Hanson to give an overview of U.S. Foreign Policy challenges

Thomas Hanson

Thomas Hanson, a former U.S. Foreign Service Officer with the Department of State, will speak Thursday, June 15 at 7 p.m. at Cook County Higher Education, which is located at 300 West 3rd Street in Grand Marais.

Although there is no cost to hear Mr. Hanson, donations are appreciated.

This program will provide an analysis of global trends that are impacting U.S. foreign policy, such as rising populism, growing assertiveness by China and Russia in their own regions, the impact of Brexit on Europe, and rivalries in the Middle East, particularly between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The speaker visited Saudi Arabia last year and will describe the country that President Trump has chosen for his first visit overseas.

Thomas Hanson is a former U.S. Foreign Service Officer with the Department of State whose diplomatic postings included East Germany, France, Norway, the Soviet Union, Sweden, and the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. He also participated in the opening of new U.S. embassies in Mongolia and Estonia, worked on the Foreign Relations Committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and served as director for NATO and European Affairs at the Atlantic Council of the United States in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Hanson currently is Diplomat in Residence at the Alworth Institute for International Affairs at the University of Minnesota – Duluth. He serves as program secretary of the Committee on Foreign Relations Minnesota and is a member of the Great Decisions advisory committee of Global Minnesota, where he is a frequent Great Decisions speaker. He contributes to local and international media and is a board member of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights (U.S. Foundation); Partnership for Change, an NGO based in Norway; and the International Leadership Program at St. Thomas University. He is also a member of the U.S. Foreign Policy Working Group of the British International Studies Association (BISA) and a director at the Institute of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (IEECA).

Mr. Hanson holds a BA degree from the University of Minnesota and graduate degrees from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; the Institute of Advanced International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland; and the National School of Administration (ENA) in Paris, France.