Slovenia and the European Union Financial Crisis

David Peterson, Interim Director of the Harkin Institute of Public Policy and Associate Professor of Political Science, will provide a welcome and introduction.

His Excellency Roman Kirn is Ambassador of Slovenia to the United States, a position he has held since May 2009. He will discuss how Slovenia, after twenty years of independence, has shaped its role in the European Union and the global economy. Ambassador Kirn most recently served as Director of the Department for North and Latin America and the Caribbean for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as the head of Transatlantic Relations and Preparations for the EU-U.S. Summit during Slovenia's European Union presidency in June 2008. He was Slovenia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, 2002-06, during which time he was Vice President of the U.N. General Assembly and Vice President of the 2005 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. He also served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, 2000-02.

Refreshments will precede the lecture at 9:45 am.