NEWS

British ambassador, wife to address international issues during free, public talks at UNC-CH

CHAPEL HILL -- Sir Christopher Meyer, Britain’s ambassador to the United States, and his wife, Lady Catherine Meyer, co-founder of an international center for missing and exploited children, will speak at free events open to the public Monday, Dec. 4.

The couple will be in Chapel Hill as part of a tour next week of the Triangle area and Charlotte.

Three Chapel Hill events next Monday are free and open to the public.

At 3 p.m., Catherine Meyer will speak on "International Child Abduction and the Hague Convention" in the Tate-Turner-Kuralt Building auditorium. The building, which houses the UNC-CH School of Social Work, is located at 301 Pittsboro St.

At 4:30 p.m., a reception will be held for Christopher Meyer in the Morehead Lounge of the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence, located in the Graham Memorial Building adjacent the Morehead Planetarium off East Franklin Street.

At 5 p.m., Christopher Meyer will discuss "The Role of an Ambassador" in room 039 of the Johnston center. He also will meet with British recipients of Morehead Awards who are at UNC-CH.

"This visit by Ambassador Meyer and Lady Catherine Meyer presents a rare opportunity for our community to hear first-hand from two of the most respected people representing the British government about a wide range of pressing international issues now commanding the world’s attention," said Dr. Theodore Leinbaugh, a tour organizer who is a UNC-CH professor of English and a member of the ambassador’s advisory council. "Students, faculty and staff and others with an interest in foreign affairs will benefit from hearing the Meyers tell their fascinating stories. We are delighted that their interest in North Carolina is bringing them to Chapel Hill."

Catherine Meyer gave up her business career and dedicated her life to fight for her rights as a mother following the abduction of her two sons, now teen-agers, by her estranged husband in Germany in 1994. The situation began in London a decade earlier when she married German citizen Hans-Peter Volkmann. They moved from London to Germany after the birth of their first son and Meyer had their second child in 1987. 

Last June her case prompted President Clinton to raise the issue of international parental child abduction with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. In 1999, Meyer’s book, "They Are My Children Too" was published. She then also helped set up the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, of which she is co-chair. The center was launched at the British Embassy in Washington by Hillary Clinton and Cherie Booth, wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Christopher Meyer became Britain’s ambassador to the United States in 1997. Previously, he served in 1997 as British ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany. In 1994, he was appointed government spokesman and press secretary to the prime minister. He previously served in Washington, D.C., as a government minister with responsibility for trade policy. In 1992, he was named minister and deputy head of mission.

A former visiting fellow at Harvard University’s Center for International Affairs, Meyer has served in a variety of posts for his government’s diplomatic service that has included stints in London, Moscow, Brussels and Madrid. He has headed the Soviet section in the service’s East European and Soviet Department, served as a speech writer and represented Britain on trade policy to European countries.

Besides UNC-CH, the Meyers will be visiting Raleigh, Research Triangle Park, Durham and Charlotte. The ambassador’s visit to the Triangle is sponsored by UNC-CH, Duke University, Glaxo Wellcome Inc., Reichhold Inc. and SAS Institute in association with the Triangle World Affairs Council and UNC-CH’s Great Decisions program, the Johnston center, the John Motley Morehead Foundation and the University Center for International Studies.

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International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children Web site: www.icmec.co.uk/

Note: Media representatives are invited to attend any of the three public events involving the Meyers. News Services can supply additional biographical information upon request.