Sir Michael Gambon, Naomi Campbell and Ben Affleck are just some of the big names that will appear at the Oxford Union this term, Cherwell can reveal. The full term-card will be arriving in pidges across Oxford tomorrow, but for now, here’s an exclusive preview of what you can expect. Click on the thumbnail images below for more information about each speaker.
The seven Thursday debate titles, and the speakers attending them, will be as follows:
Proposition
Prof. Peter Atkins – Emeritus Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Oxford
Dr Nina Ansary – Bestselling author, historian, and leading authority on women’s rights in Iran
Opposition
Sheikh Dr Usama Hasan – Senior Researcher at the Quilliam Foundation, a think-tank specializing in human rights and counter-extremism.
The Very Revd Prof. Martyn Percy – Dean of Christ Church since October 2014.
Proposition
Peter Lilley MP – Conservative MP for Hitchin and Harpenden since 1983.
Dr Paul Oquist – Minister of the Nicaraguan Government, and Secretary of Public Policy.
Opposition
Prof. Bruce Pardy – Professor Environmental Law at Queen’s University, Canada.
Paul Bledsoe – President of Bledsoe & Associates, a global public policy firm specialising in climate change.
Proposition
Stephen Hale OBE – Ceo of Refugee Action, a UK charity which provides legal, financial, and practical support to refugees.
Barry Andrews – CEO of GOAL, an international aid organisation which has spent over £10m on humanitarian programmes.
Opposition
Dr Thérèse Coffey MP – Conservative MP for Suffolk Coastal since 2010.
Dr Andrew Morrison MP – Conservative MP for South West Wiltshire since 2001.
Proposition
Gideon Levy – Award-winning columnist for Haaretz whose writing focusses on the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
Salma Karmi-Ayyoub – Criminal barrister and external consultant for Al Haq, a Palestinian human rights organisation.
Prof. Padraig O’Malley – A specialist in divided societies, he was instrumental in the Northern Ireland peace process.
Opposition
High-Profile Israeli Official – Due to the sensitive nature of this speaker’s security arrangements, the Union will be releasing their details nearer to the time.
John Lyndon – Executive Director of OneVoice, an international grassroots movement which supports a two-state solution by amplifying the voices of mainstream Israelis and Palestinians.
Prof. Raphael Cohen-Almagor – An Israeli academic, he has involved with the campaign which exchanged the captured Gilad Shalit for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Proposition
Prof. Sir Ian Wilmut OBE – Lead scientist of the research team which cloned Dolly the Sheep, he was knighted for his services to science in 2008.
Prof. Julian Savulescu – Director of the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, and one of the world’s most outspoken philosophers on ‘procreative beneficence’.
Opposition
Prof. Barbara Evans – Proessor of Law, George Butler Research Professor, and Director of the Center for Biotechnology at the University of Houston.
Prof. Normal Frost – Paediatrician and leading bioethicist, he was part of President Clinton’s Health Care Reform Task Force.
Proposition
Danelle Dixon Thayer – Chief Legal and Business Officer of Mozilla, a free-software community whose products include the Firefox web browser.
Naomi Wolf – Acclaimed author, journalist, and feminist, first coming to prominence as the author of The Beauty Myth.
Opposition
Matthew G. Olsen – Director of the US National Counterterrorism Center 2011-2014, he was formerly Head of the Guantanamo Review Task Force.
Air Marshal Chris Nickols CBE – Chief of Defence Intelligence 2009-2012, and former Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff for Operations.
Proposition
Gisela Stuart MP – Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston since 1997.
Lord Michael Howard QC – Leader of the Conservative Party 2003-2005 and Home Secretary under Sir John Major.
High-Profile Business Executive – Senior business executive who will soon announce their support for the Vote Leave campaign.
Opposition
Alex Salmond MP – Scottish National Party MP for Gordon since 2015.
Yvette Cooper MP – Labour MP for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford since 1997.
Lord Michael Heseltine, Ex-President – Conservative stalwart who served as Deputy Prime Minister under Sir John Major, and Secretary of Defence under Margaret Thatcher.
Other speakers:
1st Week
Ambassador Mark Regev (Tuesday, 1st Week) – Ambassador of Israel to the United Kingdom
Mikhail Khodorkovsky (Wednesday, 1st Week) – Exiled Russian Businessman and Dissident
Dr Vitali Klitschko (Thursday, 1st Week) – Mayor of Kiev
2nd Week
Michael Eavis CBE (Monday, 2nd Week) – Founder of Glastonbury Festival
Clarence Seedorf (Tuesday, 2nd Week) – Retired Dutch footballer and manager
George Foreman (Wednesday, 2nd Week) – Former world heavyweight champion
3rd Week
Geri Halliwell & Christian Horner OBE (Monday, 3rd Week) – Former Spice Girl, and Formula One Team Principal
Liv Boeree (Tuesday, 3rd Week) – #1 Female Player on the Global Poker Index
Anthony Geffen (Tuesday, 3rd Week) – Sir David Attenborough’s Filmmaker
Jeroen Dijsselbloem (Wednesday, 3rd Week) – Dutch Finance Minister and President of the Eurogroup
Bangladesh Panel Discussion (Saturday, 3rd Week)
Dr Kamal Hossain – Former Law and Foreign Ministers
Dr Gowher Rizvi – International Affairs Advisor to the Prime Minister
Prof. Sir Paul Collier CBE – Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government
Prof. Mthuli Ncube – Professor of Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqXUpe3jlkA
4th Week
Candide Thovex (Wednesday, 4th Week) – Word-class freeskier
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKP7jQknGjs
5th Week
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Sunday, 5th Week) – Academy Award-Winning Filmmaker and Activist
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis (Monday, 5th Week) – Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth
KT Tunstall (Tuesday, 5th Week) – Award-winning singer-songwriter
IBM Watson (Wednesday, 5th Week) – Cognitive technology platform and Jeopardy! winner
Kate Beckinsale (Friday, 5th Week) – World-famous actress
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDtxQRH8aI4
6th Week
James Blunt (Tuesday, 6th Week) – English singer-songwriter and activist
Ken Livingstone (Wednesday, 6th Week) – The First Mayor of London
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oofSnsGkops
7th Week
Allyson Felix (Monday, 7th Week) – Former Olympic sprinter
Dr Riek Machar (Tuesday, 7th Week) – Vice President of South Sudan
Theo Paphitis (Tuesday, 7th Week) – Entrepreneur and former Chairman of Millwall Football Club
Jerry Springer (Wednesday, 7th Week) – American TV presenter and talk show host
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asDkcyafZPo
8th Week
Craig David (Monday, 8th Week) – English singer-songwriter. He will be performing
Lord Michael Dobbs (Tuesday, 7th Week) – Author of House of Cards
Gabrielle Aplin (Wednesday, 8th Week) – One of today’s best upcoming singer-songwriters
To be confirmed
Naomi Campbell (TBC) – Supermodel and activist
Sir Michael Gambon CBE (TBC) – Film, television and theatre actor
Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss GBE (TBC) – First Female Lord Justice of Appeal
Adel al-Jubeir (TBC) – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia
Shehbaz Sharif (TBC) – Chief Minister of Punjab
Andreja Pejić (TBC) – Transgender model and activist
Ben Affleck (TBC) – World-famous director and actor
Guy Verhofstadt (TBC) – Former Prime Minster of Belgium
Lindsey Vonn (TBC) – Former American ski racer
Paula Radcliffe MBE – British long-distance runner, current women’s world-record holder in the marathon
Sir John Major KG – Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
