The Leading Speakers blog

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Former Member of the European Commission

During his 10 year tenure as one of Europe’s most senior Commissioners in Brussels, Dr Martin Bangemann was instrumental in shaping Europe’s telecommunications and IT policy in a world of rapid technology developments. He stepped down from this position in June 1999. From 2000 to 2005 he was a non-executive Advisory Board Member of Telefonica, Spain. He is currently writing a new book.

“Dr Bangemann has a firm grasp on the future of the information industry”

In detail

He received a doctorate in law from the University of Munich and became a practising lawyer in Germany in 1964. He entered the European Parliament in 1973 on the Budget Committee and became Chairman of the European Parliament Liberal Democratic Group in 1979. From 1984 to 1988 he was Federal Minister of Economic Affairs for Germany.
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‘Britain’s most consistently original, outrageous, and controversial designer’

Vivienne Westwood has had an insatiable appetite for anarchic outrageousness. She has never lost her power to shock, and her continued innovations make her one of the most talked about fashion designers in the world.

Vivienne Westwood was born Vivienne Isabel Swire in Derbyshire. She moved to London when she was 17. She began designing in 1971, using the shop at 430 Kings Road, London as a showcase for her ideas. With her changing ideas of fashion came the change of not only the name of shop, but the entire decor as well. In 1971, 430 Kings Road was known as “Let it Rock”… 1950’s Rock n Roll clothing sold at a time when “hippies” were still in fashion. In 1972, the name was changed to “Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die”. The shop had clothing for “Rockers” with zips and chains, and Zoot suits. By the mid 70’s, “Sex” was the shop’s new name. With 1976 came punk, followed by “World’s End” and the Pirate Collection.
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President of France 1974-1981

Valéry Giscard D’Estaing was President of France from 1974 until 1981. In 2004 he left partisan politics and took his seat in the Constitutional Council as a former President of the Republic. From 2002-2003 he served as President of the Convention on the Future of Europe and in 2003 he was admitted to the Académie Française. He is currently President of the CEMR (Council of European Municipalities and Regions), and a member of the French Constitutional Council.

The architect of the EU constitution

In detail

Valéry Giscard D’Estaing was born in 1926 in Koblenz. After serving in the French Resistance, he completed his studies at the Ecole Polytechnique and the Ecole Nationale d’Administration. He then joined the Inspection Generale des Finances in 1952 where he pursued an administrative career until 1956. From 1956 to 1974 he has held numerous elective positions and governmental functions before becoming President
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Author of ‘The Name of the Rose’ and Professor of Semiotics

Italian born Umberto Eco is a prolific author and essayist and has published numerous books and articles covering a wide range of subjects from Art and Beauty in the Middle Ages to Semiotics - the Science of Signs and Symbols. He reached ultimate fame when his book ‘The Name of the Rose’ was made into a blockbuster film.

A laureate graduate from Turin University in 1954 Umberto Eco was cultural programme editor for RAI - Italian Radio and Television - from 1954 to 1959. He joined the publishing house of Bompiano in Milan as senior non-fiction editor in 1959 and was with them until 1975. Since 1962 Umberto Eco has been a regular columnist for some of Italy’s leading newspapers such as Il Giorno, La Stampa, Corriere della Sera.
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Former Director of Communications and Strategy for Tony Blair

Alastair Campbell is best known as a journalist and former Director of Communications and Strategy for former Prime Minister Tony Blair. He was a key figure behind Mr Blair’s rise to power and was often described as “the real Deputy Prime Minister”. Mr Campbell also played a key role in drafting the Government dossier on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, the Hutton Report, which has been the source of much media interest lately.

