His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan To Speak at Aspen Institute
Aspen, CO, July 7, 2008 –– The Aspen Institute will host a special event featuring His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan on Monday, July 21, 2008. The event will take place at 3:00pm at the Greenwald Pavilion on the Institute’s Aspen Meadows Campus. Tickets will be $20 and will go on sale beginning July 9 through Aspen Show Tickets.
His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein is the 43rd generation direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). He assumed his constitutional powers as Monarch of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on February 7, 1999, the day his father, the late King Hussein, passed away. King Abdullah II is the eldest son of His Majesty the late King Hussein and Her Royal Highness Princess Muna Al Hussein.
Since his ascension to the throne, King Abdullah II has continued his late father’s commitment to creating a strong and positive moderating role for Jordan within the Arab region and the world, and has worked towards the establishment of a just and lasting comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. King Abdullah II is committed to building on the late King’s legacy to further institutionalize democratic and political pluralism in Jordan. He has exerted extensive effort to ensuring sustainable levels of economic growth and social development aimed at improving the standard of living of all Jordanians. He is also working towards modernizing Jordan’s information technology and educational systems.
Under King Abdullah’s reign, Jordan was admitted to the World Trade Organization, and ratified agreements for the establishment of a Free Trade Area with the United States of America, the European Union, the European Free Trade Association countries, and sixteen Arab countries. King Abdullah II has also been involved in the drive for national administrative reform, as well as governmental transparency and accountability. He has been working on the advancement of civil liberties making Jordan one of the most progressive countries in the Middle East. Also, he has been involved in enacting the necessary legislations that guarantee women a full role in the Kingdom’s socio-economic and political life.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.aspenshowtickets.com or by calling Aspen Show tickets at the Wheeler Opera House at 970-920-5770. For more information on this and other Aspen Institute events open to the public, please contact Cristal Logan at 970-544-7929 or cristal.logan@aspeninstitute.org, call the information hotline at 970-544-7970, or visit the Institute’s website at www.aspeninstitute.org/aspenevents.
Other speakers to be featured at the Institute include:
| July 15 | Tom Korologos, former US Ambassador to Belgium and strategic advisor at DLA Piper LLP “Iraq: A Perspective 5 Years Later” 6:30 – 7:30 pm |
| July 22 | Christopher Buckley, American political satirist and best-selling author “What’s in a Title?” 6:30 – 7:30 pm |
| July 29 | Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State and Principal, The Albright Group LLC “A Conversation with Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright” 6:30 – 7:30 pm – Will be held in Doerr-Hosier Center |
| July 30 | Cokie Roberts, best-selling author and renowned political commentator “Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation” 6:30 – 7:30 pm |
| August 1 | Strobe Talbott, president of the Brookings Institution and former Deputy Secretary of State “The Great Experiment: The Story of Ancient Empires, Modern States, and the Quest for a Global Nation” 5:00 – 6:30 pm |
| August 6 | John D. Negroponte, Deputy Secretary of State “Enduring US Foreign Policy Priorities” 6:30 – 7:30 pm – Will be held in Doerr-Hosier Center |
| August 12 | Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseased at the National Institutes of Health “The AIDS Era: A Historical Perspective” 6:30 – 7:30 pm |
| August 14 | John McCain, presumptive Republican presidential nominee and Arizona Senator 3:00 pm – Will be held in Greenwald Pavilion |
The Aspen Institute, founded in 1950, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering enlightened leadership and open-minded dialogue. Through seminars, policy programs, conferences and leadership development initiatives, the Institute and its international partners seek to promote nonpartisan inquiry and an appreciation for timeless values. The Institute is headquartered in Washington, DC, and has campuses in Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River near the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. Its international network includes partner Aspen Institutes in Berlin, Rome, Lyon, Tokyo, New Delhi, and Bucharest, and leadership initiatives in Africa, Central America, and India.
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