Press release: Gresham College explores what makes a charismatic leader 

02 September 2024

As Trump seeks re-election, new free lecture from Gresham College explores what makes a charismatic leader 

Gresham College to welcome Professor Matt Qvortrup to give talk on Thursday, 3 October, online and in central London 

With the US election now just weeks away, a new lecture will look at how charismatic leaders such as Donald Trump rise to prominence.  

The former president is aiming to return to the White House in the Tuesday, 5 November poll and has built up a loyal following of Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters, famous for wearing red hats and gaudy outfits while attending his rallies. 

He is not the first politician to have attracted such a strong band of supporters, people prepared to overlook certain failures or errors of judgment in favour of seeing their choice get into power.  

Professor Qvortrup will ask how politicians as diverse as Thatcher, Charles de Gaulle, and Stalin all inspired such dedicated followings.  

"People have always fallen prey to charismatic leaders when they feel unrecognised,” he says.    

“What is interesting is that Plato's theories from the 4th Century BCE are corroborated by social neuroscience.” 

The lecture will draw from ancient political philosophy, classical rhetoric and contemporary social neuroscience.  

It aims to dissect the nature, causes and consequences of charismatic leadership.  

Tracing its history from ancient Rome to recent times, it will discuss why, despite evolving circumstances, the power of charismatic leadership endures. 

Gresham College is London’s oldest higher education institution. Founded in 1597 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham, it has been delivering free public lectures for over 427 years from a lineage of leading professors and experts in their field who have included Christopher Wren, Robert Hooke, Iannis Xenakis and Sir Roger Penrose.  

The lecture will be given at Gresham College in Holborn, London on Thursday, 3 October; Starting at 6pm, entry is free, and it is also broadcast live online.

ENDS 

Notes to Editors

Pictures available on request   

For more information about this story or to arrange an interview  please contact: Phil Creighton press@gresham.ac.uk 

About Gresham College 
Gresham College has been providing free, educational lectures – at the university level – since 1597 when Sir Thomas Gresham founded the college to bring Renaissance Learning to Londoners. Our history includes some of the luminaries of the scientific revolution including Robert Hooke and Sir Christopher Wren and connects us to the founding of the Royal Society. 

Today we carry on Sir Thomas's vision. The College aims to stimulate intellectual curiosity and to champion academic rigour, professional expertise and freedom of expression. www.gresham.ac.uk 

Gresham College is a registered charity in England and Wales (Charity no. 1039962) and a limited company (Company no. 2953431) 
 

About the Politics and Mythmaking series  
Politics play a key role in our lives – how areas are governed, and how laws are created and enforced, and how we are lead. Politics can impact us in different ways and can determine the course of history.  

Myths and mythmaking can influence public opinion, policy making, and even election outcomes. For this reason, understanding how the two are related is essential for fostering a more informed and engaged society. 

This series will argue that politics and mythmaking are deeply intertwined, by sharing examples of charismatic leadership and educating audiences regarding the origin of political conspiracy theories.