Lowell Lecture
Great Decisions | The Philippines & the U.S.: change with continuity?
Date & Time
May 7, 2020 at 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Location
Boston Public Library - Rabb Lecture Hall
700 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02116
Driving Directions
Speaker(s)
Ambassador Kristie Kenney
Presenting Organization
Topics
Contact
Elise Pitcairn (events@worldboston.org, 617-542-8995)
The Philippines has had a special relationship with the United States since the islands were ceded by Spain to the United States after the Spanish-American War at the end of the 19th century. However, since the election of Rodrigo Duterte, the country has pivoted more toward China, and away from the U.S. Duterte has also launched a large scale war on drugs that many criticize for its brutality. What does the future hold for U.S. relations with the Philippines?
Ambassador Kristie Kenney holds the State Department's highest rank of Career Ambassador and has over 30 years experience in diplomacy. Ambassador Kenney served as the 32nd Counselor of the State Department, the Department's fifth ranking official policy position. She is a frequent public speaker on leadership and foreign policy and currently teaches a course on leadership at Georgetown University. As Ambassador to Thailand, she led U.S. assistance during Thailand’s devastating 2011 floods and managed the response to the 2014 military coup. She was the U.S Ambassador to the Philippines from 2006-2010 and was also the first woman to hold that post. During this and subsequent assignments, she pioneered use of social media by U.S. Ambassadors to connect with diverse foreign audiences. Earlier, she served as the U.S. Ambassador to Ecuador.