By Eric Stock
NORMAL – Illinois State University is marking 50 years in its Adlai E. Stevenson Lecture series by bringing in someone who dedicated much of his life to ridding the world of nuclear weapons.
Former Egyptian Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei will give a speech entitled ‘Preventing a Nuclear Nightmare’ at 7 p.m. at the ISU Center for the Performing Arts.
PODCAST: Listen to Scott and Colleen’s interview with Koos on WJBC.
McLean County Museum of History director Greg Koos, who serves as a member of the Stevenson Lecture Series Board of Directors, told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin ElBaradei’s more recent claim to fame was his rise to power through the Arab Spring in 2011 and his own exit.
“With the overthrow of (Mohamed) Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, he resigned because of all the violence that was implicit in the new government takeover,” Koos said. “So this is a guy with a lot of conscience.”
ElBaradei previously served as director general of the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency from 1997 to 2009. It was during that time he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.
“Clearly, nuclear tensions and issues of who uses nukes, what do you use nuclear power for, how do you use it peacefully, is it a security threat, all of these issues have been the subject of a lot of our recent history since 2000,” Koos added.
The lecture series has attracted many heads of state and prominent voices over the years, including Paul Simon, Henry Kissinger, Lech Walesa, Adlai Stevenson III, David Brooks and Ken Burns.
Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].
