Wednesday, October 21, 2015
7:00 PM (ET)
Zankel
Event Type
Lecture
Department
Zankel Music Center
Link
http://ems.skidmore.edu/MasterCalendar/EventDetails.aspx?EventDetailId=11896
George J. Mitchell entered the U.S. Senate in 1980 and went
on to an illustrious career that spanned 14 years. In January 1989, he became
Senate majority leader. He held that position until he left the Senate in
1995. Earlier he served as U.S. Attorney
and U.S. District Court Judge.
In 1995-99 he chaired peace negotiations in Northern Ireland, for
which he received numerous awards and honors, including the Presidential Medal
of Freedom, the highest civilian honor the U.S. government can give; the
Philadelphia Liberty Medal; the Truman Institute Peace Prize; the German
(Hesse) Peace Prize; and the United Nations (UNESCO) Peace Prize.
At the request of President Clinton and Israeli and Palestinian
leaders, Senator Mitchell served in 2000-01 as chairman of an international
fact-finding committee on violence in the Middle East. At the request of
President Obama he served in 2009-11 as the U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle
East.
He served as chairman of the Walt Disney Company, and as chairman
of the International Crisis Group, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the
prevention of crises in international affairs.
He
is now chairman emeritus of the global law firm DLA Piper.
Sen.
Mitchell is the author of five books. The most recent, a memoir titled The Negotiator: Reflections on an American
Life, was published in May 2015.
In 2008 Time magazine described him as one of
the 100 most influential people in the world.