The 2026 Ernest Bevin Lecture
The 2026 Ernest Bevin Lecture, hosted by the Coalition for Global Prosperity, will be delivered this year by Governor Asa Hutchinson, the 46th Governor of Arkansas and a former Republican candidate for President of the United States.
Tuesday 17th November | 18:30 - 19:30 | The Royal Society
Governor Asa Hutchinson is a former Republican candidate for President of the United States. He served as the 46th Governor of the State of Arkansas from 2015 - 2023, having been re-elected with the highest number of votes in the State's history, and as Chairman of the National Governors Association from 2021 - 2022. As a presidential candidate in 2024, Governor Hutchinson was a clear voice for the GOP to move away from the leadership of Donald Trump, pledging support for NATO, greater US engagement in Europe, a balanced federal budget, increased energy production, and strong border security.
Governor Hutchinson first gained national attention in 1982 when, aged 31, President Reagan appointed him as the youngest US Attorney in the nation. In 1996, he won the first of three consecutive terms in the US House of Representatives, where he served on the Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Judiciary Committee. As a member of the Judiciary Committee, Governor Hutchinson was heavily involved in the investigations that led to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton and was subsequently appointed as a prosecutor in the Senate impeachment trial in 1998, for which he achieved national and international acclaim as a level-headed and effective trial lawyer.
During his third term in Congress, President George W. Bush appointed Governor Hutchinson as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency and, later, as the nation's first Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Border and Transportation Security, for which he was unanimously confirmed by the US Senate.
His lecture, titled 'The Transatlantic Blueprint: Five Policy Pivots to Strengthen UK-US Ties', is the second in this annual lecture series which commemorates the lasting contributions Ernest Bevin made to Britain's security and prosperity as Winston Churchill's wartime Minister of Labour and National Service and, later, as the Foreign Secretary who spearheaded the formation of NATO.
In a world increasingly governed by great power competition, subject to immense geopolitical volatility, and stalked by a coalescing authoritarian axis, the 'special relationship' has rarely been more important. There are, however, notable ripples in the alliance that need addressing: from trade frictions and diverging approaches to China, to burden sharing across NATO and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Governor Hutchinson's lecture will outline the basis of a renewed relationship, one fit for the shared challenges both nations face in the years ahead.
Find out more about the Ernest Bevin Lectures.