement, military officials and other public –private actors.