Former British prime minister Tony Blair will deliver the 2009 Issam M. Fares Lecture at Tufts on Feb. 2 as part of a series that brings esteemed public figures to campus to discuss contemporary issues relating to the Middle East.
The Fares lecture series began at Tufts in 1994 and aims to promote Middle Eastern studies in areas like the humanities, economics and languages.
"Given Mr. Blair's first-hand experience as a former prime minister and currently as a diplomat, his insights will clarify some of the significant challenges that we face at the beginning of the twenty-first century," Leila Fawaz, the founding director of the Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies, told the Daily in an e-mail. The Fares Center organizes the lecture series.
Past Fares speakers include former secretaries of state Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell and James Baker, and other political figures such as Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), former president Bill Clinton and former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
The university has yet to announce the planned topic of Blair's talk.
"Mr. Blair's addresses typically draw very much on current events. While we don't have details on what he will discuss, we expect it to be exciting and thought-provoking," Tufts Assistant Director of Public Relations Suzanne Miller told the Daily in an e-mail.
In order to recruit such an elite group of speakers, Tufts makes both direct approaches to potential guest lecturers and sometimes to speakers' bureaus.
"Leading public figures such as Mr. Blair receive many more invitations than they can accept," Miller said. "Tufts' outstanding academic reputation and the distinguished tradition of the Fares lecture series play an important role in helping us attract exceptional lecturers."
Blair served as prime minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1997 to 2007. Early on in his term, he enjoyed considerable support as he revitalized components of social services like health and education, and brokered a power-sharing deal in Northern Ireland. As head of the Labour Party, Blair reformed the party's image and changed its traditional stance by moving it further toward the center.
Blair later faced wide criticism in the United Kingdom, however, after displaying steadfast support for President George W. Bush and the Iraq war. He resigned in 2007.
"World leaders of the caliber of Mr. Blair are few and far between," University President Lawrence Bacow told the Daily in an e-mail.
Blair has most recently concentrated on working with Israel and the Palestinian Authority as the Middle East representative of the Quartet — the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia. He also leads the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, which encourages understanding and respect between different world religions and faiths.
"We look forward to hearing the thoughts of a public figure of the stature of Tony Blair," Fawaz said.
Blair was due to give the Fares Lecture last year, but scheduling conflicts prevented him from coming, according to Bacow. No lecture was held during the 2007-2008 academic year.
Administrators and lecture organizers have made clear in the past that the Fares lecture is not necessarily an annual event; in fact, some years have seen no lecturers given, and in 1996 there were two.
"While we try to have a Fares lecture each academic year, the timing of the lectures depends on speaker schedules and availability," Miller said.
"We feel fortunate to have secured a date for Mr. Blair that works for everyone," Bacow said.
The Fares lecture series is named after Issam M. Fares, a former trustee and the deputy prime minister of Lebanon from 2000 to 2005, and is supported by a Fares family endowment.
Fawaz said the Fares lecture's purpose meshes with the goals of the Fares Center.
"Our mission at the Fares Center is to bring to our students important leaders who can offer different viewpoints for us to consider through their informed perspectives on international issues," Fawaz said.
Tickets for the lecture will be distributed using an online lottery system the week of Jan. 26. Blair's speech will occur at 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 2, in the Gantcher Center.
