On the occasion of Earth Day 2014, the World Affairs Council and the Commonwealth Club are delighted to host the President of Iceland. As a member of the Arctic Council, Iceland is at the forefront of those nations in the North feeling the environmental effects brought on by climate change. While the melting polar ice cap has potential broad negative consequences for the world's oceans, sea levels and climate, at the same time it increases the potential for commercial and economic activity in the Arctic region. President Grímsson will address both the challenges and opportunities that will arise from these important global changes in his talk "People and Ice: The New Significance of the Arctic and the Himalayas." His Excellency Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson has been Iceland's president since 1996 and is currently serving his fifth elected term in office. He has served a long and illustrious career in public service, first as a professor of political science at the University of Iceland and later holding numerous positions within the Icelandic government. Among many international awards he has received is the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize which he received on behalf of the international organization Parliamentarians for Global Action, of which he was chairman and later president from 1984 - 1990.

Speaker Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson is President of the Republic of Iceland.

For more information about event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1286