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António Guterres | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 30 April 1949 (age 76) Parede, Cascais, Portugal |
| Political orientation | Social democracy |
| Political party | Socialist |
António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who has served as the ninth secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party, Guterres previously served as the prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, as President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005 and as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015.
Early life[edit | edit source]
Guterres was born in Lisbon on April 30, 1949 and was raised a catholic. He studied engineering and physics at the Instituto Superior Tecnico in Lisbon, before going into academia after graduating in 1971.[1]
Political career[edit | edit source]
Guterres joined the Socialist party in 1974, the same year as the Carnation Revolution occured, and became a full-time politician. He would subsequently become secretary-general of the party in 1992 before being voted in as prime minister in 1995, a position he held until 2002.[1]
Diplomatic career[edit | edit source]
High Commissioner for Refugees[edit | edit source]
Guterres, fluent in Portuguese, English, Spanish and French, then moved into diplomacy, becoming the UN's high commissioner for refugees in 2005, serving until 2015. His tenure was marked by organizational changes with the slashing of staff at the head office in Geneva, Switzerland and the deployment of staff closer to hotspots during the European migrant crisis. He was known for his attempts to persuade Western countries to contribute more to the needs of refugees and correctly identifying that there was no stopping the arrival of migrants, they could only manage their arrival as humanely as possible.[1]
Secretary-General of the United Nations[edit | edit source]
Guterres has been very critical of Israel and its conduct during the Gaza War but has always made sure to echo the Western line that Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa on October 7, 2023 was an "unjustified atrocity". However, just weeks after the attack he also correctly asserted that the attacks "did not happen in a vacuum" and was a result of the brutal occupation of Palestine by the Israelis. As a result of his statement, he was condemned by the Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen and the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, in response Guterres claimed his remarks had been misrepresented and doubled down on calling the attacks an atrocity. Subsequently, Erdan called for Guterres' resignation and blocked visas for UN representatives.[2]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Who is Antonio Guterres? Meet the UN's next secretary-general" (2016-10-06). BBC. Archived from the original on 2023-01-04.
- ↑ Binoy Kampmark (2023-10-23). "The Day Guterres Became Relevant" Dissident Voice. Archived from the original on 2025-04-20.