Jeff Flake – former U.S. ambassador to Turkey and U.S. senator and U.S. representative for Arizona – will present Iowa State’s 2025 Constitution Day Lecture, “When Congress Steps Back: A Call for Restoring Constitutional Balance in Governance,” on Sept. 15 at 6 p.m. in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.
“The Center for Cyclone Civics is thrilled to welcome Ambassador Flake to Iowa State University,” said Kelly B. Shaw, co-director of the Center for Cyclone Civics and teaching professor of political science. “His distinguished service and commitment to public dialogue embody the spirit of civic engagement we strive to foster on our campus.”
Flake served as the U.S. ambassador to Turkey from 2022 to 2024. Prior to his ambassadorial service, he represented Arizona in the U.S. Senate from 2013 to 2019 and in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013.
Before entering Congress, Flake served as executive director of the Goldwater Institute in Arizona, and he directed the Foundation for Democracy in Namibia during that nation’s transition to independence. Flake currently serves as the director of the Institute of Politics at Arizona State University and as chairman of the board of World Trade Center Utah. He also serves as a visiting fellow at Brigham Young University and is a frequent guest on the Sunday morning political talk shows. He is the author of the New York Times best seller “Conscience of a Conservative: A Rejection of Destructive Politics and a Return to Principle” (2017).
In 2025, Flake was knighted by the Swedish government, receiving the Royal Order of the Polar Star for his role in securing Sweden’s accession to NATO while serving as ambassador to Turkey.
Flake earned bachelor’s degree in international relations and a master’s degree in political science from Brigham Young University.
“Ambassador Flake is known for speaking candidly, and we anticipate he will challenge Congress to fulfill its constitutional responsibilities,” Shaw said. “His remarks on the legislative branch’s role in checking executive power will spark an important conversation for our students and community.”
The lecture is sponsored by the Center for Cyclone Civics and the Committee on Lectures (funded by Student Government).