António Guterres
António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Socialist Party, Guterres served as prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002.
Some of the key events about António Guterres
- 1976Joined the Socialist Party, marking the beginning of a long political career
- 1992Elected Secretary-General of the Socialist Party in Portugal
- 1992Faced criticism for supporting the privatization of public services as leader of the Socialist Party
- 1995Became Prime Minister of Portugal, leading the country through a period of economic growth
- 1999Re-elected as Prime Minister for a second term
- 1999Oversaw controversial welfare reforms that reduced some social benefits as Prime Minister of Portugal
- 2000Played a key role in resolving the independence crisis in East Timor
- 2002Resigned as Prime Minister amid an economic recession and rising unemployment in Portugal
- 2005Appointed as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- 2005Criticized for UNHCR's slow response to the Darfur refugee crisis
- 2011Faced backlash for UNHCR's handling of the Libyan refugee crisis during the civil war
- 2012Awarded the Charlemagne Prize for his efforts in promoting European understanding
- 2015Received the Calouste Gulbenkian Prize for his work with refugees
- 2016Criticized for not speaking out strongly enough against human rights abuses as UN Secretary-General
- 2017Assumed office as the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations
- 2017Accused of being too soft on Saudi Arabia regarding the Yemen conflict and humanitarian crisis
- 2018Criticized for not taking stronger action against Myanmar over the Rohingya crisis
- 2019Faced criticism for the UN's handling of sexual abuse allegations within the organization
- 2022Re-elected for a second term as UN Secretary-General, continuing his global leadership role
- 2022Criticized for perceived inaction and late response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine
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