Seminar on AfghanistanNovember 1, 2001 at 9–10 a.m.

A seminar by Ghafar Lakanwal. We are honored to be able to welcome Ghafar Lakanwal to our campus to share his unique knowledge of Afghanistan. Ghafar is a native Afghani and a Muslim, and is now a US citizen. From 1982 to 1986 he was Minister of Agriculture for the previous Afghani government. Because of his opposition to government policies, he was placed under house arrest from 1986 to 1988. When he was released, he became Deputy Foreign Minister and head of the Afghan Delegation to the U.N. General Assembly. Later that year, he applied for political asylum in the U.S. He has lived here since that time and became a U.S. citizen in 1996. Ghafar founded and is executive director of the Minnesota Cultural Diversity Center, a non-profit center in the Twin Cities, promoting cultural diversity and multi-cultural understanding and inclusiveness. Due to his unique perspective, he offers the Gustavus community a chance to deepen our understanding and our awareness of this pivotal region of the world.