Inside Stories of 21st Century Diplomacy: Catherine Ashton

A former senior diplomat speaks about European history and politics

Baroness Ashton was from 2009 to 2014 High Commissioner of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.  As such she was effectively the European Union’s foreign minister.  She won high praise for her role in bringing Serbia and Kosovo to terms in 2013.  In her new book And Then What? she gives a colourful insider’s account of European diplomacy at a critical time.  She will be in conversation with Misha Glenny, who is Rector of the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, and author of the book and television series McMafia.

Catherine Ashton

Catherine Ashton served as the European Union’s first High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy between 2009 and 2014. On behalf of the UN Security Council, she coordinated negotiations that resulted in the nuclear programme agreement with Iran. Previously she was EU Commissioner for Trade, served as a Minister in the Departments of Education and Justice, and was Leader of the House of Lords and President of HM Queen’s Privy Council. Ashton is Distinguished Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars in Washington D.C and senior advisor to the Geneva based organisation, Humanitarian Dialogue. 

Misha Glenny

Misha Glenny is a distinguished investigative journalist and historian. As the Central Europe Correspondent first for the Guardian and then for the BBC, Glenny chronicled the collapse of communism and the wars in the former Yugoslavia. He has won several major awards for his work, including the Sony Gold Award for outstanding contribution to broadcasting and is the author of five books, including the acclaimed McMafia and DarkMarket.