October 9, 2001
Contact: Roman Baratiak
(805) 893-2078
e-mail: baratiak-r@sa.ucsb.edu

Prominent diplomat
Giandomenico Picco to deliver lecture,
“The New Middle East,” at UCSB

Summary Facts:

• Giandomenico Picco
• Lecture: “The New Middle East: From Lebanon to Iran”
• Personal Representative of Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations
• Helped negotiate the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan
• Wednesday, November 14
• 5 pm / UCSB Corwin Pavilion
• Free event
• For information: UCSB Arts & Lectures at 893-3535

Prominent diplomat Giandomenico Picco will give a free lecture, “The New Middle East: From Lebanon to Iran,” on Wednesday, November 14 at 5 pm in UCSB Corwin Pavilion. Serving in the United Nations from 1973-1992, Picco played a crucial role in several Middle Eastern negotiations, including the release of the Western hostages in Lebanon, the 1988 cease-fire that ended the Iran-Iraq war and the Geneva agreements on the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. He is currently Personal Representative of Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations.

Picco’s memoir, Man Without a Gun: One Diplomat’s Secret Struggle to Free the Hostages, Fight Terrorism, and End a War (Times Books), received critical plaudits upon its release in 1999. Publishers Weekly called the book, “Riveting...this memoir of an extraordinary career reads like a combination of a thriller and a textbook on the delicate and dangerous art of diplomacy in an often explosive region.”

In addition to his career at the United Nations which saw him ultimately attain the post of Assistant Secretary General of Political Affairs, Picco has published widely on international policy. His work has appeared in publications as diverse as Le Monde (France), The Japan Times, Al-Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), La Repubblica (Italy) and Foreign Affairs (New York). Since 1994 he has been the chief executive officer of GDP Associates, a New York-based consulting firm to industrial corporations interested in operating in emerging economies, particularly in the Middle East and Central Asia. He received his Master’s Degree in International Relations and Cooperative Politics from UCSB.

This talk by Picco is presented as part of the lecture series Global Peace, Security and Human Rights by UCSB Arts & Lectures, the Interdisciplinary Humanities Center, the UC Institute for Global Conflict and Cooperation, the UCSB Global Peace and Security Program, and Global and International Studies. Additional support has been provided by the Center for Middle East Studies, Santa Barbara Committee on Foreign Relations, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, PAX 2100, International Students Association at SB City College, and the International Studies Program at Ventura College. Courtesy of the UCSB Bookstore, Giandomenico Picco’s book will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

For tickets or more information,
call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535.

Editor: For photos, please call
Roman Baratiak at (805) 893-2078.