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Former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Walter Kansteiner III to Speak at W&L

Walter H. Kansteiner III, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2003, will be Executive-in-Residence in the Williams School at Washington and Lee University on March 11-12. He will give a lecture on Thursday, March 11, at 5 p.m. in the Stackhouse Theater in Elrod Commons.

The talk, which is free and open to the public, is titled “China and Africa: A Winning Investment or an Unholy Alliance?”

Kansteiner served as President Bush’s personal representative to the G8 Africa Process, was former member of the Department of Defense Task Force on Strategic Minerals under President Bill Clinton, was Director of African Affairs on the National Security Council and was Africa specialist on the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff.

Currently, Kansteiner is a non-executive director of Moto Gold, a multinational corporation operating in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is a member of the board of directors of Titanium Resources Group and he is a founding principal of The Scowcroft Group, an international advisory firm.

Kansteiner has more than 20 years experience with African and emerging market business issues. He has been a corporate advisor to many companies on a wide range of mergers, acquisitions and privatizations including telecommunications, forestry, mining, financial services, healthcare and aviation services.

Kansteiner has a B.A. from Washington and Lee University (class of ’77), as well as graduate degrees in international economics and ethics from American University and Virginia Theological Seminary, respectively.