Author read in bed by Bush and Blair visits UQ

Very few authors today can lay claim to providing a compelling bedtime read for world leaders.

Professor Margaret MacMillan, who visited The University of Queensland to take part in the Biennial Conference of the Association for Canadian Studies in Australia and New Zealand (ACSANZ) held at Emmanuel College on July 1-3, is among the gifted few.

Read and praised by both George Bush and Tony Blair, Professor MacMillan’s international best-seller and widely acclaimed Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World, has gained her a list of awards and an admirable international reputation.

President of ACSANZ and Emmanuel College Principal Adjunct Professor Stewart Gill said having Professor MacMillan as opening keynote speaker at the conference was an honour and tremendously exciting.

“Professor MacMillan is a well-respected expert on history and current affairs. She is also a frequent commentator in the media on historical and current affairs issues and she added great value to the conference,” Dr Gill said.

Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World brings to life in fascinating detail the atmosphere and intricate events at the Versailles Peace Conference held in Paris in the wake of the Great War of 1914-1918.

Professor MacMillan has more than a scholarly interest in this fateful event – her great-grandfather was David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1916-1922, and one of three key players at the conference. He joined French President Georges Clemenceau and America’s Woodrow Wilson on centre stage to create history and redraw the maps of Europe.

Her book has added to her name an enviable list of prestigious literary awards, including the Duff Cooper Prize for History, the Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History, the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction, the Silver Medal for the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Book Award and the Governor-General’s Award for Non-Fiction.

UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield introduced Professor MacMillan and spoke of the strong connections between UQ and Canadian universities.

He pointed out that Canada is the most popular destination for UQ students going on exchange, and 69 UQ students will enjoy a Canadian university experience this year.

UQ has agreements with eight Canadian universities – University of British Columbia, McGill, Queen’s, Calgary, Saskatchewan, Toronto and Waterloo.

Another conference highlight saw Professor MacMillan join political scientist and UQ Professor Alex Bellamy in a dialogue entitled “The Pursuit of Security: Canada and Australia’s Shared Concerns and Common Agenda”. It complemented an exhibition of photographs of Canada in Afghanistan.

Professor MacMillan’s visit was funded by the Canadian Government.

MEDIA: Adjunct Professor Stewart Gill (07 3871 9390)