Member Article

University honour for Chancellor

The Right Honourable Gordon Brown MP, Chancellor the Exchequer, is to receive an honorary degree from Newcastle University at a ceremony celebrating the achievements of the Make Poverty History campaign. Mr Brown will receive an honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree from the Chancellor of Newcastle University, the Rt Hon Lord Patten of Barnes CH, in a ceremony at The Sage Gateshead on Monday 8 January.

He will be honoured alongside four more major contributors to the international campaign for debt relief: Bob Geldof; political economist Susan George; former President of Tanzania, His Excellency Benjamin William Mkapa; and Dr David Golding, Development co-ordinator of Make Poverty History North East.

The university believe that Mr Brown has been instrumental in bringing about progress in the campaign to ensure every child gets schooling, for universal access to healthcare and anti-poverty investments and the cancellation of debts owed by the world’s poorest countries. His proposals for a new deal between developed and developing countries formed the basis of the comprehensive package agreed at the G8 summit held in Gleneagles in July 2005.

Professor Christopher Edwards, Newcastle University’s Vice-Chancellor, said: “The University is delighted that Gordon Brown has accepted our invitation to receive an honorary degree. “Ordinarily, the University does not award honorary degrees to serving politicians, but Senate has made an exception in this case because of the enormous personal contribution Gordon Brown has made to the campaign designed to increase international aid and eliminate the debt owed by the world’s poorest nations.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .