Past Speakers
2010-2011
MIC Ambassador Series
• Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, former prime minister of Malaysia
• Luis Benigno Gallegos Chiriboga, Ecuadorian ambassador to the U.S.
• François Delattre, French ambassador tothe U.S.
• Walter Mondale, former U.S. vice president. and former U.S. ambassador to Japan
• Ryan Crocker, former U.S. ambassdor to Iraq
• Robert Chatterton Dickson, British consul general in Chicago
• Graham Paul, French consul general in Chicago
World Affairs Speakers
• Mark Dayton, governor of Minnesota
• Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, founder, Cordoba Initiative
• Mark Ritchie, secretary of State, Minnesota
•Jean-François Boittin, minister counselor for Economic and Commercial Affairs, French Embassy in
Washington, D.C.
• Elsa Berry, president, French American Chambers of Commerce in North America
• Tom Hanson, diplomat-in-residence, U of M, Duluth
• Pierre-Antoine Gailly, chairman, World Trade Center Paris
• Hubert Joly, president and CEO, Carlson
• Ken Powell, CEO, General Mills
• Jérome Chateau, president, French American Chamber of Commerce Minneapolis and St. Paul
• Kathleen Smith Ruhland, partner and co-chair of International Practice, Faegre & Benson LLP
2009-10
MIC Ambassador Series
• Martti Ahtisaari, former president of Finland and founder, Crisis Management Institute
• Ichiro Fujisaki, Japanese ambassador to the U.S.
• Nor ‘Aini Ab. Hamid, deputy chief of mission, Embassy of Malaysia
• Walter Mondale, former U.S. vice president. and former U.S. ambassador to Japan
World Affairs Speakers
• Tom Hanson, foreign policy consultant
and former U.S. Foreign Service Officer
• Mary Kay Magistad, Asia correspondent, Public Radio International
• Peter Bisanz, filmmaker
• J. Brian Atwood, Dean, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, and former Administrator at USAID
• Daniel Wordsworth, President & CEO, American Refugee Committee
• Beaudelaine Pierre, 2009-10 International Humphrey Fellow and Haitian national
2008-09
MIC Ambassador Series
• Sergey Kislyak, Russian ambassador to the U.S.
• Petr Kolar, Czech ambassador to the U.S.
• Benson K. Whitney, U.S. ambassador to Norway
• Ambassador João Almino, Brazilian consul general in Chicago
• Kjell Magne Bondevik, former prime minister of Norway and founder, Oslo Center for Peace and
Human Rights
World Affairs Speakers
• Majora Carter, founder of Sustainable South Bronx
• Dr. Christopher Dunford, president, Freedom from Hunger
• Dr. Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies, Columbia University
• Dr William Orman Beeman, chair of the Anthropology department, U of M
• Bishop John Bryson Chane, Eighth Bishop of Washington
• Makram El-Amin, resident imam, Masjid An-Nur in Minneapolis
• Tom Hanson, former U.S. Foreign Service officer
• Alisa Miller, president and CEO, Public Radio International
• Tom Gitaa, president and publisher, Mshale
• Nghi Huyhn, publisher and editor, Asian American Press
2007-08
MIC Ambassador Series
• Mohamed Benaissa, former foreign minister of Morocco
• Aziz Mekouar, Moroccan ambassador to the U.S.
• Dennis Ross, counselor and Ziegler distinguished fellow, Washington Institute
• William Lacy Swing, special representative for the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC), United Nations
World Affairs Speakers
• William R. Farrell, chairman and CEO, Dynamic Strategies Asia
• Masataka Okano counselor for political affairs, Embassy of Japan
• Atsushi Yamakoshi, director, Keidanren-USA
• Masayoshi Yamashita, chief corporate representative, NTT’s (Nippon Telegraph and
Telephone Corp) Washington D.C. Representative Office
• Andrew Seaton, consul general of Great Britain in Chicago
• James Dorsey, chair of the valuation dispute & litigation Group, Fredrikson & Byron
• Nicole Moen, commercial litigator, Fredrickson & Byron
• Simone Ahuja, founder and principal, Blood Orange Media
• Tom Hanson, former U.S. Foreign Service officer
• Sedika Mojadidi, independent filmmaker
• Anika Rahman, president, Americans for UNFPA
2006-07
MIC Ambassador Series
• Andrés Rozental, Mexican ambassador at large
• Kjell Magne Bondevik, former prime minister of Norway
• Walter F. Mondale, former U.S. vice president and ambassador to Japan
• Gerhard Pfanzelter, Austrian ambassador to the United Nations
• Alan Charlton, deputy British ambassador to the U.S
• Michael Wilson, Canadian ambassador to the U.S.
• Dr. Nafis Sadik, United Nations special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Asia
• Benson K. Whitney, U.S. ambassador to Norway
• Marilyn Ware, U.S. ambassador to Finland
• James Cain, U.S. ambassador to Denmark
• Michael Wood, U.S. ambassador to Sweden
World Affairs Speakers
• Seán Farrell, Irish consul general in Chicago
• Anthony DePalma, International Business and Environmental correspondent,
The New York Times
• Tachi Cazal, president and CEO, AFS International
• Joe Dowling, artistic director, Guthrie Theater
2005-06
MIC Ambassador Series
• Ketumile Masire, former president of Botswana
• HRH Prince Haakon Magnus, crown prince of Norway
• Knut Vollebæk, Norwegian ambassador to the U.S
• Frans Van Daele, Belgian ambassador to the U.S.
• Lech Walesa, former president of Poland
• Alexander Vershbow, U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Korea
• Tae-sik Lee, Republic of Korea ambassador to the U.S.
• Aziz Mekouar, Moroccan ambassador to the U.S.
