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The 35th Annual Richard W. Leopold Lecture will be delivered by 68th U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who will discuss Geopolitics and Global Business: Navigating the Future, on October 22, 2024, at 5 pm CT at Cahn Auditorium. 

A moderated Q&A session will be held at the end of the talk. The lecture is free and open to the public. Tickets for this event are SOLD OUT. 

ABOUT 68th U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY

John Kerry served as the United States’ 68th Secretary of State from 2013 to 2017. As America’s top diplomat, he guided the Department’s strategy on nuclear nonproliferation, combating radical extremism, and the threat of climate change. His tenure was marked by the successful negotiation of the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris Climate Agreement. On January 20, 2021, he was sworn in as our nation’s inaugural Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and the first-ever Principal to sit on the National Security Council entirely dedicated to climate change. 

From 1985 to 2013, he served as a U.S. Senator representing Massachusetts, and was Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2009 to 2013. Secretary Kerry served in the U.S. Navy, completing two combat tours of duty in Vietnam for which he received a Silver Star, a Bronze Star with Combat V, and three Purple Hearts. He received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his law degree from Boston College Law School.