By Instituto Gilberto Gil
Cristina Doria
Honorary Doctorate Degree - University of Aveiro (2006-12-15)Instituto Gilberto Gil
What is Honoris Causa
Receiving a Doctor Honoris Causa is one of the greatest recognitions a citizen can have. The title is given by academic institutions and seeks to celebrate people who have set an example for the academic community and society.
They are personalities, most often professors or researchers of national or international prominence, who have distinguished themselves in public life for working in favor of Sciences, Arts, Letters and/or Culture.
Who receives them?
The name HONORIS CAUSA comes from Latin and means “because of honor”. Therefore, this title is given in recognition to those who have done important work, even if the person does not have a degree or specialization in the area.
Gilberto Gil durante cerimônia de entrega do título de doutor honoris causa na UFBA (2005-08-26)Instituto Gilberto Gil
The First Title
Musician, singer and composer Gilberto Gil has already received 11 Honoris Causa titles. Short for Doctor Honoris Causa, we can call him Dr. H.C. Gilberto Gil.
The first was at the Federal University of Bahia, where he graduated in Business Administration in 1964.
The first Doctor
His father, doctor José Gil Moreira, who graduated in Medicine at the same University, used the title “Doctor Gil” throughout his life. Recognized for his services to the community, he received the title of Honorary Citizen of Vitória da Conquista, showing that honor is nothing new in the family.
When he received his first title in August 2005 at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Gil was Minister of Culture.
Other Brazilian artists have already received the same title at UFBA, such as José Celso Martinez Correa or Maria Bethânia, both after Gil.
Diploma de Doutor Honoris Causa concedido pela Fundação Luiz Adenir de Cultura, ao Ministro Gilberto Gil (2006-01-28)Instituto Gilberto Gil
In 2006, the Fundação Luiz Ademir de Cultura, also from Bahia, paid the same tribute, at the beginning of the year. A year that continued to give Gil titles, now international, at Tulane University (USA) and the University of Aveiro (Portugal)
Gilberto Gil e o professor Christopher Dunn na Universidade de Tulane, em Nova Orleans (2006)Instituto Gilberto Gil
At Tulane, the person who made the nomination was professor and writer Christopher Dunn, a profound student of Brazilian popular music, especially the Tropicalista movement, of which Gil was a founder alongside other artists such as Caetano Veloso, Tom Zé and the band Os Mutantes.
The following titles are also international. In 2007, he received an honorary doctorate in music degree from Ohio University (USA); in 2008 at the Lusófona University of Humanity and Technology in Lisbon and a few years later, in 2021, at Berklee College of Music.
Bahia will once again honor Gilberto Gil in 2023, this time through the title granted by the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Bahia (IFBA), received in Salvador.
And there was also another international one, granted by the Universidade Nova de Lisboa.
And the honors don't stop. This year, 2024, looks like it will be the record so far: 3 important titles - the first from the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), the second from the Regional University of Cariri, and the one that will still be awarded in November by UFSC, Federal University of Santa Catarina.
