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British Consul in Chicago, Stephen Bridges

Part of a weeklong public event in Denver known as “Great Britain House,” designed to promote and strengthen ties between the United Kingdom and the state of Colorado, British Consul General Stephen Bridges will give a keynote speech at CU Boulder at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14, at the .

The relationship-promoting Great Britain House event is designed to highlight business, politics, policy, culture and academic ties. Bridges’ speech on campus, “Britain’s Place in the World,” which is free and open to the public, will highlight the British economy, foreign policy and the country’s relationship with the United States. Bridges is expected to address the issue of Brexit during the talk.

“We are very pleased to host Consul General Bridges on campus – it demonstrates the strength of CU Boulder’s relationship with Great Britain,” said Assistant Vice Chancellor for Global Strategic Initiatives Lawrence Bell. “Over the years many of our students, faculty and staff have been engaged in exchange programs and other academic endeavors with Great Britain, partnerships we expect to continue far into the future.”

There currently are 38 students from Great Britain on the CU Boulder campus, part of five active exchanges with universities there, said Bell. CU Boulder also has 22 visiting scholars from Great Britain, all non-students on visas engaged in research and teaching. One of the longest-standing exchanges is with Lancaster University in Lancashire, England, which began with CU Boulder more than 40 years ago, said Bell.

“The United Kingdom has a special relationship with Colorado that spans business, political, academic and research ties, and we are hosting the Great Britain House in Denver to celebrate and strengthen these important connections,” said Erin Kuhn, Consul for Government and Prosperity Affairs at the U.K. office in Denver. “As part of this week of events, we look forward to joining the CU Boulder community to discuss the U.K.’s economic and foreign policy priorities for 2017 and beyond.”

Bridges has been Consul General in Chicago since August 2013. Before that he was in London assigned to human resource and workforce issues for the Commonwealth Office. He also has worked in the private sector with renewable energy and natural resources companies. The Consul General in Chicago oversees British consulates in 13 Midwest states.

In his 30-year career as a diplomat, Bridges has served the U.K. government in both Africa and Asia, including a post as the British ambassador to Cambodia from 2001-04. He also was acting and deputy high commissioner, consul general and trade and investment director to Bangladesh from 2005-07.