Distinguished scholars, diplomats and government officials from the U.S. and Europe will come together at Texas A&M University to celebrate and discuss the fall of the Berlin Wall, one of the most dramatic and far-reaching events in world history.
The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M will host a conference entitled “The 25th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the Liberation of Eastern Europe” on Nov. 10 at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center.
The decades-old wall separating East and West Berlin was demolished 25 years ago, liberating much of Eastern Europe from authoritarian regimes, changing the face of Europe and beginning the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The conference will bring together a unique group of individuals to review these historic events and discuss their effect on international relations then and now. Many of the conference participants were directly involved in the momentous events of 1989.
Speakers will include Lt. General Brent Scowcroft (Ret.), and former Secretary of State James Baker, both of whom were key advisors to President George H.W. Bush on national security issues, as well as Bush School Dean Ryan Crocker.
European participants will include Elmar Brok, a member of the European Parliament and current head of the Foreign Affairs Committee; Horst Teltschik, former security advisor to former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl; and Fredric Bozo from the University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle.
Ambassador Larry Napper of the Bush School, former deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Bucharest, Romania; Ambassador Robert Hutchings, dean of the LBJ School of Public Affairs and former deputy director of Radio Free Europe; and James Graham Wilson, historian at the Department of State are among the American scholars and policy experts who will participate in the conference. Others include Jeff Engel, director, Presidential History Projects, Southern Methodist University and Chris Layne, Josh Shifrinson and Gabriella Thornton from the Bush School.
The event is open to the public, but reservations are required.
