United States consul general Anne Callaghan will be in Prince George next week.
Callaghan will speak at a luncheon hosted by Initiatives Prince George at the Ramada about the current issues in Canada-U.S. relations on Tuesday.
Based in Vancouver, Callaghan was appointed to the posting in August.
Prior to that, she oversaw a reconstruction team in the Maysan province in southeastern Iraq, overseeing the Maysan Provincial Reconstruction Team in its last year of operation and has also worked in Rome and Bogota, Colombia.
Prior to entering the Foreign Service, Callaghan worked at the Center for Research in International Studies at Stanford University.
A native of New Jersey, she received her undergraduate degree in East Asian Studies from Colby College and graduate degrees from the University of Michigan School of Library and Information Science and the National War College.
She speaks Japanese, Spanish, and Italian, and is the recipient of U.S. State Department Superior Honor and Meritorious Honor awards and the Department of the Army Superior Civilian Service award.
The first consular post of the United States to be established in western Canada was a Consulate at Victoria, which opened for official business on April 14, 1862.
Among the reasons why the Consulate was established was the large number of American citizens who had been attracted to the region following the discovery of gold in the Fraser River Basin in 1856. There were also rumours that a group of Confederate sympathizers were active in the area.
Today, underlying every challenge the Consulate faces, is the priority to maintain the strong U.S.-Canada partnership that has existed in the Pacific Northwest since the earliest days of the Canadian Federation.
Cost of the luncheon is $39 including HST and RSVPs can be sent by no later than noon Friday by contacting Leanne Peek at [email protected] or by calling (250) 564-0282.
