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Former President Mikhail S. Gorbachev to Speak at the University, Tuesday, April 19th

Mikhail Gorbachev
Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev

Live Online: Watch a Webcast of Gorbachev's Address, today at 4 p.m.

Former Soviet President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mikhail S. Gorbachev will visit Seton Hall on Tuesday, April 19th. Gorbachev, who was instrumental in unraveling Communist rule in Eastern Europe, will address students, faculty, and the community at the Walsh Gymnasium at 4 pm. His talk will focus on the challenges facing democracy in Russia and the world today.

This event is sponsored by the Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations' World Leaders Forum and the Philip and Mary Shannon Seton Hall Speaker Series. See ticket information below.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Gorbachev presidency and the beginning of glasnost and perestroika. As leader of the Soviet Union from 1985-1991, Gorbachev is credited with introducing a new age of openness, or glasnost, and decentralizing the country's economic and social structures through what became known as perestroika. In 1990, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his leading role in bringing an end to the Cold War.

"President Gorbachev has earned a place in history as a visionary world leader," remarked Clay Constantinou, Dean of the Whitehead School of Diplomacy, which is the first professional school of international affairs to be established after the Cold War. "In turbulent times, he guided his country through unprecedented and momentous change, fundamentally reshaping the world's approach to international relations. It is an honor to have Mr. Gorbachev at the University."

After leaving office in 1991, Gorbachev became president of the Gorbachev Foundation, a think-tank dedicated to addressing the challenges of the post-Cold War world by re-envisioning global priorities. He has emphasized the environment as a key global concern, founding Green Cross International to clean up military toxins, assist in the creation of global ecological law, and foster a value shift on the environment.

The Whitehead School of Diplomacy's World Leaders Forum promotes dialogue on today's critical global concerns. International leaders address complex and controversial issues and encourage dialogue in search of new avenues for building peace. Visitors in the past four years include Nobel Peace Prize winners UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Northern Ireland MP and Social Democratic Party leader John Hume, and former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres. For a full listing of World Leaders Forum speakers and information about The Whitehead School visit http://diplomacy.shu.edu.

The Shannon Speaker Series, now in its third year at Seton Hall, presents distinguished lecturers with a recognized global perspective on current international issues. Past Shannon Series speakers have included New York Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas L. Friedman, and presidential historians David McCullough, Robert Caro and Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Students faculty, and university employees can visit http://diplomacy.shu.edu for information on obtaining a complimentary ticket. Tickets are $25 for the general public. To purchase tickets, please contact Andrea Davis at 973-378-2600.