NATO and the Future of American Security
On Tuesday, February 6, the Atlantic Council, NATO ACT, the Canadian Consulate General, and UT-Austin’s Strauss Center for International Security and Law, Center for European Studies, and Clements Center for National Security convened a public conference of NATO officials, former policymakers, and scholars engaging in a critical discussion about the role of the transatlantic alliance and its enduring value for Texans, featuring keynote remarks from General Philippe Lavigne, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, and Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison, Former U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO and United States Senator for the state of Texas.
The event began with welcoming remarks by Robert Chesney, Dean of the UT School of Law. One of many events hosted this year to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of NATO, the conference focused on NATO and the future of American security.
General Philippe Lavigne gave keynote remarks in the morning. General Lavigne is the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation of NATO, and shared his expertise on challenges that face NATO now and in the future.
General Lavigne’s keynote was followed by the first panel of the conference, which targeted how current geopolitical changes impact the future of NATO. Panelists discussed this new era of NATO founded in renewed great power competition.
The second panel was moderated by Adam Klein, the Director of the Strauss Center. This panel more closely looked at American security.
The conference ended with a final keynote speech given by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO.
This year’s historic NATO Summit will take place in the United States from July 9 to 11. As Allies gather to celebrate 75 years of NATO, the future of the world’s strongest military alliance will be a key topic of discussion for Heads of State and Government preparing for an era of unprecedented strategic competition and endemic geopolitical disruption.
Agenda
9:30 am – 10:00 am · Registration Opens
Coffee available
10:00 am – 10:15 am · Welcome Remarks
Robert Chesney, Dean of UT-Austin School of Law
10:15 am – 10:30 am · Keynote 1
General Philippe Lavigne, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation
10:30 am – 12:00 pm · Panel 1: Securing NATO’s Future: The Challenges of a New Era
- Audra Plepytė, Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania to the United States
- Chris Skaluba, Director, Transatlantic Security Initiative, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Atlantic Council
- Moderator: Sewell Chan, Editor-in-Chief, Texas Tribune
12:00 – 1:00 pm · Lunch
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm · Panel 2: North America and NATO: Fostering Political and Policy Dialogue
- Marie-Doha Besancenot, Assistant Secretary General of NATO for Public Diplomacy
- Kevin Rex, Former Ambassador of Canada to Eastern Europe
- Valbona Zeneli, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Transatlantic Security Initiative, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Atlantic Council
- Moderator: Adam Klein, Director of the Strauss Center for International Security and Law
2:30 pm – 3:00 pm · Keynote 2
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO
3:00 pm • Conference Adjourns
Biographies
General Philippe Lavigne assumed the post of NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation 28 May 2021. He joined the French Air and Space Force Academy in 1985, qualified as a pilot in 1989, and flew the Mirage 2000 during operations in the former Yugoslavia and in Iraq before assuming command of the 1/5 Fighter Squadron “Vendée” in 2001. He subsequently served within the Paris-based Joint Strategic Planning and Command Operations Centre (CPCO) where he contributed to the planning of several peacekeeping and humanitarian operations from 2003 to 2005.
After serving in the Planning Office of the French Air and Space Force Staff, where he was tasked with issues related to space and European cooperation in the field of simulation, he was selected to attend the Centre for Higher Military Studies (CHEM) in 2008 and the “Defence Policy” course at the Institute of Advanced Studies in National Defence (IHEDN). He was appointed Deputy Director at the General Secretariat for Defence and National Security in Paris in 2009, where he served for three years dealing with a number of sensitive and complex issues in an interagency setting with multinational entities.
He served twice in high-level joint positions, first as the Information Director within the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces between 2012 and 2014 and then as Director of the French Chief of Defence’s front office from 2016 to 2018. Between those two postings, he commanded the Kabul International Airport with its 5000 staff and 57 nationalities and supervised the transfer of military responsibility for the airport to the Afghan civilian authorities.
On 31 August 2018, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the French Air and Space Force, renamed as the French Air and Space Force in 2020, whilst under his command. General Lavigne was made a Commandeur in both the Légion d’honneur and the ordre national du Mérite, and awarded the Croix de la Valeur Militaire. He has accumulated over 2800 flight hours and flown 46 combat missions on the Mirage 2000.
Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison was sworn in as U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO in Brussels, Belgium on August 15, 2017 and served until 2021. During her 3.5 years as permanent representative, she focused on the importance of U.S. leadership in the alliance and strengthening the transatlantic bond that provides the security umbrella for Europe and North America.
From 1993-2013, she represented Texas in the U.S. Senate. There, she was elected by her peers to chair the Republican Policy Committee, the fourth-highest leadership position. She was ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and chair of the military construction subcommittee on the Senate Committee on Appropriations. She served two terms as chair of the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Significant legislation included reauthorization and reform of NASA with Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) and the Hutchison-Mikulski legislation establishing a new retirement vehicle, the Kay Bailey Hutchison Spousal IRA. As Texas state treasurer, 1991-1993, she proposed limits on state debt the state legislature adopted and lead the successful defeat of a state income tax. Ambassador Hutchison is the author of three books, including the bestseller American Heroines (William Morrow, 2004). The Dallas City Council named the city’s convention center in her honor in 2013. She earned a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law.