Michelle Obama to speak at Hunter Foundation charity dinner in Edinburgh

FORMER first lady Michelle Obama is to speak about her time in the White House at a special fundraising dinner in Edinburgh.

Mrs Obama, who was the first-ever African American first lady, will follow in the footsteps of her husband Barack when she addresses a charity dinner organised by the Hunter Foundation.

About 1,200 people – including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Harry Potter author JK Rowling – attended when the former president made his first trip to Scotland in 2017, with the dinner he spoke at raising £670,000 for good causes.

All profits from the dinner with Mrs Obama – which is taking place in the EICC on July 17 – will be invested in hundreds of charities across Scotland, the Hunter Foundation pledged.

Its founder, businessman Sir Tom Hunter, said it would be “more than an honour” to welcome Mrs Obama to Scotland.

He stated: “From a brick bungalow on the south side of Chicago to the White House has been an epic, historic journey and we look forward to hearing about that journey and Mrs Obama’s future path.

“It is more than an honour to welcome first lady Michelle Obama, following so closely on from the 44th president’s visit of last year and we are delighted she accepted our invitation.”

In her eight years in the White House, Mrs Obama worked to transform the role of first lady, becoming a role model and champion for women and girls across America and beyond.

The Harvard law graduate led initiatives aimed at tackling childhood obesity and together with Jill Biden, wife of former vice president Joe Biden, worked to improve life for servicemen and women and veterans.

Her Reach Higher programme aimed to inspire more young people in the US to continue education after high school by going on to college or university while she also campaigned to help more girls across the world attend school.