Join us for the annual Robert H Smith Lecture in Democracy which explores democracy in changing times inspired by Benjamin Franklin's legacy as a statesman, political thinker and more.
The triumvirate relationship between the United Kingdom, the United States and France has long been a stabilising force in the western world and beyond. Ambassador Gerard Errera will discuss the current state of relations between the three countries in conversation with Benjamin Franklin House Director, Márcia Balisciano. This will be set against a backdrop of recent economic and political challenges to ultimately address the question of the future of multilateralism.
Meet our speaker and chair
A career diplomat, Gérard Errera was Secretary General of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and French Ambassador to the United Kingdom. He also served as the French Ambassador to NATO and Director General for Political Affairs of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was appointed “Ambassadeur de France," a lifelong dignity, by the French President. He is presently an international consultant.
Márcia Balisciano is founding Director of Benjamin Franklin House. She is also founding Chief Sustainability Officer at FTSE 20 global business, RELX. She holds a PhD in Economic History from LSE and serves on the board of the Foundation for the (UN) Global Compact and the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens.
Professor Michael Cox is a Founding Director of LSE IDEAS. He was Director of LSE IDEAS between 2008 and 2019. He is author or editor of several books, including a collection of his own essays The Post-Cold War World (2018), a centennial edition of J.M. Keynes’s The Economic Consequences of the Peace (2019),and a new edition of E. H. Carr’s 1945 classic Nationalism & After (2021). His next book, Agonies of Empire: US Power from Clinton to Biden will be published in early 2022.