“In the extraordinarily difficult and wearing world of the modern media, he operated with tremendous skill and dedication.”
Tony Blair

In detail
Alastair, son of a Pennine vet, read modern languages at Cambridge before entering journalism. His career in the media began to flourish when he became political editor of the Daily Mirror. During this time he was one of then Labour leader Neil Kinnock’s closest advisers. Mr Campbell resigned to become spokesman for Tony Blair, then leader of the opposition. With the Labour election victory in 1997, he became the Prime Minister’s chief press secretary, setting up a formidable Whitehall machine to put over the government’s views and try to control the news agenda.
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Chairman Emeritus of Volkswagen AG

Dr. Hahn is the renowned former Chairman of the Volkswagen Group. Under his chairmanship the VAG Group expanded from producing 2 million cars in 1982 to 3.5 million capacity in 1992, also acquiring SKODA in the Czech Republic. His celebrated career with Volkswagen Group led him to several senior positions including CEO of Volkswagen of America Inc.

One of the leading figures in international business.

In detail

Carl Hahn studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne and Zurich, Economics in Bristol and Paris. He also graduated as a Doctor of Economics at the University of Bern, Switzerland. As Chairman of the Volkswagen Board of Management he drove Volkswagen to the heights of success, with heavy investments in the ‘Golf’, now one of the most successful cars ever built. He now serves on numerous boards in Europe and the USA, including Perot Systems Corp (US), Benetton (Italy), Gerling-Konzern, Thyssen (Germany)
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Former Polish Deputy Prime and Finance Minister & President of the National Bank (until 2006)

Leszek Balcerowicz is a pioneer of radical reforms who has been at the centre of Poland’s economic and political life since 1989. Having been three times in government in charge of economic reforms, he is acclaimed as the architect of his country’s economic growth and as a leader of free market economy. He is the Governor of the National Polish Bank and has also held positions including Deputy Prime Minister, Finance Minister and President of the National Bank. He is a member of the group of trustees of the Institute of International Finance (USA) and also a Professor of Economics at the Warsaw School of Economics.

He is the only Central/Eastern European member of the prestigious “Group of Thirty

In detail

Mr. Balcerowicz graduated with distinction from the Foreign Trade Faculty at the Central School of Planning and Statistics in Warsaw and gained an MBA at St. John’s University in New York followed by his Ph.D. in Economics in 1975 from the Warsaw School of Economics. He served as Finance Minister from 1989 until 1991, and was Finance Minister again between 1997 and 2000
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Former Vice Chancellor & Former Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs, Germany

Hans-Dietrich Genscher is one of Europe’s foremost statesmen. He realised his vision of economic and political integration with the German reunification and was one of the architects of modern Europe.
Presently, he presides over several institutions, a role he combines with writing for numerous leading publications as well as lecturing. He was Deputy Chancellor of Germany for 18 years and an acting Member of Parliament until 1998.

World class assessor of the economic and political landscapes.
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Former Assistant Secretary of State

As Assistant Secretary of State and Chief Spokesman for the State Department, James Rubin was employed in the Clinton Administration for over seven years and served as a top adviser and confidant to former Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright.

During his position as Chief Spokesman, James Rubin briefed the nation and world - through daily, on-camera sessions with American and foreign journalists.

This authority on foreign affairs will give your audience insight into national security policies and US foreign policy initiatives that impact the world. James Rubin provides behind-the-scenes perspectives on his personal experiences during negotiations spanning the globe, from the Middle East and Iraq to Russia and China, in addition to the diplomatic missions which he led to Kosovo.
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Former President of the Soviet Union

Mikhail Gorbachev was the last leader of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until its collapse in 1991. His attempts at reform helped to end the Cold War, and also ended the political supremacy of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and dissolved the Soviet Union. He introduced a policy of openness or “Glasnost” and he was also the architect of “Perestroika” or deep political and economic reforms. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. He is now president of the Green Cross organisation and writes a regular column for the New York Times Syndicate.

“The Face of Perestroika”

In detail
From 1970 to 1989 Mikhail Gorbachev was the Deputy Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R. as well as Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Soviet Union between 1984 and 1985. He was Secretary for Agriculture between 1978 and 1985 when he took the position of General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee until 1991. He was elected to the Congress of the People’s Deputies of the U.S.S.R in 1989 and became President of Russia in 1990.
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