James Bernard Quilligan has been an analyst and administrator in the field of international development since 1975. He has served as policy advisor and writer for many international politicians and leaders, including Pierre Trudeau, François Mitterand, Edward Heath, Julius Nyerere, Olof Palme, Willy Brandt, Jimmy Carter, and Tony Blair.

A policy advisor and press secretary for the Brandt Commission (1978-1984), Quilligan is currently the managing director of Brandt 21 Forum and the Centre for Global Negotiations. He is also serving as the American coordinator of the Global Marshall Plan Initiative and Convention on the Global Commons. These organizations, along with several other partners, have launched a multistakeholder consultation process that is expected to culminate in a global conference on international economic and environmental issues in 2010.

He has been an economic consultant for government agencies in Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil, Bolivia, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Tanzania, Kuwait, India, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Canada, and the United States. He has also served as an advisor for several United Nations programs and international development organizations.