Former UN General Assembly president to deliver Pastor Lecture

Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, former president of the United Nations General Assembly

Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, former president of the United Nations General Assembly, will deliver the Robert ’69 and Margaret Pastor Lecture in International Affairs at 7:30 p.m. March 28 in the Kirby Hall of Civil Rights auditorium.

The United Nations General Assembly elected Garcés as president of its 73rd session on June 5, 2018, only the fourth woman to hold that position in the history of the world body and the first since 2006.

She has written more than 30 academic articles about the Amazon region, culture, heritage, sustainable development, climate change, intellectual property, foreignpolicy, regional integration, and defense and security. Her Lafayette talk, “Reimagining the Future of World Affairs,” is free and open to the public.

“María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés is an impressive female leader originally from Ecuador, where she was twice Minister of Foreign Affairs and also Minister of the Environment,” says Angelika von Wahl, John L. ’67 and Jean A. Hatfield Professor of International Affairs and program chair. “It’s a privilege to welcome her to Lafayette for the annual Pastor Lecture Series. I encourage everyone to attend.”

Garcés, who lends her voice to environmental and climate change issues, was quoted in a Jan. 14 New York Times article about environmental destruction in Ecuador.

The Robert ’69 and Margaret Pastor Lecture Series was launched in April 2013 with a visit and talk by former President Jimmy Carter. Pastor ’69 (1947-2014), for whom the lecture series was named, served the Carter administration as security adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean, and worked to ratify the 1977 Panama Canal treaties. Since its start, the lecture series has brought respected political scientists, diplomats, and writers to Lafayette.

Learn more about the Robert ’69 and Margaret Pastor Lecture Series.