The Importance of Political Leadership in Achieving a Nuclear Weapon Free World

Former Defence Secretary, the Rt. Hon. Des Browne, to deliver the 2010 David Davies Memorial Institute of International Studies Annual Lecture at Aberystwyth University.

Following on the heels of the recently agreed United States-Russia nuclear weapons reduction pact, a special lecture touching on a nuclear weapon-free world is being hosted by the David Davies Memorial Institute of International Studies (DDMI) at Aberystwyth University tomorrow, Wednesday 28 April 2010.

A former Defence Secretary in the Tony Blair and Gordon Brown governments, the Rt. Hon. Des Browne will deliver a lecture on The Importance of Political Leadership in Achieving a Nuclear Weapon Free World.

The 2010 David Davies Memorial Institute Annual Lecture takes place at 6 p.m. on Wednesday 28 April 2010 in the Main Hall of the Department of International Politics at the University’s Penglais campus.

The Rt. Hon. Des Browne is presently the Chair of the Top Level Group of UK Parliamentarians for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, and, upon leaving Parliament after the upcoming elections, plans to spend more time on multilateral disarmament and conflict resolution issues.
 
In keeping with the expected interest, a vidcast of the entire 2010 DDMI Annual Lecture will be up-loaded to the DDMI website, and the Rt. Hon. Browne’s talk will be published in an upcoming issue of International Relations, a leading journal edited out of the Department of International Politics.

Professor Nicholas J. Wheeler, the Director of the DDMI, said: “The recent agreement between the United States and Russia, the world’s biggest nuclear powers, is an unmistakable sign of what strong and committed political leadership can achieve. The topic of the lecture is timely because of the high-profile of nuclear disarmament issues in world politics and in the United Kingdom. Des Browne is extremely well placed given his role as chair of the top-level group to explore the potential for achieving a world without nuclear weapons.”

This event is free and open to the public, but prospective audience members are urged to arrive early to ensure themselves a seat in the Main Hall.