Veteran Diplomat Looks at Geopolitics 100 Years after WWI in 1st Wednesdays Lecture

Manchester, Vermont - Distinguished veteran diplomat George Jaeger will consider the similarities between the run-up to the first World War and current geopolitics in a talk at First Congregational Church in Manchester on October 1 at 7:00 pm. His talk, "A Century after World War I: Are We Sleepwalking Again?” is part of the Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays lecture series and is free and open to the public. The talk is hosted by Mark Skinner Library.

It’s been said that in 1914 Europe sleepwalked into a war no one wanted. Jaeger will examine the conditions leading to World War I and consider whether current geopolitics might play out similarly.

Jaeger's career spanned the Cold War and beyond. After early assignments in Liberia and Tito's Yugoslavia he served in the US Mission in Berlin, negotiated the non-proliferation treaty in Bonn and covered east-west relations in Paris. Among his most challenging assignments were his three years as Staff Director of the President's Advisory Commission on Arms Control and Disarmament, his stint as a senior negotiator of the Helsinki Final Act in Geneva, and his final tour as Deputy Assistant Secretary General of NATO and Chairman of the Alliance's Political Committee under Lord Carrington in Brussels.

Since retiring, Jaeger has been an international consultant, supervised elections in postwar Bosnia and
Kosovo, and has continued to teach and lecture frequently on foreign affairs.

The Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays series is held on the first Wednesday of every month from October through May in nine communities statewide, featuring speakers of national and regional renown. Talks in Manchester are held at First Congregational Church (unless otherwise noted) and are hosted by Mark Skinner Library.

Upcoming talks in Manchester include “Painting in Early Renaissance Florence: Competition and Collaboration” with Middlebury College professor Katy Smith Abbott on November 5; “Beethoven’s Deafness: Psychological Crisis and Artistic Triumph” with renowned concert pianist and psychiatrist Richard Kogan on December 3; and “Building Monticello” with Dartmouth College senior lecturer Marlene Heck on January 7.

The Vermont Department of Libraries is the statewide underwriter of First Wednesdays.

Mark Skinner Library is sponsored by The Perfect Wife Restaurant and Tavern, The Spiral Press Café, and Vermont Renewable Fuels.

“A Century after World War I” is underwritten by Keelan Family Foundation.

For more information, contact Mark Skinner Library at 802.362.2607 or the Vermont Humanities Council at 802.262.2626 or info@vermonthumanities.org, or visit www.vermonthumanities.org.