Former President Barack Obama has been awarded an honorary doctorate from Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland. In his speech to attendees on Tuesday, Obama used the occasion to reflect on Northern Ireland’s peace process and challenge the next generation to protect what has been built. “The Good Friday Agreement is still a shining example of what can happen when people put aside old wounds and choose peace,” he said. “But as we have seen in many countries, including in my home country the United States, peace and democracy are not inevitable. They have to be chosen, again and again.”
Queen’s University Belfast
Obama receiving the degree from Queen’s University President and Vice-Chancellor Ian Greer.
The former president previously visited Belfast during his second term in 2013. “His commitment to peace, dialogue and public service has left a lasting impact around the world, and particularly here in Northern Ireland,” Queen’s President and Vice-Chancellor Ian Greer said during the event.
WPA Pool//Getty Images
Obama giving a speech in Belfast during his presidency in 2013.
The ceremony included a citation from Emma McAllister, a first-year law and politics student from North Belfast. McAllister first got involved with the university at age 15 through a cross-community program that brings together young people from Belfast’s Ardoyne and Shankill neighborhoods—two historically divided communities—to pursue educational and leadership opportunities. After hearing McAllister speak, Obama praised the school’s outreach initiatives. “That’s what peace makes possible,” he said. “I want to use this opportunity as an honorary Queen’s graduate to leave you all with a challenge and that is to keep showing the way.”
Queen’s University Belfast
The former U.S. president speaks with Queen’s University Belfast students.
Former President Obama has previously received honorary degrees from the University of Massachusetts Boston in 2006 and Rutgers University in 2016. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 1983 and his law degree, graduating magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1991.
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at @rk.passport.