BSL Honoris Causa
Each year BSL awards Honoris Causa degrees to one or more individuals who have made outstanding achievements in the field of business/ and or entrepreneurship. The recipients are invited to the Graduation ceremony to greet the BSL graduates and address the audience.
Honoris Causa 2011
BSL awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree to Ms. Sung-Joo Kim in recognition of her exceptional achievements in business and representation of the empowerment of women. Sung-Joo Kim is a Chairwoman and CEO of Sungjoo Group and MCM Holdings AG. Internationally known and respected for her accomplishments in business, she has successfully launched and acquired exclusive franchise rights for several globally renowned brands such as Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Sonia Rykiel, Marks & Spencer and MCM for the Korean market, positioning Korea as a leader in the luxury sector. Ms. Sung-Joo Kim was also selected as one of the “1997 Global Leaders of Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, ranked as one of the “7 Most Powerful Women in Asia” by Asiaweek and nominated among the “Top 50 Women to Watch” by The Wall Street Journal.
The Honorary Degree of BSL this year was received also by Claude Nicollier first Swiss astronaut, in recognition of his exceptional achievements in the field of spatial research and engagement for a sustainable future. He was selected to be in the first group of European astronauts in 1978 and took part in four NASA missions, totalling more than one thousand hours spent in space. During his impressive career, Claude Nicollier has received the Yuri Gagarin Gold Medal from the International Aeronautical Federation in 1994, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 1999, the Robert J. Collier Trophy from the National Aeronautic Association.
Honoris Causa 2009
In recognition for his exceptional achievements to reinforce and expand the political and economic position of Switzerland. Joseph Deiss was elected President of the sixty-fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly on 11 June 2010.
An economist and politician with extensive experience in multilateral affairs, Mr. Deiss served in the Federal Council of Switzerland (Swiss cabinet) from 1999 to 2006. In 2004 he was elected, to serve as President of the Swiss Confederation—a position which is rotated annually among Cabinet members— and headed his country’s presidential delegation to the United Nations General Assembly. Earlier, while serving as Foreign Minister, from 1999 to 2002, he spearheaded Switzerland’s accession campaign to the UN. Over the course of his term as a cabinet minister, Mr. Deiss was active in the sphere of world trade, leading his country’s delegation at key negotiations of the Doha Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Cancun (Mexico), Montreal (Canada), Paris (France), Geneva (Switzerland) and Hong Kong (China). In this context, he initiated the establishment of, and subsequently chaired, the Group of Ten (G-10) countries—a coalition of net importers of agricultural products—which has become a principal actor in the WTO negotiations. Mr. Deiss was also a member of the board of governors of both the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and directed Switzerland’s negotiations with the European Union.
Senator Ngo Quang Xuan, was selected for an honorary doctorate degree in recognition of his exceptional achievements in the diplomatic field, in particular the entry of Vietnam into the WTO. Formerly an Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Senator Ngo Quang Xuan is a permanent Representative of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation and other international organisations in Geneva.