TRAVERSE CITY, MI - “Emerging Economic Realities of the International Automobile Industry-A Global Perspective” is the topic of a lecture on Thursday, May 25, at 6:00 p.m. in the Milliken Auditorium of the Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College. This program is the seventh in a seven-part series sponsored by the International Affairs Forum; this year’s theme is “How Big Is Your World?”

The speaker for the May 25 lecture is G. Mustafa Mohatarem Ph.D., who has been chief economist of General Motors since March 1995. As such, he serves on GM’s Public Policy Center and its European advisory and corporate risk management committees. The economics team he heads assesses worldwide economic developments and provides advice on economic policy and competitive issues. Mohatarem is an expert on trade issues and heads the corporation’s Trade Team. He interacts regularly with officials from the U.S. and other countries on trade-related issues. He was the lead contact for GM with the United States and other governments during Uraguay Round General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) negotions, as well as the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement, and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Mohatarem was born Oct. 15, 1953, in Quetta, Pakistan. He received an undergraduate degree in economics and mathematics from Denison University, Granville, Ohio, in 1976. He earned an M.B.A. and a doctorate degree in economics from the University of Chicago in 1979 and 1982, respectively.

The International Affairs presentations begin with a reception in the Sculpture Court of the Dennos Museum at 5:15 p.m. and are followed at 6:00 p.m. by the lecture and a discussion period in the Milliken Auditorium. Tickets are $10 per person and can be purchased in advance or at the door as available. All current educators and students are admitted free of charge. For tickets or information, call NMC Extended Education at 231-995-1700.