• Jendayi Frazer, U.S. assistant secretary of state for African Affairs
• Dr. Elmi Ahmed Duale, permanent envoy to the United Nations from Somalia
• Professor Ali K. Galaydh, former prime minister of Somalia
• Norm Coleman, Minnesota’s senator to the U.S. Senate
World Affairs Speakers
• James McGregor, former Wall Street Journal China bureau chief,
and author of One Billion Customers: Lessons From the Front Lines of
Doing Business in China
• Carol Bellamy, president and CEO, World Learning
• Dr. Kenneth Wollack, president, National Democratic Institute
• Dr Georges Fauriol, vice president of the International Republican Institute
2004-05
MIC Ambassador Series
• Barbara Masekela, South African ambassador to the U.S.
• David Manning, British ambassador to the U.S.
• Jan Eliasson, Swedish ambassador to the U.S.
• Knut Vollebæk, Norwegian ambassador to the U.S.
• Jean-David Levitte, French ambassador to the U.S.
• Martin Palou, Czech ambassador to the U.S.
World Affairs Speakers
• John Donvan, Nightline correspondent and guest anchor, ABC News
• Khaled Dawoud, chief Washington correspondent, Egypt’s Al-Ahram newspaper
• Mia Doornaert, diplomatic editor, Belgian daily newspaper De Standaard
• J. Brian Atwood, dean, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
• Liv Arnesen, Norwegian polar explorer
• Noel Lateef, president and CEO, Foreign Policy Association
• Fred de Sam Lazaro, executive producer, TPT Small World Series
• Lawrence Korb, senior fellow, Center for American Progress
• Steven Miller, director, International Security Program, Harvard University
2003-04
MIC Ambassador Series
• Richard Boucher, spokesman, U.S. State Department
• Yang Jiechi, Chinese ambassador to the U.S.
• Davorin Kra_un, Slovenian ambassador to the U.S.
• Richard Ryan, Irish ambassador to the United Nations
• Martin Palou, Czech ambassador to the U.S.
World Affairs Speakers
• Madeleine Albright, former U.S. secretary of state
• Jim Klobuchar
• Susan Cornell Wilkes
• Melor Sturua, political columnist, Russian daily Izvestia ; senior fellow,
Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
• Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, former prime minister of Norway and recent chair,
World Health Organization
• Krister Stoor, visiting professor of Scandinavian Studies, Gustavus Adolphus College
• Don Oberdorfer, journalist in residence, Johns Hopkins SAIS
• Kim Hae-Yong, first secretary, Korean Embassy
• Dr. Richard Cronin, Asian Affairs specialist, U.S. Congressional Research Service
• Peter Bell, president, CARE USA
European Union Symposium Presenters
• Edward Alden, deputy Washington Bureau chief, Financial Times
• Max Audley, head of corporate group, Faegre & Benson LLP, London
• Kjell Bergh, chairman, Borton Volvo and Borton Overseas
• Judith Cefkin, director, Office of Nordic and Baltic Affairs, U.S. Department of State
• Frans Van Daele, Belgian ambassador to the U.S.
• Jan Eliasson, Swedish ambassador to the U.S.
• Dominique Decherf, consul general of France in Chicago
• Bill George, former chairman and CEO, Medtronic
• Jim Lawrence, executive vice president and CFO, General Mills
• Curtis Nelson, president and COO, Carlson Companies
• Andrew Seaton, consul general of Great Britain in Chicago
2002-03
MIC Ambassador Series
• Thomas Pickering, senior vice president, International Relations, Boeing
• Sir Christopher Meyer, British ambassador to the U.S.
• Ross Wilson, U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan
• Karim Kawar, Jordan’s ambassador to the U.S.
World Affairs Speakers
• Thoraya Obaid, executive director, United Nations Population Fund
• Baroness Shirley Williams, leader, Liberal Democrats, House of Lords
• Robert Culshaw, consul general of Great Britain in Chicago
• Dr. Edward DeCarbo, former director of education,
Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art
• Gaylen Knack, partner, Gray Plant Mooty
• Charles Ries, principal deputy assistant secretary of state,
Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State
• J. Brian Atwood, dean, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
• Jeffrey Luther, coordinator, Minnesota Office of Homeland Security
• Minister Ricardo Lagorio, deputy chief of mission, Embassy of Argentina
• David Cid, president, Salus International
Members of Governor’s Trade Mission to China:
• Jesse Ventura, governor, State of Minnesota
• Rebecca Yanisch, commissioner, MN Department of Trade & Economic Development
• Robert Mortenson, VP, FGDI, LLC
• Michel Locquegnies, international sales director, Plasmon
• Barbara Gislason, owner, The Gislason Agency
• Tom Schabel, president, Alexandria Extrusion Company
• Dan Cook, chief operating officer PediaPals
• Ralph Kaehler, owner, Kaehler Homedale Farms
• Jim Thomas, president, International Colder Products
China Symposium Presenters:
• Walter F. Mondale, former U.S. vice president and ambassador to Japan
• Dai Yunlou, minister-counselor for commercial affairs, Embassy of China
• Consul General Xu Jinzhong, consul general of China in Chicago
• Ambassador Burton Levin, professor of Asian affairs, Carleton College
• James McGregor, managing director, Vermilion Ventures
• Gao Xiqing, vice-chairman, China National Council for Social Security Fund
• Dr. Harry Harding, dean and professor, Elliott School of International Affairs,
George Washington University
• Shirley Young, former vice president, China Strategic Division, General Motors
• Warren Staley, chairman & CEO, Cargill
• Arthur Collins, chairman and CEO, Medtronic
• Stephen Sanger, chairman and CEO, General Mills
• Ambassador James Sasser, former U.S. ambassador to China
• Eugene Sit, chairman, Sit Investment Associates
