AMES, Iowa – The challenges in Europe today may be different but overcoming those challenges will depend on a relationship that started 50 years ago. Francois M. Delattre, ambassador of France to the U.S., and Peter Ammon, ambassador of Germany to the U.S., will discuss the European crisis and how the two countries are working on such issues during the Manatt-Phelps Lecture at Iowa State University on Thursday, Feb. 7.
The ambassadors will talk about “50 Years of French-German Friendship” at 8 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. The event is free and open to the public.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Elysée Treaty that built a partnership between France and Germany. On Jan. 22, 1963, French President General Charles de Gaulle and German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer signed the agreement to work together on foreign affairs, economic, military and social issues.
About the ambassadors
Delattre was appointed ambassador of France to the United States in February 2011 after serving as Ambassador of France to Canada from 2008-2011, Consul General in New York and Press and Communications Director at the French Embassy in Washington, D.C. Delattre also served at the French Embassy in Germany in 1989-1991, where he was in charge of matters pertaining to the economic impact of Germany’s unification and the environment.
Ammon has served as ambassador of Germany to the United States since 2011. Prior to this posting, he served as state secretary at the Federal Foreign Office. From 2007 to 2008, he served as ambassador to France, having served previously as a career diplomat in London, Dakar, and New Delhi. He also served as director general for economics at the Federal Foreign Office, economic minister at the German Embassy in Washington, D.C., and head of policy planning and speech writer to the German president.
About the Manatt-Phelps Lecture
Thomas and Elizabeth Phelps and Charles and Kathleen Manatt established the annual Manatt-Phelps Lecture in Political Science. The annual lectures focus on significant developments in international political economy during the previous year, and how the issues affect and are affected by Iowa.
The event is also sponsored by ISU's Department of Political Science; the World Affairs Series; and ISU's Committee on Lectures, which is funded by the Government of the Student Body.
The late Charles Manatt, former United States ambassador to the Dominican Republic, gave the first lecture in the series in 2002. Other lecturers have included then-U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.); U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.); and Lee Hamilton, former congressman and U.S. foreign policy leader.
