Sep 15, 2026 · 48 min · 11 segments
António Guterres' drive to serve those less fortunate saw him rise from a volunteer in the slums of Lisbon to the highest spheres of politics, eventually taking on the world's most important…
António GuterresGuest
Melissa FlemingHost
I went to Haiti very recently, and I visited again an, uh, an IDP, uh, uh, settlement, uh, where people live in horrible circumstances.
So whenever I can, I, I try to not only do the diplomatic, uh, activities of a s- visit to a country, but to, to try to see and, uh, express my solidarity with people that suffer in different circumstances, many times refugees or displaced people.
Um, uh, but, uh, of course, uh, unfortunately, that is, uh, much less frequent, and it's much more conferences and, uh, the meetings with the heads of state, heads of government, ministers, which is fine.
Uh, it is more a professional thing that we try to do in the best possible way, uh, and, um, because the things we do are noble, and the, the things UN does, uh, are noble, and to fight for international law is noble.
To fight for the reform of the international financial architecture to have more equality in the world is noble.
To try to have, uh, artificial intelligence, uh- Uh, um, uh, with risks controlled and, uh, uh, put at the service, uh, of humankind is noble.
So all this, uh, I mean, uh, I-I'm happy, I'm privileged again to be able to fight for things that are noble, that are f- that, that correspond to justice, that correspond to, uh, to, to, to, to what is good.
But at the same time, it's much more bureaucratic, uh, in the management and, uh, uh, uh, much less emotional, uh, in, uh, the activities on the ground.
And, uh, my-- I mean, as I said, I was a privilege all my life, so my duty is, um, to, to serve and to serve in the best possible way, and not to try to, I mean, uh, put any kind, kind of, uh, crown like the Romans for a-anything.
When we do something good, we move ahead and try to do more good things, uh, but we should never be, uh, in a contemplation of, uh, past, uh, false glories.
Then I won't ask you the next question, which was, what regrets do you have?
I went to Haiti very recently, and I visited again an, uh, an IDP, uh, uh, settlement, uh, where people live in horrible circumstances.
So whenever I can, I, I try to not only do the diplomatic, uh, activities of a s- visit to a country, but to, to try to see and, uh, express my solidarity with people that suffer in different circumstances, many times refugees or displaced people.
Um, uh, but, uh, of course, uh, unfortunately, that is, uh, much less frequent, and it's much more conferences and, uh, the meetings with the heads of state, heads of government, ministers, which is fine.
Uh, it is more a professional thing that we try to do in the best possible way, uh, and, um, because the things we do are noble, and the, the things UN does, uh, are noble, and to fight for international law is noble.
To fight for the reform of the international financial architecture to have more equality in the world is noble.
To try to have, uh, artificial intelligence, uh- Uh, um, uh, with risks controlled and, uh, uh, put at the service, uh, of humankind is noble.
So all this, uh, I mean, uh, I-I'm happy, I'm privileged again to be able to fight for things that are noble, that are f- that, that correspond to justice, that correspond to, uh, to, to, to, to what is good.
But at the same time, it's much more bureaucratic, uh, in the management and, uh, uh, uh, much less emotional, uh, in, uh, the activities on the ground.
And, uh, my-- I mean, as I said, I was a privilege all my life, so my duty is, um, to, to serve and to serve in the best possible way, and not to try to, I mean, uh, put any kind, kind of, uh, crown like the Romans for a-anything.
When we do something good, we move ahead and try to do more good things, uh, but we should never be, uh, in a contemplation of, uh, past, uh, false glories.
Then I won't ask you the next question, which was, what regrets do you have?
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