Scottish Liberal Democrat peer Jim Wallace will give the inaugural Charles Kennedy memorial lecture tonight.
Lord Wallace will pay tribute to the former MP and party leader, arguing that his politics of “respect” are an example for the modern era.
Mr Kennedy, who formerly represented the Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency, passed away in June.
Lord Wallace, a former deputy first minister, is expected to say: “The values which shaped Charles and gave rise to his internationalism, set him apart from the cause of nationalism.
“The Liberal Democrat and the Highlander have had a healthy scepticism about the role of the state.
“Of course the state is there to defend and protect, and to intervene to secure economic and social justice.
“But as Liberal Democrats, we believe that the state exists to serve the individual and not individuals to serve the state. The state or nation is not, for us, the defining political entity.
“It is the individual who is our defining entity and that is what distinguishes us from being nationalists.
“And this has implications too for both policy and the practice of politics. To those who see the nation as being the focus of their political creed, the centralising tendency comes much more easily, be it police, fire, colleges or the need for every child to have a state guardian.
“That approach is the antithesis of the Liberal approach, which places faith in individuals and local communities.
“And the practice of politics is scarred by those who are so bound to the idea of the nation above all else, that all who disagree must be beyond redemption and deserve to have their views trashed.”
The event will take place at the Lochaber Chamber of Commerce at 5pm tonight.