Javier Pérez De CUÉLLAR (°1920 - 2020)
Profession: UN Diplomat
Nationality: Peruvian
Why an honorary doctorate?
In 1984, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar received an honorary doctorate from VUB.
The eternal pacifist
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar was an example of peaceful fighting, the warrior of wise words. He embodies the open, respectful spirit of VUB, the pursuit of a sustainable democracy where compromises win out over camps. The man who lived for a century leaves memories that will last forever.
He had the flair for it, for his job as a peace envoy. Through Pérez de Cuéllar's diplomatic style, transcending any destructive conflict, reconciliation, insights, and prospects emerged. His sagacious words often silenced weapons and it was his ingrained belief that harmony is the driving force for a valuable life, for that single, all-encompassing, higher purpose.
The eternal pacifist rests forever in peace.
"Peace is the ultimate human aspiration."
About his career
Fighting for peace
During his time in office, Pérez de Cuéllar fought for peace in places like Iran, Iraq, El Salvador, and more.
For the environment and development
In 1983, he founds the World Commission on the Environment and Development to motivate countries to work together towards sustainable development.
Christening
Kurt Waldheim, the Austrian UN Secretary-General, soon notices his abilities and sends him to Cyprus in the mid-1970s as a mediator in the conflict between the Greeks and Turks.
1988. Honorary doctorate University of Leiden
1988 Olaf Palme Award for the UN peacekeeping operation under his leadership
1992 Four Freedoms Award, USA
Diplomat
Javier ends up at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1940. He performs diplomatic functions; including in France, Brazil, Poland, the UK, and the US.
Peace trail
When Javier Pérez de Cuéllar pulls the gate of the university in Lima shut behind him, everything seems to indicate that his future lies in the legal profession. But Javier makes other choices and ends up in the Foreign Office in 1940. He crosses borders to fulfil diplomatic functions; sometimes near, sometimes far away. He visits France, Brazil, Poland, and the United Kingdom, among other countries, before settling in 1971 at the United Nations in New York as his country's permanent representative.
Kurt Waldheim, the Austrian UN Secretary General, soon notices Pérez de Cuéllar's abilities and sends him to Cyprus in the mid-1970s. He goes there to mediate in the conflict between the Greeks and the Turks. It is 1979 when Pérez de Cuéllar is appointed UN Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs. When, in the early 1980s, Pakistan and Afghanistan are at loggerheads, Pérez de Cuéllar goes there to plead for peace.
On the last day of 1981, Pérez de Cuéllar replaces Waldheim and becomes the fifth Secretary-General of the UN. In 1986, he was to add a second term. During his time in office, he fights - among other things - for peace between Iran and Iraq and an end to the civil war in El Salvador, he fights for the release of hostages in Lebanon and strives for peace in Cambodia.
Pérez de Cuéllar mediates during the Falklands War and the independence of Namibia, one of the last colonies of the African continent. He himself calls the latter his greatest achievement as head of the UN.
During his career, Pérez de Cuéllar founds the World Commission on Environment and Development (1983) to motivate countries to work together towards sustainable development. For a time, he also chairs an international arbitration commission that ruled on the Rainbow-Warrior incident between New Zealand and France (1986). On the last day of 1991, Egyptian Boutros Boutros-Ghali succeeds him as UN President.
1995. Javier Pérez de Cuéllar competes for the title of president of Peru, but must give way to Alberto Fujimori in the first round. Pérez de Cuéllar chooses peace and quiet in his Parisian home, but returns to politics one last time. When Fujimori is accused of corruption and flees to Japan, he assumes the role of Prime Minister and Foreign Minister for a year. In 2004, he draws a line under his diplomatic career after three more years as Peruvian ambassador to France and UNESCO.
On 4 March 2020, the world waves goodbye to the centenarian Javier Pérez de Cuéllar and wishes him as much (eternal) peace as he leaves behind on earth.
What is an honorary doctorate?
VUB has awarded honorary doctorates every year since 1978 to personalities from the most diverse backgrounds who have made a remarkable contribution to their field and to society. From this solemn moment of recognition, they bear the honorary title of Doctor Honoris Causa of VUB.