US Ambassador Benjamin Leon, Jr., will speak this Wednesday, May 27, at the New Economy Forum, which will take place at the Four Seasons Hotel Madrid (Calle Sevilla, 3), at 9:00 a.m. Seating is limited.
The event will be streamed live on the New Economy Forum’s YouTube channel. The event will be introduced by Josu Jon Imaz, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Spain-US Council Foundation and CEO of Repsol.
Benjamin Leon Jr., born in 1944 in Oriente, Cuba, a resident of Miami since 1961 and a donor to the Republican Party, has been the United States Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain and the Principality of Andorra since last February. He was sworn in before Secretary of State Marco Rubio on February 10 and presented his credentials to King Felipe VI on February 18.
León has assumed the post at a time of strained bilateral relations, primarily due to disagreements over military spending and Spain’s refusal to allow the use of US bases for the military offensive in Iran. Benjamin León Jr. himself stated last October, during his appearance before the Senate hearing to review his nomination for the Embassy in Madrid, that he would work “diligently with the Spanish government to make them understand that it is a grave mistake” not to raise defense spending to five percent.
