David Miliband, former U.K. foreign secretary and now president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee (IRC)—an organization that provides aid to victims of conflict and disaster—will deliver the Graduation Address to the Harvard Kennedy School class of 2015 at 2 p.m. on May 27, the school’s dean, David Ellwood announced this month.
Overseeing the IRC’s relief and development operations in more than 40 countries, Miliband also leads the committee’s advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C., and other capitals around the world. Most recently, the organization made headlines when 17 of its foreign and local workers were expelled from eastern Ukraine after pro-Russian separatist rebels closed down their operational base, accusing them of spying, according to several news outlets.
Prior to joining the IRC, Miliband’s government service, including a stint as Britain’s secretary of state for the environment (in which role he pioneered the world’s first legally binding positions on emissions reduction requirements), led to his becoming the U.K.’s youngest foreign secretary in three decades. He is a 1987 graduate of Oxford, with a degree in philosophy, politics, and economics, and earned a master’s degree in political science in 1989 from MIT.
“David Miliband is a tremendously talented and accomplished public servant on both the national and international stages,” said Ellwood in a press release. “His efforts on behalf of human rights and humanitarian relief are an inspiration to all. We are elated that he will deliver the Graduation Address for the HKS Class of 2015.”
