Join Asia Society Policy Institute President and former Prime Minister of Australia the Hon. Kevin Rudd for a conversation on China and global politics with Orville Schell, director of Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations. Both are recognized experts on China, and they will reflect on the paths they took to become scholars of an enigmatic country, whose rapid development has become one of the most consequential stories of today.

Mr. Rudd grew up as the son of a dairy farmer in rural Australia to become a Mandarin-speaking professional diplomat and self-described policy wonk. He would later become foreign minister from 2010 to 2012 and eventually serve in Australia’s highest office as the 26th prime minister of Australia. This event serves as the NY launch of Rudd's book, Not for the Faint-Hearted: A Personal Reflection on Life, Politics and Purpose 1957-2007.

***Complimentary copies of Mr. Rudd’s book will be available at the event *** 

Speakers

The Hon. Kevin Rudd is the inaugural President of the Asia Society Policy Institute. He served as 26th Prime Minister of Australia (2007 to 2010, 2013) and as Foreign Minister (2010 to 2012). He is a Distinguished Fellow at Chatham House and the Paulson Institute, and a Distinguished Statesman with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is also a member of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization’s Group of Eminent Persons.

Orville Schell is Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at Asia Society. He is a former professor and Dean at the University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and author of fifteen books, ten of them about China, and a contributor to numerous edited volumes. 

This event is sponsored by Delta Air Lines.