Ref. No. 47

Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, former minister of foreign affairs and director and CEO of the Liu Centre for the Study of Global Issues at the University of British Columbia, will be the first lecturer in the newly established John Kenneth Galbraith Lectureship in Public Policy at Memorial University.

The lecture series was established with an endowment from renowned economist, Dr. John Kenneth Galbraith of Harvard University. "The series will feature outstanding figures whose work reflects the commitment to excellence in scholarship and public affairs exemplified by Dr. Galbraith," said Dr. Axel Meisen, president, Memorial University.

Dr. Axworthy's lecture -- entitled, The Human Security Agenda: Prescriptions for Canada in an age of globalization -- will be held in the D. F. Cook Recital Hall on Monday, Nov. 19, 2001. The lecture begins at 8 p.m. and is open to the public and there is no admission charge.

Using Galbraith's book, The Good Society: the Humane Agenda as context, Dr. Axworthy will put forward his notion of human security as a way of preserving Canada's distinctiveness as a socially responsible and politically independent community within an increasingly integrated North America and an ever increasingly interdependent world. "Lloyd Axworthy is an absolutely excellent choice for this series, in the best Canadian official tradition," Dr. Galbraith said of the inaugural speaker. Dr. Axworthy is director and CEO of the Liu Centre for the Study of Global Issues at the University of British Columbia. He is a board member of the MacArthur Foundation, Lester B. Pearson College, University of the Arctic, Impacs (Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society), as well as chairman of the Human Security Centre for the United Nations University for Peace (UPEACE), member of the Eminent Persons Group on Small Arms, co-chair of the State of the World Forum, Commission on Globalization, and Chairman of the Manitoba Task Force on Climate Change.

Dr. Axworthy's political career spanned 27 years, during six of which he served in the Manitoba Legislative Assembly and 21 in the federal parliament. He held several cabinet positions, notably minister of Employment and Immigration, minister Responsible for the Status of Women, minister of Transport, of Human Resources Development, of Western Economic Diversification and minister of Foreign Affairs. In his foreign affairs portfolio, he became internationally known for his advancement of the human security concept, in particular, the Ottawa Treaty - a landmark global treaty banning anti-personnel landmines. For his leadership on landmines, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. For his efforts in establishing the International Criminal Court and the Protocol on Child Soldiers, he received the North- South Institute's Peace Award.

Since leaving public life in the fall of 2000, Dr. Axworthy has been the recipient of several prestigious awards and honours. This year, the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation presented him with the Senator Patrick J. Leahy Award in recognition of his leadership in the global effort to outlaw landmines and the use of children as soldiers and to bring war criminals to justice. He continues to be involved in international matters, leading the Canadian delegation to The Hague Conference on Climate Change and as Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS).

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For more information, contact: Ivan Muzychka, manager, News Service, Division of University Relations at 737-8665, cell # 687-9433. or e-mail, ivanm@mun.ca.