The Rafael M. Salas Memorial Lecture series provides a unique forum for distinguished guest lecturers to discuss important aspects of population and development.

This year’s lecture will be delivered by Ms. Margot Wallström, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden.

Her lecture will take place on Tuesday, 30 April 2019, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Economic and Social Council Chamber, United Nations Headquarters, New York.

The lecture series was created to honour the memory of Rafael M. Salas, the first Executive Director of UNFPA. The first lecture was delivered in 1989 by Dr. Saburo Okita, former Foreign Minister of Japan. Subsequent lectures have been delivered by such distinguished persons as: Prince Philip, Captain Jacques Cousteau, Mr. Nicholas D. Kristof, and, most recently, in 2018, Ms. Michelle Bachelet, the former President of Chile. 

The 2019 lecture coincides with the 25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the 50th anniversary of when UNFPA began operations.