UMass Dartmouth cordially welcomes the honorable Pedro Pires, President Emeritus of the Republic of Cape Verde, to campus on Tuesday, December 6 for a reception at 3:00 p.m. in the Claire T. Carney Library Robert F. Stoico/FIRSTFED Grand Reading Room.
UMass Dartmouth cordially welcomes the honorable Pedro Pires, President Emeritus of the Republic of Cape Verde, to campus on Tuesday, December 6 for a reception at 3:00 p.m. in the Claire T. Carney Library Robert F. Stoico/FIRSTFED Grand Reading Room.
Born in 1934 in Fogo, Cape Verde, Pires served as the President of Cape Verde from March 2001 to September 2011. Prior to becoming president, Pires served as the country’s first prime minister from 1975 through 1991.
During his leadership, Pires created job opportunities and built universities and other institutions of higher education. Additionally, under his presidency, Cape Verde competed for, and twice won, the highly competitive Millennium Challenge Award – a United States foreign aid program that is granted on the basis of merit.
As a leader who tirelessly worked to establish the prestigious ranking for Cape Verde, Pires earned the 2011 Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership in recognition of his role in making Cape Verde a “model of democracy, stability, and increased prosperity.”
In recognition of his contributions, the Pedro Pires Institute for Cape Verdean Studies was recently launched at Bridgewater State University to celebrate, preserve, and advance Cape Verdean culture and its relationship to the world locally and in the diaspora.
About Cape Verde
Cape Verde is a central U.S. partner, and celebrated nation in the Lusophone world strategically located in the mid-Atlantic. The country, which gained its independence from Portugal in 1975, remains one of the most developed and democratic countries in Africa.
Event details
The reception, which is hosted by the Cape Verdean Student Association and UMassD students, will include welcome remarks, a dance performance by the CVSA Dance Team, a poetry reading, and closing remarks. Details subject to change.
The event is free and open to the UMassD community. Refreshments provided. For more information, please contact Elisandra Pereira at elisandra.pereira@umassd.edu.