António Guterres – Portuguese Politician and Diplomat

António Guterres currently holds the office as the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. In 2016, Guterres submitted his nomination to be Portugal’s candidate for the UN Secretary-General selection.

It was the very first time that a candidate for the position had to present their platform to the UN general assembly in a public hearing. During this process, Guterres surprised many people, as he became a much stronger candidate than expected since he did not “fit the bill”. In 2016, António Guterres was recognized by the World Economic Forum as one of the most influential people in the world.

The masculine name António is the Portuguese version of Anthony, which is the English form of the Roman family name Antonius. The surname Antonius most likely has an unknown Etruscan origin. However, some believe, although incorrectly, that the name is associated with the Greek word anthos that means “flower”. This probably resulted in an alternative spelling in the 17th century, with an additional “h” in the name. In old Portuguese, the name Antao was used, which is the Galician version of Anton.

The name Antonio is common in many different places in the world. Therefore, there are many famous people with the name, from Antonio Abetti the Italian astronomer to Antonio Beretta the first mayor of Milan, who ruled under the Kingdom of Italy. There are even some fictional characters with the name, from Antonio Garcia from the Power Rangers: Samurai to Antonio from Shakespeare’s The Tempest.