Khatami to receive honorary degree

His Excellency Seyed Mohammad Khatami, former President of Iran, will visit the UK next month to receive an Honorary Degree and deliver a lecture at the University of St Andrews.

Mr Khatami has accepted an invitation from University Principal Dr Brian Lang to give a lecture to an invited audience of 300 at Younger Hall, St Andrews, on October 31st 2006.

Scotland’s oldest University will confer the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws on him during the visit in recognition of his efforts to encourage interfaith dialogue.

Mr Khatami will also open the West Wing of a new University Arts Building in St Andrews which will include a new Institute of Iranian Studies.

The President of Iran from 1997 to 2005, Khatami is currently President of the International Foundation for Dialogue Among Civilisations. Dialogue among nations, faiths and cultures is expected to be a key theme of his Younger Hall lecture.

The following day, Wednesday November 1st 2006, Mr Khatami will visit Chatham House, London, to deliver a speech and take questions from the audience.

Issued by the University of St Andrews

For further information and all press and media inquiries, please contact :

Niall Scott, Director, Press Office, University of St Andrews, tel 0044 1334 462244/462529, mobile 0044 7711 223062, e-mail [email protected]

Sam Hardy, Chatham House Press Office, tel 0044 207 957 5739, mob 0044 704 664 2205, e-mail [email protected]