Michelle Bachelet, Former President of Chile and Head of U.N. Women, Speaks at Commencement

The School's 2012 Commencement featured a keynote speaker who is one of the world’s leading advocates for public health, social justice, and the rights of women—Michelle Bachelet, MD, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of U.N. Women and past president of Chile. For many achievements, she was presented with the Dean's Distinguished Service Award.

In her speech to the 2012 graduating class, Madame Bachelet described the major challenges faced by women around the world and shifting political and technological realities.  "We need a new kind of leadership," she insisted. "Leadership that is just and inclusive. Leadership that respects the human being. Leadership that is ethical and derives its legitimacy by protecting the well-being of current and future generations."

Among the global health challenges she cited are continuing high rates of maternal mortality, lack of access to contraception and reproductive health information, and poor access to education and opportunity.

Women in some parts of the world, she noted, face a lifetime risk of maternal death that is 1,000 times greater that it is some industrialized countries. "And here in the United States, studies find that pregnancy is so much more dangerous for African-American women."

Madame Bachelet urged 2012 graduates to consider a life of service to others. "The point is to be a part of something larger than yourself and wholeheartedly embrace and engage in our incredible world."

Mme. Bachelet (BASH-eh-LET) served as president of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and was the first woman to hold the country’s highest office. During her term, she strengthened social programs for women and children, tripling the number of free early childcare centers for low-income families.

A physician, surgeon, and military specialist, she previously served as Chile’s Minister of Health, where she broadened access to primary care, and as Minister of Defense, where she elevated conditions for women in the military and police. Dr. Bachelet’s life-long commitment to public service was forged in the years surrounding Chile’s military coup in 1973, and her subsequent imprisonment, torture, and four-year exile.

In 2010, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that Dr. Bachelet would lead U.N. Women, a new entity created to oversee all U.N. programs working to strengthen women’s rights and address key issues that include reproductive health, domestic violence, and gender equality. At the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, she participated in a panel discussion, “Women Are the Way Forward,” with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Prime Minister of Thailand Yingluck Shinawatra, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu.

Photos: Richard D. Cole