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For our first Policy & Practice seminar of academic year 2024-2025 we are joined by Ambassador SimonaÌýLeskovar. The Ambassador will talk about her own experience both in trying to get Slovenia elected to the UN Security Council, but also more broadly about her experience in the UK and within the UN. The talk will includeÌýa discussion as to why small states matter in international security. We are delighted that Sir Mark Lyall Grant  GCMG will join us to give a response.

We will be holding a drinks reception after the event. All attendees are welcome to attend.

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Meet the speakers

Ambassador Simona LeskovarÌý
Simona Leskovar is Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to the Court of St James's until August 2024. Prior to this appointment, she was State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia.Ìý
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Ambassador Leskovar is a career diplomat for 28 years of service in Slovenian diplomacy. She served as Slovenian Ambassador to Japan and Republic of Korea, was Deputy Permanent Representative of Slovenia at Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the United Nations in New York and member or head of several Slovenian delegations and missions to various conferences and events within the UN. Her first post as a diplomat was Washington DC.Ìý
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Ambassador Leskovar holds a position of the EU adviser to Slovenian Foreign Minister during the first Slovenian EU presidency in 2008. She was later Director of Young Bled Strategic Forum and the national Focal Point for Responsibility-to-Protect.Ìý
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Simona Leskovar studied international relations at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, and at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael in The Hague. Ambassador Leskovar initiated the MFA programme 'Young Ambassadors', a mentoring project that was organized together with foreign female Ambassadors in Slovenia, and aimed at encouraging young women to consider a career in diplomacy and international relations.Ìý
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Ambassador Leskovar was appointed Program Director of Bled Strategic Forum at the end of August 2024.Ìý

Sir Mark Lyall Grant  GCMGÌý
Sir Mark Lyall Grant served as the United Kingdom’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN from 2009 to 2015. During this tenure, he served as President of the Security Council four times. He subsequently served as a National Security Adviser during David Cameron and Theresa May’s premierships. Following his retirement from the civil service, he is now a Visiting Professor at King's College London and a strategic advisor.Ìý

Chair: Prof. Veronika FikfakÌýis Professor of Human Rights and International Law in the ÂÒÂ×Ðã Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy.Ìý

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This event will be recorded and the video will be uploaded to ourÌý.

You can subscribe to ourÌýÌýto be alerted when the recording is uploaded.

Accessibility

• The corridor outside the lecture theatre(s) is sufficiently wide enough (150cm+) to allow wheelchair users to pass.
• There is step free access into the lecture theatre(s).
• The door opening width(s) is/are 75cm+ for the lecture theatre(s).
• There are designated spaces for wheelchair users within the lecture theatre(s),Ìýlocated at the back.
• There is level access to the designated seating from an entrance.
• There is space for an assistance dog.
• There is a hearing assistance system for the lecture theatre(s).
• There is not a visual fire alarm beacon in the lecture theatre(s).

For more accessiblity info and an access guide please visit

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