The UA Geography Program will bring Latin American relations with the US to the forefront at a free public lecture on Wednesday, Feb. 11. Former United States Ambassador John R. Hamilton’s topic will be “U.S. – Latin Relations at the Outset of the Obama Administration.” The lecture will cover many contemporary issues facing the region including recent political developments in Venezuela, Peru, and the Caribbean.
Hamilton (pictured at right) was the US Ambassador to Peru from 1999 to 2002 and Guatemala from 2002 to 2005. He now lives on Harstine Island, near Shelton, Wash.
A career officer in the US Foreign Service for thirty five years, Hamilton served in Spain, Mexico, Greece, Peru (twice), Costa Rica, and Guatemala. He was also assigned to the Western Hemisphere Affairs bureau of the Department of State in Washington, D.C., at junior, mid-grade and senior levels of his career. Before being named Ambassador to Peru, he was the second-ranking official in Western Hemisphere Affairs and had responsibility, among other issues, for US policy toward Cuba. He also worked for extended periods on Central American Affairs and was given an award for his support of the peace negotiations that ended the thirty six-year armed conflict in Guatemala in 1996. The department presented him with its Distinguished Honor Award in 2005.
Hamilton attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Morehead Scholar, graduating with honors in U.S. history in 1967. In 1982 he obtained a master’s degree in Latin American Studies from Stanford University. Before entering the Foreign Service, he saw active duty in the U.S. Navy Reserve in the Pacific Fleet. His interests include music, birding, gardening, hiking, kayaking, fishing, and bridge.
Ambassador Hamilton’s lecture is sponsored by the University of Alaska Geography Program, UAF School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences, and the Alaska World Affairs Council. The free lecture is at 7 p.m. Feb. 11 at the UAF Salisbury Theatre.
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