Autumn 2008 | Public lectures and events | Video

Contributor(s): Mirek Topolánek | Mirek Topolanek has been Prime Minister of the Czech Republic since September 2006. He has been chairman of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) since November 2002. Mr Topolanek will speak about the priorities of the forthcoming Czech Republic's EU Presidency.

Contributor(s): Michael Chertoff | Given the threats posed by terrorism and natural disasters, the issue of how to handle risk remains an essential one for nations. While in free societies, people routinely make risk calculations, markets do an imperfect job of risk allocation. Governments must sometimes step in, but in a way that carefully manages risk through prudent, measured regulation. On February 15, 2005, Judge Michael Chertoff was sworn in as the second Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Chertoff formerly served as United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

Contributor(s): Douglas Alexander, Professor Robin Burgess, Professor Paul Collier, Gobind Nankani | The UK's Secretary of State for International Development, Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP, will speak on the impact of the global economic downturn on the world's poorest countries. Professor Paul Collier, Oxford University, will be speaking about the latest academic thinking on promoting growth in the world's poorest countries. Professor Robin Burgess, LSE, will present on how the International Growth Centre will support economic growth in developing countries.Gobind Nankani, a Ghanaian native, was recently appointed President of the Global Development Network (GDN) in 2007. He is a development economist and had a distinguished 30 year career at the World Bank, holding management positions in various regions and sectors across the Bank.

Contributor(s): David Cameron MP | In December 2005 David Cameron was elected leader of the Conservative Party. Prior to this he held the position of Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Skills. He was elected to parliament in 2001 representing Witney. Before he became an MP, David worked in business and government. He worked as a Special Adviser in government, first to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and then to the Home Secretary. Afterwards he spent seven years at Carlton Communications, one of the UK's leading media companies, and served on the management Board.

Contributor(s): Baroness Haleh Afshar, Professor Dominic Lieven, Sam Moorhead, Nigel Spivey, Professor Norman Stone | Unfortunately due to a technical fault the last fifteen minutes of this event are missing from the recording

Contributor(s): Shami Chakrabarti, Jonathan Cooper, Professor Conor Gearty, Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, Professor Francesca Klug, Professor Peter Townsend | To mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this fun yet challenging event will ask which is the greatest right.

Contributor(s): Cherie Blair, Howard Davies | Cherie Blair is a noted barrister and QC, specialising in human rights law. She is married to Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister. Cherie studied law at LSE and is a governor and honorary fellow of the School. In this event she will talk to Howard Davies, LSE Director about her autobiography published earlier this year entitled Speaking for Myself (May 2008, Little, Brown).

Contributor(s): Alessandro Profumo | Banks are called upon to play a primary role, in cooperation with policymakers and regulators, in the quest for better levels of financial stability for the system as a whole. The real economy's needs must be central to the bank's characteristic function. Alessandro Profumo has been the Chief Executive Officer of UniCredit Group since it was founded in 1997; as of December 2005 he is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of HVB and as of July 2006 he is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Bank Austria Creditanstalt. Previously he held the post of Chief Executive Officer of Credito Italiano which he had joined in 1994 as its Chief General Manager in charge of Planning & Group Control, a year after that bank was privatised. At an international level, he is Member of the Board of the European Banking Federation - Brussels, of the European Financial Services Round Table - London, of the Trilateral Commission (Italian Group), of the Investment Advisory Council for Turkey - Istanbul and of the Institut International d'Etudes Bancaires - Brussels.

Contributor(s): Jonathan Fenby, Professor Athar Hussain, Martin Jacques, Professor Chen Jian | Whether we think sport and politics should or should not be mixed, it is clear that in the case of the Beijing Olympics the two have never been more closely intertwined. But how has the Olympics impacted on China? Has it improved or worsened China's image in the world? And how will it effect its future relations with the West? Jonathan Fenby is a British journalist, and was editor of The Observer newspaper from 1993-1995. He wrote The Penguin History of Modern China 1850-2008, which was published in June 2008. Athar Hussain is director of the Asia Research Centre. Martin Jacques is a visiting research fellow in the Asia Research Centre, LSE. Chen Jian is the Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs at LSE.

Contributor(s): Dr Ian Goldin | Dr Ian Goldin is the first Director of The James Martin 21st Century School at Oxford University taking up his position in September 2006. Goldin was Vice President of the World Bank (2003-2006) and prior to that the Bank's Director of Development Policy (2001-2003). He served on the Bank's senior management team, and was directly responsible for its relationship with the UK and all other European, North America and developed countries. Goldin led the Bank's collaboration with the United Nations and other partners. As Director of Development Policy, Goldin played a pivotal role in the research and strategy agenda of the Bank. From 1996 to 2001 he was Chief Executive and Managing Director of the Development Bank of Southern Africa and served as an adviser to President Nelson Mandela. He succeeded in transforming the Bank to become the leading agent of development in the 14 countries of Southern Africa. During this period, Goldin served on several Government committees and Boards, and was Finance Director for South Africa's Olympic Bid.