Keynote address
Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein
Former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
President of the International Peace Institute

Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2014 to 2018. A distinguished diplomat and international statesman, in 2019 he was elected to The Elders, an independent group of global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela.

Prince Zeid has represented Jordan on the world stage as its ambassador to the UN in New York on two occasions and as its ambassador to the United States. In January 2014, he served as president of the UN Security Council.

Earlier, in 2002, he became the first president of the governing body of the International Criminal Court (ICC), serving until 2005. He also served, from 1994 to 1996, as a UN civilian peacekeeper with UNPROFOR – the UN Protection Force.

Prince Zeid received his B.A from John Hopkins University. He was then a research student at Christ’s College, Cambridge, where he gained a PhD. In 2016, he was made an Honorary Fellow of Christ’s College, Cambridge.

He is currently President of the International Peace Institute and Perry World House Professor of the Practice of Law and Human Rights at the University of Pennsylvania.

Special guest speaker
Lars Løkke Rasmussen
Minister for Foreign Affairs

Lars Løkke Rasmussen is Denmark’s Minister for Foreign Affairs. He has served as a member of the Danish Parliament, the Folketing, for more than three decades. He was first elected to Parliament in 1994 for the Liberal Party (Venstre), serving the party until the end of 2020. Following a period as an independent member, he joined The Moderates in 2022 and continues to represent the party in the Folketing.

Lars Løkke Rasmussen has twice served as Prime Minister of Denmark, first from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2019. His previous ministerial appointments include Minister for the Interior and Health from 2001 to 2007 and Minister for Finance from 2007 to 2009. He was Chairman of the Liberal Party from 2009 to 2019, having previously served as its Vice-Chairman. He became Minister for Foreign Affairs in December 2022 and was reappointed to the role in June 2026.

A graduate of the University of Copenhagen, Lars Løkke Rasmussen received his Master of Laws degree in 1992. He is also the author of several books, including Ud af det blå (Out of the Blue), published in 2021, Om de fleste og det meste (On (Nearly) Everyone and Everything), published in 2020, and Hvis jeg bli’r gammel (If I Get Old), published in 1997.