Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit Bentonville in October

Former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit Northwest Arkansas this fall to give a keynote address at an event hosted by Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

“America Leads: An Ideas Summit” is scheduled for Oct. 19 in Bentonville. The event “will bring together thought leaders and policymakers from across the nation to discuss real, actionable ideas and policies that are impacting America with the goal to encourage problem-solving and practical solutions,” according to a Wednesday (June 22) news release.

Hutchinson’s education and advocacy organization America Strong and Free Inc. is organizing the event. More information regarding event details, venue, panelists, guest speakers and ticket information will be announced later.

“I worked with Secretary Rice in the Bush administration and her views on national security issues are essential with the current threats across the globe,” said Hutchinson, who political pundits are mentioning with more regularity as a presidential candidate in 2024. He is term-limited from running for governor this year. “In addition to the foreign policy discussions, the summit will hear from leading experts on the economy, education and many other challenges facing our country.”

Rice is the Tad and Dianne Taube Director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and the Thomas Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy. In addition, she is a founding partner of Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC, an international strategic consulting firm. She is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and has been awarded fifteen honorary doctorates.

Rice was Secretary of State under President George W. Bush from 2005 to 2009. Before that, she was National Security Advisor from 2001 to 2005.