WHILE in Blackburn, Condoleezza Rice will be giving the inaugural BBC Today/Chatham House lecture.

The series of lectures is a new event but the Chatham House lectures themselves date back decades.

They take their name from the headquarters of The Royal Institute of International Affairs, based in London.

Chatham House was created in 1920 when British and American officials wanted to start an institute to look at international problems, with a view to preventing future wars.

A sister institute, the Council on Foreign Relations, was set up soon afterwards in New York.

Chatham House now acts as an independent think-tank. It has about 1,500 individual members and 267 corporate members, and carries out research as well as setting up meetings between world leaders in politics and business.

When Dr Rice, the US Secretary of State, and Jack Straw, Britain's Foreign Secretary, visit Blackburn Mr Straw will be giving an address on Britain's foreign policy before introducing Dr Rice, who will give the inaugural lecture on United States foreign policy.

Last year when Mr Straw visited Dr Rice's home town Alabama, the US politician gave a lecture on subjects which included the civil rights movement, a topic close to her heart after the death of a childhood friend at the hands of a racist group.

Chatham House has a history of world leaders speaking on key foreign policy issues of the day. Past speakers have included Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and Tony Blair.