The Boston Branch of the English-Speaking Union
cordially invites you to
dinner and a lecture
“Diplomacy with Dictators”
by Sir Brian Donnelly
Thursday, April 16, 2009, 6:00PM
The Harvard Club, 374 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
Former British Ambassador to Yugoslavia and Zimbabwe, Sir Brian Donnelly, faced the challenge of conducting diplomacy in countries governed by Slobodan Milosevic and Robert Mugabe, leaders widely seen as dictators who oppressed their people. Sir Brian will talk about the personalities of these men and the nature of their regimes, including vignettes from his own experience, such as how to distinguish a freedom fighter from a terrorist, evacuating an embassy, life under surveillance, how to give humanitarian aid without helping the regime. He will also seek to illustrate how the Special (Anglo-American) Relationship works in practice, and touch on the pros and cons of using military intervention against an oppressive regime.
A career diplomat, Sir Brian has also served as a Special Advisor to the Foreign Secretary, as a Special Representative for Kosovo and Southeast Europe, and as Deputy Head of the British Delegation to NATO during the Bosnia crisis. He is the recipient of B.A. and M.A. degrees in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Queen’s College Oxford, and an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin.
Cocktails at 6:00PM, cash bar. Dinner with wine pour and lecture 6:30PM.