WASHINGTON, D.C. – Henry Kissinger will deliver the Council’s third annual Christopher J. Makins Lecture on Thursday, January 15, 2009.  His speech will be given at the British Embassy in the residence of the UK Ambassador, H.E. Sir Nigel Sheinwald, KCMG.

Dr. Kissinger is a former U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under President Nixon, as well as an Atlantic Council Board Director.  His comments will address the global challenges and opportunities facing the Obama administration, looking particularly at the United States’ relationship with its European allies.  Strong transatlantic cooperation will be crucial to successfully confronting the economic and security issues of the 21st century.

The lecture series honors the life of Christopher J. Makins, president of the Atlantic Council from 1999 to 2005, who passed untimely in January 2006.  The focus of the series is on the state of the strategic Atlantic partnership, its future direction, and the prospects for the furtherance of common European and U.S. interests in order to facilitate strong and lasting global leadership.  Quickly becoming recognized as the preeminent annual statement on transatlantic relations, the series strives to provide a reference tool for policy makers, legislators, the think-tank community, academic scholars, and the media on both sides of the Atlantic.  Previous Makins speakers have been Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter and a member of the Atlantic Council’s International Advisory Board, as well as Dr. Vaira Vike-Freiberga, former President of Latvia.