Former Iran hostage L. Bruce Laingen to speak at Maxwell School

Former Iran hostage L. Bruce Laingen to speak at Maxwell SchoolApril 05, 2006SU News ServicesSUnews@syr.edu

L. Bruce Laingen, former hostage in Iran, will speak Tuesday, April 11, at 4:30 in the Public Events Room, Room 220 of Eggers Hall. His talk, titled “The U.S. and Iran: A Look Back and a Look Forward,” will address the current situation in Iran as well as new trends in the foreign service and the role it plays in foreign policy today.

Laingen was the charge d’affaires of the American embassy in Tehran when it was taken over during the Iran hostage crisis on Nov. 4, 1979. He and his fellow hostages were released on Jan. 20, 1981.

Following his release, Laingen served as vice president of the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., until his retirement from the foreign service in 1987. He was executive director of the National Commission on the Public Service (the Volcker Commission) from 1987 until the commission completed its work in 1990. He is currently president of the American Academy of Diplomacy, a private organization created to increase understanding of the role of diplomacy in U.S. foreign policy.

Laingen holds the Award for Valor from the U.S. Department of State, the Distinguished Public Service medal from the Department of Defense, the Distinguished Alumnus Award from St. Olaf College, the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement, a Presidential Meritorious Award and the Foreign Service Cup.

Laingen’s presentation is sponsored by the Maxwell School’s Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs and the Global Policies Lecture Series.