2022 Spring Forum Fundraiser
NATO: An Alliance for the 21st Century
with Lt. General Douglas Lute (ret.),
Former US Ambassador to NATO
Tuesday, May 17th at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Manchester, NH Downtown
In-Person Member Tickets - $75
In-Person Non- Member Tickets - $100
Patron Ticket - $175
Online Member Ticket - $50
Online Non-Member Ticket - $75
Proceeds from this event help to support the work of WACNH.
The World Affairs Council of New Hampshire is honored to host Lieutenant General Douglas Lute (ret.), former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, for an engaging evening on the future of the western alliance. Founded after World War II to counter the Soviet threat to Western European democracies, NATO has been called the most successful alliance in history. Growing from 12 members at its founding in 1949 to 30 members today, the NATO alliance has found new life with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. NATO countries have come together to provide assistance to Ukraine. NATO expansion may again be on the table as Finland and Sweden are considering joining the alliance. However, as many people rally to its support, a strong number of people continue to question NATO's future. As Ambassador to NATO from 2013 until 2017, General Lute has valuable insights into how this 73 year old organization can adapt to new realities.
Rather than speak from prepared remarks, General Lute will engage in a moderated discussion with Victoria Holt, Director of Dartmouth's Center for International Understanding, and a former deputy assistant secretary in the State Department with responsibilities for UN peacekeeping.
The program will be held on Tuesday, May 17th, 2022 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Manchester, NH. Doors will open at 5:00 pm for a reception and networking. The formal program will begin at 6 pm with a brief presentation of the WACNH Global Leadership Award. Lt. General Lute will engage in a moderated conversation with Victoria Holt, followed by answering questions from the audience.
After the presentation Lt. General Lute will join the Sponsors and Patrons for a dinner for deeper discussion.
The Annual Spring Forum is WACNH's premier fundraising events for the year and helps the organization raise funds to continue its work. Your support is greatly appreciated and vital to the Council's efforts.
About Douglas Lute
LT. GEN. DOUGLAS E. LUTE (ret.) is International and Defense Chair of the BGR Group, CEO of Cambridge Global Advisors, LLC, and McDermott Distinguished Chair of Social Sciences at the United States Military Academy, West Point.
Ambassador Lute is the former United States Ambassador to NATO. Appointed by President Obama, he assumed the Brussels-based post in 2013 and served until 2017. During this period, he was instrumental in designing and implementing the Alliance responses to the most severe security challenges in Europe since the end of the Cold War.
A career Army officer, in 2010 Lute retired from active duty as a lieutenant general after 35 years of service. In 2007 President Bush named him as Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor to coordinate the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2009 he was the senior White House official retained by President Obama and his focus on the National Security Council staff shifted to South Asia. Across these two Administrations, he served a total of six years in the White House.
Before being assigned to the White House, General Lute served as Director of Operations (J3) on the Joint Staff, overseeing U.S. military operations worldwide. From 2004 to 2006, he was Director of Operations for the United States Central Command, with responsibility for U.S. military operations in 25 countries across the Middle East, eastern Africa and Central Asia, in which over 200,000 U.S. troops operated.
Through his military-diplomatic career, he received numerous honors and awards, including three awards of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award, the Grand Officer of the Order of Merit for the Italian Republic, and the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit for the Federal Republic of Germany.
General Lute holds degrees from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the United States Military Academy at West Point, which named him a Distinguished Graduate in 2018. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations; a charter member of the Senior Military Advisory Group of the United States Institute of Peace; a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy; and a member of the board of the Atlantic Council of the United States.
About Victoria Holt
Victoria K. Holt is the Norman E. McCulloch Jr. Director of the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding. She joined Dartmouth in September 2021, with a background in public policy, leadership and diplomacy. In Washington, DC, she served as Vice President at the Henry L. Stimson Center, a research and policy institute focused on international affairs, and directed the Transforming Conflict and Governance program. Earlier Holt was tapped to be Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Security, Bureau of International Organization Affairs (IO), and served at the State Department from 2009 to early 2017. In that role, she was responsible for policy and guidance for actions in the UN Security Council and oversaw the Offices of Peace Operations, Sanctions & Counterterrorism and UN Political Affairs. Holt led the development of U.S. diplomatic initiatives, including the 2015 Leaders' Summit on U.N. Peacekeeping, hosted by President Obama to increase capacities for UN operations.
EVENT SPONSORS
PATRON SPONSORS
Stephen Barndollar
Mary Jane Beauregard and John Smith
Peter Bowman and Helen Taft
Davis Farmer
Carolyn and Philip Hollman
Richard Lobban
Vikram Mansharamani
Kathryn and James Muirhead
Melinda Negron-Gonzales
Venu Rao
Jack and Carol Resch
Carolyn Richmond
Diane Schaefer
David and Missie Schroeder
Timothy Sheedy
Anne Smith
Andy Supplee
Virginia and Joseph Szymanowski
