UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan is to visit the University’s Magee campus, where he will deliver the latest in the Tip O’Neill lecture series on the theme of peacebuilding.

Professor Gerry McKenna, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ulster, said: “ We are delighted to welcome an international statesman of the Secretary-General’s distinction to the University.

“At no time since the end of World War 2 has the role of the United Nations been more important in the world.  It is a privilege for the university to host such a lecture and to share with many of our friends from the wider world this important occasion”. 

The event is scheduled for 18 October, and attendance will be by invitation only.

The Tip O’Neill Lecture has in the past been presented by distinguished figures such as Senator Edward Kennedy; Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission; Michel Rocard, former Prime Minister of France; Bertie Ahern as President of European Council of Ministers; and Pat Cox, President of the European Parliament.

The holder of the Tip O’Neill Chair in Peace Studies at the University is Nobel Peace Laureate Professor John Hume, whose appointment was announced at a special ceremony in Washington in March 2002. President Clinton made a special visit to the University of Ulster in July last year to inaugurate John Hume’s tenure of the Chair.

Professor Tom Fraser, Provost of the Magee campus where the Tip O’Neill lectures take place, said: “ On accepting the Chair, John Hume said that part of his work would be to bring some of the most highly regarded peacemakers in the world to Northern Ireland.

“That is a promise he has richly fulfilled.”

The Tip O’Neill Chair is supported by The Ireland Funds, and commemorates the former distinguished Speaker of the US House of Representatives, who was well known for his consistent work and commitment to promote peace, reconciliation and justice in Northern Ireland.

For further information, please contact:

Press Office, Department of Communication and Development
Tel: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk