António Guterres
| His Excellency António Guterres GCL GCC | |
|---|---|
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| 10th United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees | |
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In office 15 June 2005 – 31 December 2015 | |
| Secretary-General | Ban Ki-moon |
| Preceded by | Ruud Lubbers |
| Succeeded by | Filippo Grandi |
| 114th Prime Minister of Portugal | |
|
In office 28 October 1995 – 6 April 2002 | |
| President |
Mário Soares Jorge Sampaio |
| Preceded by | Aníbal Cavaco Silva |
| Succeeded by | José Manuel Barroso |
| President of the Socialist International | |
|
In office November 1999 – June 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Pierre Mauroy |
| Succeeded by | George Papandreou |
| Secretary-General of the Socialist Party | |
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In office 23 February 1992 – 20 January 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Jorge Sampaio |
| Succeeded by | Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
30 April 1949 Lisbon, Portugal |
| Political party | Socialist Party |
| Spouse(s) |
Luísa Guimarães e Melo (1972–1998) Catarina Vaz Pinto (2001–present) |
| Children |
Pedro Mariana |
| Alma mater | Superior Technical Institute |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, GCL GCC (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐ̃ˈtɔnju ɡuˈtɛʁɨʃ]; born 30 April 1949) is a former Portuguese politician who was Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002. He also served for a time as President of the Socialist International. He served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015.
Early life
António Guterres was born and raised in Portugal's capital, Lisbon, son of Virgílio Dias Guterres (São José, Lisbon, 21 October 1913 – Lisbon, 10 February 2009) and wife Ilda Cândida de Oliveira (b. Fundão, Donas, 12 February 1923). He studied physics and electrical engineering at IST. He graduated in 1971 and started an academic career as Assistant Professor.
Political career
His political career started in 1974, when he joined the Socialist Party. Shortly thereafter, he quit academic life and became a full-time politician. In the period following the Carnation Revolution of 25 April 1974, which put an end to Caetano's dictatorship, Guterres was closely involved in the organization of the Socialist Party, especially the Lisbon section. Guterres became one of the party leaders and held the following offices:
- Head of Office of the Secretary of State of Industry (1974 and 1975)
- Deputy for Lisbon, and later Castelo Branco in the Portuguese National Parliament (1976–1995), during which he was responsible for several parliamentary commissions
- Leader of the parliamentary bench of the Socialist Party, succeeding Jorge Sampaio (1988)
In 1992, he became Secretary-General of the Socialist Party and leader of the opposition against Aníbal Cavaco Silva's government. He was also nominated as vice-president of the Socialist International in September 1992.
Following the retirement of Cavaco Silva in 1995, the Socialist Party won the general election and Guterres became Prime Minister of Portugal. With a style markedly different from that of his predecessor, based on dialogue and discussion with all sections of society, Guterres was a popular prime minister in the first years of his government. Portugal was enjoying a solid economic expansion which allowed the Socialists to increase welfare spending and introduce a number of progressive social security initiatives.[1] Also important was the successful staging of Expo´98, which increased Portugal's visibility in the world.
Guterres was re-elected in 1999, and from January to July 2000, he occupied the Presidency of the European Council. This second term in government was not as successful however. Internal party conflicts along with an economic recession and the Hintze Ribeiro disaster damaged his authority and popularity.
In December 2001, following a disastrous result for the Socialist Party in the local elections, Guterres resigned, stating that "I am resigning to prevent the country from falling into a political swamp". President Jorge Sampaio dissolved the Parliament and called for elections. Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, until then Minister for Social Security, assumed the Socialist Party leadership, but the general election was lost to the Social Democratic Party of José Manuel Durão Barroso, who later became President of the European Commission. Guterres retired from Portuguese politics and worked as President of the Socialist International until 2005.
Guterres is a member of the Club of Madrid,[2] an independent non-profit organization composed of democratic former Presidents and Prime Ministers from 57 different countries, and which works to strengthen democratic institutions and leadership.
Guterres is currently a candidate to be selected as the next United Nations Secretary-General; he has received the endorsement of the Portuguese government and is currently the betting favorite to be selected. [3][4][5]
Work as High Commissioner for Refugees
In May 2005 Guterres was elected High Commissioner for Refugees by the UN General Assembly. As High Commissioner, he heads one of the world's largest humanitarian organizations with more than 9,000 staff working in 123 countries providing protection and assistance to over 46 million refugees, returnees, internally displaced people and stateless persons. Some 88 per cent of UNHCR staff work in the field. The organization's 2015 budget is over USD 6.8 billion.
In a 16 February 2007 NPR interview devoted mainly to the plight of Iraqi refugees, he said that this was one of the greatest refugee crisis in the Middle East since 1948. Among poorly publicized refugee crises, he cited those in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[6] More recently, he has been working to secure international aid for the refugees of the Syrian civil war, calling the refugee crisis an "existential" one for host countries (such as Lebanon and Jordan), and describing additional aid as a "matter of survival" for the refugees.[7] He left office on 31 December 2015.
Other activities
- Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Advisor to the Board (2003-2005)[8]
- European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), Member
- Friends of Europe, Member of the Board of Trustees
Personal life
In 1972, Guterres married Luísa Amélia Guimarães e Melo (b. Porto, 1 September 1946), with whom he had two children, Pedro Guimarães e Melo Guterres (b. 1977) and Mariana Guimarães e Melo de Oliveira Guterres (b. 1985). His wife died of cancer at the Royal Free Hospital in London on 28 January 1998.
In 2001, he married his second wife Catarina Marques de Almeida Vaz Pinto, born on 15 June 1960. He has a stepson, natural son of his second wife by José Carlos da Costa Ramos, named Francisco Vaz Pinto da Costa Ramos, born on 20 May 1998.
Distinctions
- Grand Cross of the Order of Liberty (Portugal, 2 February 2016).
- Grand Cross of the Order of Christ (Portugal, 9 June 2002).
- Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (Belgium, 9 October 2000).
- Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III (Spain, 8 September 2000).[9]
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Southern Cross (Brazil, 23 July 1996).
- Collar of the Order of the Southern Cross (Brazil, 2002).
- Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (Chile, 30 September 2001).
- Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit (France, 2002).
- Grand Cross of the Order of Honour (Greece, 17 March 2000).
- Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (Spain, 14 June 2002).[10]
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (Japan, 2002).
- Sash of the Order of the Aztec Eagle (Mexico, 2 June 1999).
- Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (Poland, 22 September 1997).
- Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, First Class (Ukraine, 2002).
- Medal Oriental Republic of Uruguay (Uruguay, 10 December 1998).
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Republic (Tunisia, 2002).
- Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy, 3 December 2001).[11]
References
- ↑ Issa.int
- ↑ The Club of Madrid is an independent non-profit organization composed of democratic former Presidents and Prime Ministers from 57 different countries. It constitutes the world´s largest forum of former Heads of State and Government, who have come together to respond to a growing demand for support among leaders in democratic leadership, governance, crisis and post-crisis situations. All lines of work share the common goal of building functional and inclusive societies, where the leadership experience of the members is most valuable.
- ↑ The Associated Press (2016-01-22). "Portugal to Nominate Antonio Guterres as UN Chief". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-01-24.
- ↑ Portugal, Grand Union. "Portugal Presents The Candidature of António Guterres to un Secretary-general". www.portugal.gov.pt. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
- ↑ "NEXT UN SECRETARY GENERAL : WORLD POLITICS". Bet Breaking News. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
- ↑ Interview with António Guterres, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, 16 February 2007, Weekend Edition-Saturday, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7466089
- ↑ Alrababa'h, Ala'; Jarrar, Ghazi (18 August 2013). "Syrian Refugees: Time To Do The Right Thing". Sharnoff's Global Views. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
- ↑ António Guterres Club of Madrid.
- ↑ Boletin Oficial del Estado
- ↑ Boletín Oficial del Estado
- ↑ Quirinale website
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| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jorge Sampaio |
Secretary General of the Socialist Party 1992–2002 |
Succeeded by Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues |
| Preceded by Pierre Mauroy |
President of the Socialist International 1999–2005 |
Succeeded by George Papandreou |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Aníbal Cavaco Silva |
Prime Minister of Portugal 1995–2002 |
Succeeded by José Manuel Barroso |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by Ruud Lubbers |
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 2005–2015 |
Succeeded by Filippo Grandi |
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