The Kennedy Political Union will present Cherie Booth Blair, Queen's Counsel and wife of Tony Blair, during Family Weekend instead of Chris Matthews because of an "overriding professional engagement" that caused Matthews to cancel, according to KPU Director Taylor Robinson.
Matthews cancelled in the last week of September. Robinson made an offer to Booth after learning the British attorney would be in the United States during Family Weekend.
"Balance and diversity are very important to me, and so to have a prominent female speaker meets the needs of a campus that is 65 percent female," said Robinson, who also added that it has been a long time since there was a female speaker hosted by KPU during Family Weekend.
Booth's resume includes extensive expertise in British law. She became a lawyer in 1976 and became a Queen's Counsel in 1995. Queen's Counsel is a prestigious rank issued by the Queen of England and held by only about 10 percent of British lawyers. Queen's Counsels have priority before, and access to English courts of all levels. The title also signifies that the individual is in the higher echelon of the legal profession.
In addition to her successful legal career, Robinson emphasized Booth's multi-faceted life.
"She is the wife of the current Prime Minister," she said. "She is a practicing attorney. She is a member of the Queen's Counsel. She's a mother of four. She is just an incredibly impressive person, not just an incredibly impressive woman, to do all the things that she does, and to be such an outspoken human rights activist and to be so involved in her community."
Student Government Vice President Pat McGill said he was pleased with the replacement speaker.
"We can watch Chris Matthews on TV every night," McGill said. "Finding someone on such short notice with [Booth's] stature is definitely a positive thing for AU."
Booth will be speaking about human rights, her area of expertise, according to Robinson. KPU's theme for the year is "The Power of Voice," and Robinson said she and her department were "trying to the best of our ability to make sure that our events are issue-based."
KPU traditionally presents a speaker during Family Weekend. Last year's speaker was Bob Dole, the 1996 Republican presidential candidate. Booth will speak at 7:20 p.m. Oct. 21 in Bender Arena. No tickets are required for AU students with an AU ID. Tickets for non-AU students are $12 and can be purchased at New Student Programs.
All Chris Matthews tickets will be honored, and refunds for Chris Matthews tickets will be available.
