Anthony James (Tony) Leon, member of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa and former leader of the Democratic Alliance and Democratic Party, will give a lecture at the University of Mary Washington on Thursday, November 8. The talk, “South Africa: Perspectives from the Past, Prospects for the Future,” will take place at 7:30 p.m. in George Washington Hall, Dodd Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.
Leon has been an inside participant in the public life of South Africa for the past 20 years, a period of profound change and national renewal,. He had a ringside seat as the torn country negotiated its way out of apartheid and into democracy, and was one of the key negotiators of South Africa’s Constitution in the 1990s. As vice president of Liberal International, he has addressed international organizations, including the Council of Foreign Relations in Washington and the Institute for Strategic Studies in London.
Described by former South African President Nelson Mandela as “a leader whose dynamism and capacity for analysis keeps everyone on their toes,” Leon will share his experience and focus on the threats and challenges of the democratic and economic dispensation of South Africa, and how these impact on the wider world. He has written articles for Time Magazine, The Spectator and The Daily Telegraph. He also is the author of “Hope & Fear: Reflections of a Democrat” and several academic publications written during his tenure as a member of the law faculty of the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
This semester, Leon is serving as a Fellow of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University.
For more information about the lecture, contact Ranny Corbin, executive director of University Relations and Communications, at (540) 654-1232.