A graduate from Columbia University with a Ph.D. in international law and diplomacy in 1912, Wellington Koo (顾维钧) witnessed and participated in many historical international events in the Republican era of China. He was China’s plenipotentiary to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, where he made a decision that would steer the history of China and leave his mark on world history by refusing to sign the Treaty of Versailles; served as the Ambassador to France, Great Britain and the United States; was a participant in the founding of the League of Nations and the United Nations; and sat as a judge on the International Court of Justice in The Hague from 1957 to 1967. Between October 1926 and June 1927, while serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Koo briefly held the concurrent positions of acting Premier and interim President of the Republic of China. While his presidency was brief, his extraordinary lifespan of 97 years makes him the longest-living person to ever have led China.
At this lecture, Prof. Jin Guangyao of Fudan University and the author of two biographies of Wellington Koo will discuss Koo’s distinguished career in diplomacy and his contribution to help abolish unequal treaties imposed on China and protect China’s rights and interests.
Free, but advanced registration is requested.
顾维钧是二十世纪上半叶中国最重要的外交家。他服务外交界逾半个世纪，担任过中国驻美、英、法使节及派驻国际联盟的首任代表，北京政府外交总长和南京政府外交部长，经历了民国时期几乎所有重要的外交事件，是民国外交的亲历者和见证人。在巴黎和会上，他为维护国家主权拒绝签字，成为近代中国外交史上划时代的里程碑。在旧金山会议上，他代表中国参与了联合国的筹建工作，为中国成为安理会常任理事国做出了重要贡献。与同时代外交官相比，顾维钧对外交方针和应对策略有自己的思考和总结，给外交史留下了不应忘却的遗产。
华美人文学会特邀顾维钧研究专家、复旦大学金光耀教授于美东时间5月28日晚8时至9时半（北京时间5月29日上午8时至9时半）做“顾维钧：以公理争强权的外交家”专题讲座，讲述顾维钧的生平和外交贡献。
金光耀，复旦大学历史系教授，从事中国近代外交史和当代中国史的研究和教学。著有《以公理争强权：顾维钧传》《中华民国史（第十卷）》（合著）等，编有《顾维钧与中国外交》《北洋时期的中国外交》《中国新方志知识青年上山下乡史料辑录》等。