PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Juan Manuel Santos, president of Colombia, will deliver a Stephen A. Ogden Jr. ’60 Memorial Lecture on International Affairs on Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Santos’ address, titled “Why People Should Give More than a Damn About Latin America,” will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Salomon Center for Teaching, De Ciccio Family Auditorium. Doors close at 6 p.m. This is a ticketed event open to the Brown community and members of the invited public.

Santos was elected 40th president of Colombia on June 20, 2010. Prior to his presidency, Santos served as Colombia’s national defense minister, where he was in charge of implementing the government’s democratic security policy. Santos previously was chief of the Colombian delegation before the International Coffee Organization (ICO) in London. He was Colombia’s first foreign trade minister and has served as the country’s finance minister.

Born in Bogota in August 1951, Santos was a cadet at the Naval Academy of Cartagena. He studied economics and business administration and earned master’s degrees at the London School of Economics, Harvard University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

He created the Good Government Foundation (Fundación Buen Gobierno) and founded the Partido de la U (Social Party of National Unity), currently Colombia’s largest political party, in 2005. He worked as a columnist and deputy director of the newspaper El Tiempo and was awarded the King of Spain Prize. He also served as president of the Freedom of Expression Commission for the Inter American Press Association (IAPA). He has published several books, including The Third Way, co-written with the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Check on Terror (Jaque al Terror), where he describes his efforts to combat FARC, the revolutionary guerrilla organization, during his tenure as head of the Ministry of Defense.

Stephen A. Ogden Jr. ’60 Memorial Lecture

Since 1965, the Ogden Lectureship has presented the University and its neighboring communities with authoritative and timely addresses about international affairs. The lectureship was established in memory of Stephen A. Ogden Jr., a member of the Brown Class of 1960, who died in 1963 from injuries he suffered in a car accident during his junior year. His family created the series as a tribute to Ogden’s interest in advancing international peace and understanding.

Dozens of heads of state, diplomats, and observers of the international scene have participated in the series, including Queen Noor of Jordan, former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, President of Brazil Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell, media innovator Ted Turner, astronaut Sen. John Glenn, economist Paul Volcker, Bolivian President Evo Morales, and Romano Prodi, former prime minister of Italy.

This is a ticketed event open to the Brown community and members of the invited public. For more information, contact the Office of University Events at 401-863-3100 or visit brown.edu/web/santos/index.html.

Editors: Credentials are required for this event. Security for Santos will be managed by U.S. Secret Service, which will determine security guidelines. TV cameras and equipment must be set up in the Salomon Center by 3:30 p.m. on April 5. To receive press credentials, contact Courtney Anderson at [email protected] or 401-863-7287 by April 1.