The Annual Christopher J. Makins Lecture Series

In 2005, the Atlantic Council of the United States established the Christopher J. Makins Lecture Series to honor Christopher J. Makins (1942-2006), the Council’s past president, who served from 1999 to 2005.

The Inaugural Christopher J. Makins Lecture

The first Lecture was given by the Honorable Zbigniew Brzezinski on the evening of May 31, 2006 at the residence of Sir David Manning KCMG, Ambassador of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United States. More than one hundred government officials, ambassadors, business leaders, academics, directors, councillors and friends of the Council attended to celebrate the memory of Christopher Makins and to listen to Dr. Brzezinski present his thoughts on the global challenges of the 21^st century.

 Please click here for the full text of Dr. Brzezinski’s remarks.

During the ceremony, the Council also awarded the 2006 Transatlantic Student Essay Contest Award to Wes Carpenter of the University of Texas at Austin.

Media Coverage

Financial Times (June 22, 2006)
Never-ending war on terror obscures the real threats, by Philip Stephens

World Peace Herald (June 1, 2006)
Article: Walker's World: Regime change where? by Martin Walker, UPI Editor Emeritus
 

More about the Christopher J. Makins Lecture Series

The Lecture series focuses on the state of the strategic Atlantic partnership, its future direction and the prospects for the furtherance of common European and U.S. interests in order to facilitate strong and lasting global leadership. It is directed at policy makers and political leaders around the world and sets out to challenge them to increase transatlantic cooperation.

Over time, the Atlantic Council plans for the Makins Lecture series to be recognized as the preeminent annual statement on transatlantic relations, providing a platform for the importance of the Alliance and the need for transatlantic cooperation to be maintained. The Lecture series will attract senior experts in transatlantic policy and lead to provocative discussions about the preeminent issues in transatlantic cooperation.

The Lecture is published by the Atlantic Council, to be used as a reference tool by policy makers, legislators, the think-tank community on both sides of the Atlantic; academic scholars; and the media. 

The Makins Lecture series will complement the Atlantic Council’s ongoing mission to promote constructive U.S. leadership and engagement in international affairs, based on the central role of the Atlantic community in meeting the international challenges of the 21st century.

The Atlantic Council is grateful to the following foundations, corporations and individuals who provided support to the establishment of the Annual Christopher J. Makins Lecture Series: