International Club of Annapolis Past Speakers

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Ambassador Soram’s diplomatic career began at the FSM Department of Foreign Affairs in 2002.  Within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ambassador worked on information, foreign affairs and multilateral affairs.
31 / October

Ambassador Jackson Soram of Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)

Paul Richter has written about foreign policy and national security for the past 35 years. As a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, he reported on the State Department, the Pentagon and the White House and traveled to sixty countries.
2 / October

Paul Richter

In September, we were honored to welcome Ambassador Elsie S. Kanza, who captivated our members with an enlightening lecture on Tanzania’s economic development and its pivotal role in shaping the future of Africa.
4 / September

Ambassador H.E. Elsie Sia Kanza of Tanzania 

Ambassador Valdes took up his current post in June 2022.  He was Chile’s Foreign Minister (1999 – 2000).  His overseas posts include:  Ambassador to the U.S. (2014 – 2-18), to Spain and Argentina. He has a Ph.D. in Political Science from Princeton
1 / May

Ambassador Juan Gabriel Valdes of Chile

Ambassador Idris served as State Minister for Foreign Affairs in 2019 after holding positions of increasing responsibility within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
3 / April

Ambassador Mohammed Idris of Sudan

On Wednesday, March 6, our speaker was Ambassador Ndumiso Ntshinga of South Africa. After South Africa freed itself from Apartheid in 1994, the country became a beacon of hope based on its Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
6 / March

Ambassador Ndumiso Ntshinga of South Africa

Our speaker was Irving Jaime Lizaranga, Charge d’Affaires ad interim at the Peruvian Embassy. His area of specialization mainly covers bilateral relationships with countries in the Western Hemisphere and regional integration organizations...
6 / February

Irving Jaime Lizaranga

On Wednesday 3 January we had the privilege of hearing from one of the most qualified and interesting members of our community: 
3 / January

Ford Rowan

On Wednesday, 6 December, we welcomed H.E. Nguyen Quoc Dzung, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to our podium. 
6 / December

Ambassador H.E. Nguyen Quoc Dzung of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 

Virginia Olmsted McGraw is an Assistant Professor of Russian and East European History at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. She was previously a Visiting Assistant Professor at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. 
1 / November

Dr. Virginia Olmsted McGraw

Tuesday, October 11, We welcomed Ambassador William Taylor, Vice-President for Russia and Europe at the US Institute of Peace.
11 / October

USA Ambassador William Taylor

On Wednesday, October 4, we heard from Mr. Arun Alexander, Deputy Ambassador at the Embassy of Canada in Washington since August 2022.Mr. Alexander began his public service career at Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada in 1995. 
4 / October

Deputy Ambassador Arun Alexander of Canada

Argentina is a democratic US ally famous for tangos, Evita, and wine. However, the country is also facing a pre-election economic and political crisis.
6 / September

Minister Adrian Nador of Argentina

Ambassador Sidikov started his career in business but quickly moved to the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of Uzbekistan.
7 / June

Ambassador Furqat Sidikov of Uzbekistan

Dr. Huda is a seasoned policy expert who has worked in government academia and the policy community focused on security, US foreign policy, conflict zones, development and key areas in Asia, North Africa and the Middle East.
3 / May

Dr. Qamar-ul Huda

A self-described “presidential crisis historian” Michael has written seven books dealing with how a president confronts the gravest challenges of modern times, and how his decisions affect the rest of us.
5 / April

Michael Dobbs

Ambassador Viorel became Ambassador to the United States in September 2022; prior to that he was Division Director Europe and Eurasia from January 2014 to August 2022. In earlier years he had served as Policy Analyst and Advisor to the Open Society Foundation in London and previously at the European Policy Institute in Brussels.  Prior to his oversees appointments, he was the Program Manager of the Soros Foundation.
8 / March

Ambassador Ursu Viorel Republic of Moldova

We heard from Professor Nathan Pippenger of the U.S. Naval Academy, who discussed philosophical issues surrounding immigration and citizenship. 
1 / February

Professor Nathan Pippenger

We heard from Ambassador Luisa Fajer, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Mexican Embassy. Ambassador Fajer joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1993 and was promoted to the rank of Ambassador in March 2018.
4 / January

Ambassador Luisa Fajer of Mexico

We heard from Minister/Counselor Markus Teglas, who has served since August 2021 in the Political Department of the Embassy of Federal Republic of Germany in Washington, DC.
7 / December

Minister/Counselor Markus Teglas of Federal Republic of Germany

We heard from international journalist Terence Smith, whom many of us remember from the PBS Newshour. 
2 / November

Terence Smith

We welcomed the Swedish Deputy Chief of Mission Ingrid Ask.  We had originally only anticipated learning about Sweden’s successful governance and social support services. 
7 / September

Deputy Chief Ingrid Ask

On 1 June 2022, we heard about Serbia, a Balkan country with a complex recent history which wants to join the EU. 
1 / June

Ambassador H. E. Marko Djuric of Uzbekistan

Dr. Mardoqueo Tóchez has served as Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs at the Embassy of El Salvador in Washington D. C. since October 2020.
4 / May

Dr. Mardoqueo Tóchez

Ambassador Eric Rubin, President of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) since 2019, spoke to us about “Challenges to American Diplomacy”-and there are many these days!
6 / April

US Ambassador Eric Rubin

Ambassador Lazarus O. Amayo, told us about Kenya – the largest and most advanced economy in East and Central Africa and home to vast wildlife resources.
2 / March

Ambassador Lazarus O. Amayo of Kenya

Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu told us about India, a large country in South Asia which plays an increasingly important role in the region and the world.
2 / February

Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu of India

Ambassador Kristjan Prikk told us about his homeland, Estonia.  It is a thriving Baltic Nation that has enthusiastically embraced democratic and economic links with the West. 
5 / January

Ambassador Kristjan Prikk of Estonia

Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan told us about Pakistan – a country at the physical and diplomatic border of Afghanistan, China, Iran and India.
8 / December

Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan of Pakistan

We had a presentation on immigration: “Where’s Everyone Going and Why?” Our speaker was Mark Hugo Lopez, Director of Race and Ethnicity Research at the Pew Research Center.
3 / November

Mark Hugo Lopez

We learned about Cuba, a neighboring island nation which is often in the press, yet little understood.
6 / October

Ambassador Alejandro Garcia del Toro of the Republic of Cuba

Ambassador Tamaki Tsukada is the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Japan in Washington, a post he assumed in September 2020.
8 / September

Ambassador Tamaki Tsukada of Japan