The Leading Speakers blog

Welcome to the Speakers blog! If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed to get notified everytime we post new information on another inspirational speaker. Thanks for visiting!

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.
Continue Reading »

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
Continue Reading »

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.
Continue Reading »

Former Chancellor of the Exchequer

Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson is an internationally esteemed economist and renowned statesman. He is currently Chairman of the Central Europe Trust, an advisory and private equity firm specialising in Central and Eastern Europe. He is also a past President of the British Institute of Energy Economics. Most recently his major focus of interest has been the economics and politics of climate change and the consequences for businesses around the world.

Leading expert on European economics and Chairman of the Central Europe Trust

In detail

During his political career he was a key figure in shaping Britain’s fiscal and economic policies. As Secretary of State for Energy he had responsibility for the privatisation of the energy sector until he was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, a post he held for six years.
Continue Reading »

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
Continue Reading »

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.
Continue Reading »

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.
Continue Reading »

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.
Continue Reading »

The First Female Anchor of the Prime Time Italian Rai News & Author

Lilli Gruber is a journalist and writer. She is a highly respected journalist for foreign affairs, specialised in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and gulf wars. Lilli is a member of the European Parliament and is chairman of the delegation for the relationships with the states of the Gulf; member of the commission for the civil rights, the justice and the internal affairs and member of the delegation for the relationships with Iran.

“An Italian Media Pioneer”

In detail

In 1987 Lilli Gruber became the first female anchor to present the TG1, Italy’s most popular television news. In 1988, she became international political correspondent for RAI, covering events such as the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the war in the former Yugoslavia, the situation in the United States after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the Iraqi war. Lilli has worked for the Italian daily newspaper La Stampa, and for Io Donna, the women’s magazine of Italy’s leading newspaper Corriere della Sera, and for magazines Tv Sorrisi e Canzoni and Anna.
Continue Reading »

Leading Expert on Economic, Social and Political Issues

Carlo Ungaro is an Italian ambassador and retired Diplomatic Officer who has served in a variety of postings in Africa, Asia and Europe. From 2005 to 2007 he was the political adviser to the Italian contingent of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Herat, Afghanistan and served as head of the Italian Diplomatic Delegation to Somalia. Ungaro has published a book of short stories ‘Il Manuale del Perfetto Diplomatico’ and, recently an article in the International Herald Tribune on Afghanistan.

“A renowned and respected expert on economy and politics”

In detail

During his five-year-stay in the Balkans, Carlo Ungaro opened the Headquarter of the European Community Monitoring Mission in Croatia. In Albania he served as diplomatic advisor to the Italian led multilateral military contingent, and then, with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Croatia and, finally as head of the OSCE Spillover Mission in Skopje. He was also Counselor in Kuala Lumpur, Consul General in Rotterdam, and served as a junior diplomat in Kinshasa, and as Vice Consul in Bedford (England).
Continue Reading »