Talk entitled ‘Democracy and Sectarianism: lessons from the Iraqi Experience’: How setting out the principles of a democratic government are sometimes in contradiction with the political realities on the ground and may require a more imaginative form of political system. A parallel was drawn with Lebanon which, like Iraq, suffers from sectarianism and a form of democratic government which does not often reflect the political realities. Dr. Allawi is Former Minister of Trade, Defence and Finance in several Iraqi governments in the period 2003-2006, and a m ember of the elected Transitional National Assembly. He is a graduate of MIT, LSE and the Harvard Business School, and has worked in development (with the World Bank group) as well as investment finance.