António Guterres
António Guterres is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who became the ninth secretary-general of the United Nations in 2017.
United Nations secretary-general: The chief administrative officer of the United Nations, appointed by the General Assembly on the Security Council’s recommendation. Guterres’s current office gives him a central role in UN diplomacy and administration.
United Nations: An international organization founded in 1945 to promote peace, security, cooperation, and human rights. Guterres leads its Secretariat and represents the organization in global diplomacy.
UN Charter: The 1945 treaty that establishes the United Nations’ purposes, organs, and principles. Its rules define the authority and constraints of the office Guterres holds.
Ban Ki-moon: A South Korean diplomat who served as United Nations secretary-general from 2007 to 2016. Ban’s tenure immediately preceded Guterres’s, offering a direct comparison of priorities and leadership.
Carnation Revolution: Portugal’s largely peaceful 1974 military coup that ended the Estado Novo dictatorship and began democratic transition. Guterres entered politics in the democratic period created by the revolution.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: The UN official who leads UNHCR, the agency protecting refugees and other forcibly displaced people. Guterres held this post from 2005 to 2015 before becoming secretary-general.
United Nations Security Council: The UN organ charged with maintaining international peace and security, including authorizing sanctions and operations. The Council recommends a secretary-general candidate and shapes the crises Guterres addresses.
Climate change: Long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns, now driven primarily by human greenhouse-gas emissions. Guterres has used his office to warn about climate risks and urge faster action.
Kofi Annan: A Ghanaian diplomat who served as United Nations secretary-general from 1997 to 2006. Annan’s reform agenda and public diplomacy provide a notable earlier model for the office.
Estado Novo (Portugal): Portugal’s authoritarian regime, established in 1933 and ended by the 1974 Carnation Revolution. The dictatorship’s fall shaped the democratic political landscape in which Guterres began his career.