I first met David Krieger in 2012, at an international symposium on abolishing nuclear weapons held alongside the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. Even before we exchanged a single word, it was clear that David approached the nuclear issue not as a strategic puzzle, but as a moral test: a question of whether humanity is willing to choose life over the machinery of destruction. We spoke in the same session, continued our discussion afterward, and later exchanged emails about his work and the activities of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. During that meeting, I also learned of his close relationship with Professor Richard Falk, whose writings and moral clarity I had followed for years. That connection made David feel immediately familiar to me — part of a circle of principled thinkers who understood that conscience, not calculation, must guide our response to the nuclear age.
While writing my recent article, Conscience in a Fractured World: The 21st Frank K. Kelly Lecture, reflecting on an activity organized by David’s own foundation, I found myself returning to that first encounter. It reminded me how naturally he embodied the values that shaped the Foundation he helped build.
David was a co-founder of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF) and led it from 1982 to 2019. Under his leadership, the Foundation became a respected international voice for peace, international law, and the abolition of nuclear weapons. But titles and institutions only tell part of the story. What set David apart was his refusal to let the nuclear question be reduced to the language of strategy. For him, it remained what it has always been: a test of whether humanity is willing to place survival above power.
His influence extended across global civil society. He helped shape collaborative efforts such as Abolition 2000, bringing together diplomats, scientists, and advocates in a shared effort to reduce existential risk. These were not simply networks, but attempts to build coherence in a fragmented global response — to insist that the abolition of nuclear weapons is not an aspiration, but an obligation.
A prolific writer, he authored or edited more than twenty books and hundreds of articles. His works — including ZERO: The Case for Nuclear Weapons Abolition and The Path to Zero, written with Richard Falk — did not merely argue for disarmament; they clarified it, grounding it in law, ethics, and practical pathways forward.
David received numerous international awards, yet he remained grounded in the human consequences of failure. He returned, again and again, to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and to communities still living with the legacy of nuclear testing. Even in declining health, colleagues recall how he would listen quietly in meetings, then offer a single observation — precise, measured, and difficult to dismiss.
Today, his legacy continues through NAPF’s work at the United Nations, its youth programs, and initiatives designed to prepare a new generation of peace leaders. But legacy, if it is to mean anything, cannot be passive.
We are living in a moment when nuclear risks are no longer abstract. Arms control agreements have weakened — from the collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty to the fragility of New START — the language of deterrence has hardened, and the threshold of what is considered “thinkable” has quietly shifted. In such a climate, the clarity David insisted upon is not simply admirable — it is necessary. Translated into policy, that clarity would require rejecting doctrines that legitimize nuclear use under any condition, and restoring abolition as a binding objective rather than a rhetorical horizon.
For those of us who knew him — even briefly — David Krieger remains a reminder that moral leadership is measured not by volume, but by consistency, compassion, and courage. He walked that path without compromise. The question now is whether we will rise to that test — or continue to speak of abolition while accommodating the logic that makes it impossible.
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Dr. Ghassan Shahrour, Coordinator of Arab Human Security Network, is a medical doctor, prolific writer, and human rights advocate specializing in health, disability, disarmament, and human security. He has contributed to global campaigns for peace, disarmament, and the rights of persons with disabilities.
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