CHIEF RAONI METUKTIRE
An Indigenous leader of global renown and a tireless defender of the Amazon, the Cacique (chief) Raoni Metuktire participated, together with the Villas-Bôas brothers, in the creation of the Xingu National Park in 1961, the first protected Indigenous land in Brazil. He played a major role in the recognition of the constitutional rights of Indigenous Peoples in 1988.
Since his first world tour in 1989 with the singer Sting, he has been received by numerous diplomatic figures, including five French presidents, two popes (John Paul II, Francis) and two kings (Charles III of England, Harald V of Norway). His lifelong commitment has led to his being regularly cited as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.
He received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from the Université de Versailles – Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines in June 2025, the Medal of the National Order of Merit of Brazil in April 2025, was made a Knight of the Légion d’honneur by President Emmanuel Macron in March 2024, won the Public Peace Prize in 2014, and has been an Honorary Citizen of the City of Paris since 2011.