Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), was awarded an honorary PhD in Lisbon on Monday.

The doctorate was awarded by the Higher Technical Institute (IST) of Lisbon University, where Guterres studied electrical power engineering in the 1960s.

Guterres graduated from the IST in 1971 and took up a position as an assistant lecturer before giving up his academic career to pursue a political career.

He became a member of parliament for Portugal's Socialist Party in 1976 and went on to become Portugal's Prime Minister from 1995 to 2002.

In 2005, he became the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, before taking his current position in 2016.

His life has always combined scientific learning and social concerns. His acceptance speech listed humanity's biggest future challenges: climate change, alternative energies, cyber war, the changing world of work.

"Climate change is the biggest collective threat we face as a planet and it is continuing to move faster than us," he said, "we are in danger of losing a race against time."

The ceremony was attended by a number of dignitaries, including Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, and Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

Rebelo de Sousa, who crossed paths with Guterres as a student, also gave a speech. "He's by far the most qualified individual of my generation," he said of Guterres, "and the most universal of Portuguese people."

Source:
courtesy of XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

by Xinhua News Agency

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