Past Event! Note: this event has already taken place.
French-German Relations since the Élysée Treaty
February 13, 2013 at 3:00 PM to 4:15 PM
| Location: | Senate Room, 608 Robertson Hall |
| Cost: | Free |
Accompanying exhibit in Robertson Hall foyer, April 2-8.
France and Germany fought three wars between 1870 and 1945. Since then, a close partnership has grown between the two countries. This Franco-German reconciliation, which formed the nucleus of European integration, was formally cemented in the Elysée Treaty, concluded in 1963. On the occasion of the Élysée Treaty’s 50th anniversary, the 
Ambassadors of France and Germany will reflect on the history of Franco-German relations, but also on contemporary challenges, including the Eurozone financial crisis, policies to promote economic growth and social cohesion, and prospects for “deepening” and “widening” European integration. This conversation with the Ambassadors will be moderated by journalist Roger Smith.
H.E. Werner Wnendt was appointed Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Canada in September 2012. Prior to assuming his present position, he served as Associate Deputy Minister for Culture and Communication at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. From 2005 until 2007, Mr. Wnendt was head of the OSCE mission in Kosovo, having previously completed an assignment as Senior Deputy High Representative of the International Community to Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2003 to 2005. Between 2000 and 2003, Mr. Wnendt served as a foreign adviser to Germany’s Federal President, and from 1998, he was Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy to the Czech Republic. Before that, he was Chef de Cabinet to the Minister of State for European Integration in Germany’s Federal Government from 1995.
H.E. Philippe Zeller was appointed Ambassador of France to Canada in August 2011. Before this appointment, Philippe Zeller served as Ambassador of France to the Republic of Indonesia from 2008 to 2011, before which he was Ambassador of France to Hungary (2004-2007). During the same period, he also represented France in the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and at the General Secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He has also served as Ambassador-at-Large for Environmental Issues (2000-2001), Second Counsellor at the Embassy of France to Morocco (1986-1988), and Head of the Cooperation Mission at the Embassy of France in Seychelles (1984-1986).
This event is supported by a grant from the European Union
