José Manuel Durão Barroso is currently Chairman of the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Catholic University of Portugal, where he serves as Director of the European Studies Center at the Institute of Political Studies.

He was Prime Minister of Portugal (2002–2004) and President of the European Commission for two terms (2004–2009 and 2009–2014). He is also President of the General Assembly of the Portuguese Diaspora Council and Chairman of its EurAfrican Forum. In addition, he is President and Non-Executive Director of Goldman Sachs International, London. In these latter roles, and in many other areas, he played a special leadership role in the integration of the new EU member states – which during his mandates grew from 15 to 28 countries – in the negotiations for the approval of the Lisbon Treaty, and in the launch of the so-called 2020 program on Climate Change and Energy Security, as well as in the response to the financial and sovereign debt crisis.

In his long political career, he served in government for twelve years (Secretary of State for Internal Administration, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Prime Minister), as well as in party roles, namely President of the Social Democratic Party and, in that capacity, Leader of the Opposition, and in parliament as Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Assembly of the Republic. In the political-diplomatic sphere, he is noted for his role as mediator of the peace process for Angola (“Bicesse Accords”) and for supporting the peace process in Mozambique, as well as initiating direct negotiations with the Government of Indonesia, under the mediation of the UN Secretary-General, which would lead to the independence of Timor-Leste. He also played an important part in the creation of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries.

Academically, after earning a law degree and master’s in Law (University of Lisbon) and a master’s in Economic and Social Sciences – Political Science and a master’s in European Studies (University of Geneva), he went on to serve as Visiting Professor at Georgetown and Princeton Universities (USA). He is currently a Visiting Professor at the European University Institute (Florence), as well as a Non-Resident Scholar at Princeton University.

He was the founder and director of the Revista de Ciência Política (Political Science Journal), the first specialized publication in that field in Portugal. He has published several books and academic and political articles in Portugal and abroad.

He has been awarded honorary doctorates by more than thirty prestigious national and international universities, including Geneva, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Edinburgh, the Technical University of Lisbon, Sapienza University of Rome, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Brasília, the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, and Kobe, among others.

He has received the highest honors from dozens of countries, including Portugal (Grand Cross of the Order of Christ and Grand Collar of the Order of Prince Henry), Brazil, Spain, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Estonia, Hungary, Ukraine, Cape Verde, Timor-Leste, Morocco, the Sovereign Order of Malta, and many more.

Among other distinctions, he has received the European Charles V Award – Fundación Academia Europea de Yuste, Spain; the Distinguished International Leadership Award – Atlantic Council, Washington DC; the Quadriga Award, Berlin; and the “Sciat et Serviat” Medal of the International Federation of Catholic Universities.

He has been awarded the keys of gold or honorary citizenship of Lisbon, Rio de Janeiro, and Athens, among other cities. On behalf of the European Union, he received the Nobel Peace Prize and, together with the President of the European Council, delivered its formal acceptance speech (Oslo, 2012). On behalf of COVAX, he received the North-South Prize of the Council of Europe (Lisbon, 2022). He has given numerous lectures at some of the most prestigious international institutions (political, diplomatic, academic, and others) and is regularly invited as a keynote speaker at academic and business events.