The U.S. Election – What is at Stake for Europe and the World
On November 2nd, 2008, Boston University welcomed former president of the Republic of Poland (1995-2005), Aleksander Kwasniewski, for a lecture entitled The US Election – What is at Stake for Europe and the World? Stephen Walt, Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, joined Kwasniewski as respondent.
Kwasniewski co-founded and was the first chairman of the Social Democratic Party of the Republic of Poland. In 1995, he won the presidential elections for the first time and co-authored the new democratic Constitution of Poland, signed into law in 1997. Under Kwasniewski’s presidency, Poland finally became a member of NATO in 1999 and of the European Union in May 2004. Distinguished Scholar in the Practice of Global Leadership at Georgetown University since 2006, Kwasniewski taught courses on contemporary European politics, democratization in Europe, particularly Central and Eastern Europe, and on the trans-Atlantic relationship.
Most recently, Kwasniewski has held a post on the Leadership Council for Concordia, which is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes effective public-private collaboration to create a more prosperous and sustainable future.
