The President of the United States Bill Clinton is to visit the University of Warwick on Thursday as part of his final official visit to the United Kingdom.

He will be making a keynote speech in the Arts Centre as part of a visit which is a major coup for the university.

President Clinton is paying a short trip to the UK as his final trip to Europe before his term of office ends in January.

Accompanying him will be senator-elect Hillary Clinton, and the couple’s daughter Chelsea.

Prime Minister Tony Blair will be joining the president, whose other engagements for the day are a trip to Chequers and to Buckingham Palace.

A big clean-up operation is under way in preparation for the visit. University Vice-Chancellor Sir Brian Follett will greet President Clinton and his entourage.

Mr Clinton is visiting Ireland today in a bid to shore up the faltering peace process.

At Warwick he will deliver a major speech on foreign policy. it is expected to cover debt relief and AIDS, and setting a new agenda for the future.

Sir Brian Follett, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Warwick said:

"The University of Warwick is honoured to be hosting this exciting historic event. We look forward to welcoming the President Clinton and his family on his final visit to the UK as President."

In announcing the visit to the University of Warwick the President's National Security Adviser Sandy Berger said:

"Warwick University is one of Britain's newest and finest research universities, singled out by Prime Minister Blair as a model both of academic excellence and independence from the government."

University spokesman Peter Dunn added that everyone was thrilled that Warwick had been selected to be host to the president.

He said:

“We were among several universities being considered for this and we are delighted to have been chosen.

 “Obviously there are three things you should do when visiting the UK: go to Chequers, Buckingham Palace and the University of Warwick!”