National Archives Holds -Two American Conversations- on Global Affairs
Press Release · Thursday, February 8, 2007

Press Release
February 8, 2007

National Archives Holds Two “American Conversations” on Global Affairs

Discussions planned for March and May on “Monitoring the World”

Washington, DC…Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein will host two “American Conversations” with distinguished foreign policy experts in March and May. The first discussion will be with Ambassador Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, on Thursday, March 15, at 7 p.m. Congressman Tom Lantos, Chair of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs, will join the Archivist for the view on global affairs from the Congressional Majority. This program, originally scheduled for May 3, has been rescheduled. A new date will be announced. The Archivist will also be discussing Congressman Lantos’ extraordinary life (see bio below) in Europe and America.

These programs are part of a National Archives series of discussions on American history and identity. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Lynne Cheney, award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns, and historian John Hope Franklin were featured in previous “American Conversations.” Videos of past programs may be viewed on the National Archives web site.

Events in this series are held in the William G. McGowan Theater of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, which is located on the National Mall at Constitution Avenue and 7th Street, NW, and fully accessible. All programs in the “American Conversations” series are free and open to the public. Seating for this program is on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information or to request an accommodation (e.g., sign language interpreter) for a public program, please e-mail public.program@nara.gov or call 202-357-5000 at least two weeks prior to the event to ensure proper arrangements are secured.

Ambassador Nicholas Burns serves as the senior career Foreign Service appointee in the State Department. He previously served as the United States Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; U.S. Ambassador to Greece; Spokesman of the Department of State; Special Assistant to President Clinton and Senior Director for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia Affairs; and, under President George H.W. Bush, Director for Soviet (and then Russian) Affairs.

Congressman Tom Lantos is Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs. He was first elected to Congress in November 1980, and is serving his thirteenth term in office. Representative Lantos was born in Budapest, Hungary and was 16 years old when Nazi Germany occupied his native country. He is the only Holocaust survivor ever to serve in the U.S. Congress. After the war, he was awarded an academic scholarship to study in the United States. He received a B.A. and M.A. in economics from the University of Washington in Seattle and later earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to his service in Congress, he was a professor of economics, an international affairs analyst for public television, and a consultant to a number of businesses.

Archivist Allen Weinstein was confirmed as the ninth Archivist of the United States in February 2005. Professor Weinstein, a former Professor of History who has held professorships at Boston University, Georgetown University, and Smith College, is the author of numerous essays and books, including The Story of America (2002), The Haunted Wood: Soviet Espionage in America—The Stalin Era (1999), Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case (1978 & 1997), and Freedom and Crisis: An American History (3rd edition, 1981). From 1985 to 2003, he served as President of The Center for Democracy in Washington, DC. His international awards include the United Nations Peace Medal (1986).

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For press information contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at 202-357-5300.

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