Annual Meeting 2004
The 40th Annual Meeting of
The Association for International Agriculture 
and Rural Development

"Progress in International Agriculture and Rural Development"
Speakers and Panelists

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Senator Chuck Hagel
(R), Nebraska
Chuck Hagel, Nebraska's senior U.S. Senator, was re-elected to his second term in the United States Senate on November 5, 2002. Senator Hagel's duties include membership on three Senate committees: Foreign Relations; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; and Select Committee on Intelligence. Hagel is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations International Economic Policy, Export and Trade Promotion Subcommittee and the Senate Banking International Trade and Finance Subcommittee. Hagel serves as the Co-chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

Hagel was recently honored with the first annual Cordell Hull Award, presented to leaders who promote free and open trade. Among the awards Hagel has recently received are: the National Parent Teacher Association Outstanding Child Advocacy Award and the Committee for Education Funding Special Recognition Award; The University Club's William Howard Taft Public Service Award ; the European Institute Transatlantic Leadership Award; the National School Board Association Special Recognition Award; University of Nebraska-Kearney George W. Norris Distinguished Lecturer Award; The Arc of Nebraska Award; The Spirit of Enterprise Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; The Taxpayers Friend Award from the National Taxpayers Union; The Horatio Alger Award from the Horatio Alger Association; The Patriot ÏGood ScoutÓ Award from the Boy Scouts of America; The Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce Headliner Award; The Vietnam Veterans of America Legislator of the Year Award; Hall of Fame of the Consumers for World Trade; The Center for the Study of the Presidency's Distinguished Service Medal; The American Farm Bureau Federation's Golden Plow Award; The Friend of the Farm Bureau Award, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Distinguished Public Service Award, the Ripon Society's Rough Rider Award; and the American-Turkish Council's (ATC) Distinguished Leadership Award.

Hagel is co-chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Corporate Council and sits on the Senior Advisory Committee of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University, the Board of the International Republican Institute, the German Marshall Fund's Trade and Poverty Forum, and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, Hagel worked in the private sector as the President of McCarthy & Co., an investment banking firm based in Omaha, Nebraska, and served as Chairman of the Board of American Information Systems (AIS). Before joining McCarthy & Co., Hagel was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Private Sector Council (PSC) in Washington, D.C., Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the 1990 Economic Summit of

 Industrialized Nations (G-7 Summit) and President and Chief Executive Officer of the World USO.

In the mid-1980's, Hagel co-founded VANGUARD Cellular Systems, Inc., a publicly traded corporation. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated Hagel to serve as Deputy Administrator of the Veterans Administration, a nomination confirmed by the United States Senate. Hagel also served as Deputy Commissioner General of the United States for the 1982 World's Fair. From 1977 through 1980, Hagel was Manager of Government Affairs for The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, in Washington, D.C. From 1971 to 1977, he was Administrative Assistant to Congressman John Y. McCollister (R-Nebraska). Beginning in 1969, Hagel worked as a newscaster and talk show host with radio stations KBON and KLNG in Omaha, Nebraska.

Hagel served in Vietnam with his brother Tom in 1968. They served side by side as infantry squad leaders with the U.S. Army's 9th Infantry Division. Hagel earned many military decorations and honors, including two Purple Hearts.

Hagel has served on the Board of Trustees Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust and as Chairman of the $240 million Agent Orange Settlement Fund. His participation in civic, educational, and charitable organizations has included: Board of Directors, Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce; Board of Trustees, Bellevue University, Hastings College and Heartland Chapter of the American Red Cross; Chairman, 10th Anniversary Vietnam Veterans' Memorial; Board of Directors and National Advisory Committee of the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; Board of Directors of the Arlington National Cemetery Historical Society; Chairman of the Board of No Greater Love, Inc.; USO's World Board of Governors; and the World USO Chairman's Advisory Council. He is a life member of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America, Disabled American Veterans, and the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

Hagel has received many honors for his contributions to civic life including The Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Creighton University, an Honorary Doctorate of Commerce from Bellevue University, the Secretary of Defense's Medal for Outstanding Civic Achievement, the first World USO Leadership Award and the Small Business Administration's Nebraska Veterans Advocate of the Year Award.

A fourth generation Nebraskan, Hagel was born in North Platte, Nebraska on October 4, 1946. He graduated from St. Bonaventure High School, Columbus, Nebraska, the Brown Institute for Radio and Television, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Hagel and his wife, Lilibet, have two children, daughter Allyn, 13, and son Ziller, 11.