António Guterres is the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Prior to his appointment as Secretary-General, Mr. Guterres served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for ten years, and spent more than 20 years before that in government and public service. He was elected to the Portuguese Parliament in 1976, serving as a member for 17 years, during which time he chaired the Parliamentary Committee for Economy, Finance, and Planning. He then served as Prime Minister of Portugal in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and as the President of the European Council starting in early 2000.