German ambassador to speak in Kennedy Lecture Series

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The German ambassador to the U.S. will speak  Sept. 26, as a part a special lecture series, on the importance of maintaining a partnership between the U.S. and European nations.

[Courtesy Lee Simons] Ambassador Peter Ammon
Ambassador Peter Ammon, German ambassador to the U.S., is visiting BYU to speak to students as part of the Kennedy Lecture Series to acquaint students with current issues and relations between the U.S. and Europe.

Ambassador Ammon was appointed in 2011.  Prior to serving as ambassador to the U.S., Ammon served as a diplomat, state secretary for the German Foreign Office and ambassador to France.

The BYU associate international vice president, Erlend Peterson, hopes that students will take advantage of this occasion.

“It is a special opportunity for a student to have the opportunity to hear and interact with an ambassador—especially for those students who are majoring in international relations or political science,” Peterson said. “BYU is in a unique position to have so many students with extensive international experiences. . .through the LDS missionary program.  The ambassadors are always impressed by the questions the students ask.”

Charles Dahlquist, the Utah honorary consul for Germany, described this as a “unique opportunity” for students to hear Ambassador Ammon speak.

“This is an opportunity to understand somebody who represents a powerful country,” he said. “He has had a profound impact in helping to stabilize Europe in a time of economic stress. There are other parts of the world where there is a lot of unrest and the U.S. relationship with Europe will continue to be extremely critical in order to maintain world peace.”

For students, the Kennedy Lecture Series provides an opportunity to meet professionals with real world experience and ask them questions.

“I’ve always loved the Kennedy Lecture Series because I think it plays a huge role in our education as international relations students,” said Aryel Cianflone, a senior majoring in international relations. “It gives our education a much deeper feel because we get to hear all of these people from all over the world and have had all kinds of experiences that we are seeking ourselves.”

Ambassador Ammon will be speaking in room 238 Harold R. Clark Building at 3:00 pm. For more information on the Kennedy Lecture Series visit http://kennedy.byu.edu/archive/

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