Ricardo Lagos, the president of Chile and a recipient of a Duke Ph.D. in economics, will deliver the 2005 graduation commencement address Sunday at Wallace Wade Stadium.
“I’m delighted that it is someone who has a connection to this University rather than someone who goes and gives 100 commencement speeches a year,” President Richard Brodhead said after announcing Lagos’ acceptance in early November 2004. “[He is] a major international figure in human rights and the democratically elected president of a major country.... I think he’s an excellent choice.”
Lagos is the third president of Chile since the country became returned to democracy 14 years ago.
He served in the government of President Salvador Allende until Allende was deposed in a bloody coup by Gen. Augusto Pinochet in 1973. Lagos was exiled for several years, but he returned to Chile in 1978 and became a leader of the opposition to Pinochet. Throughout the 1980s, Lagos voiced criticism of the president in speeches and advertisements, winning him the admiration of many democratic reformers and supporters.
Before becoming president in 2000, Lagos served as both the education and public works ministers of Chile. As president, he has faced charges of corruption within his administration and dealt with poverty and other issues generated by the political instability of the region.
Nonetheless, he has signed several international free trade agreements and approved compensation for 28,000 victims of torture under the Pinochet regime.
Lagos’ selection reflects an ongoing push by the Duke administration to enhance student and faculty interest in global relations and issues.
“[Lagos] really reflects the depth of Duke students,” senior Elizabeth Dixon, a member of the selection committee, said in November. “Duke is a place that focuses on international issues, and he reflects that in a very distinguished way.”
Last year’s speaker was former Secretary of State Madeline Albright. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan was set to give the speech in 2003 but did not come because of an illness. President Nan Keohane read excerpts from his prepared remarks.
Lagos received his law degree at the University of Chile before coming to Duke in the early 1960s. He worked at the University of Chile after returning to his native country, serving in the Schools of Political and Administrative Sciences, Law and Economy. Lagos also taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during his exile in the 1970s.
Lagos will receive one of five honorary degrees presented Sunday. The other recipients are Nobel laureate Roald Hoffman, environmental advocate John Adams, former President of Ireland Mary Robinson and University of Maryland at Baltimore County President Freeman Hrabowski.
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