Hillary Clinton inaugurated as new Queen's University chancellor

The former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been installed as Queen's University's first female chancellor.

Speaking at a ceremony on Friday, she described the university as "special".

She said she was looking forward to "learning much more about this university" and "helping to tell the university's exciting story".

The ceremony is being held at the end of the first week of the new academic year.

Mrs Clinton said there was "another reason" she had "agreed to become a member of this community".

"Northern Ireland has become a symbol of democracy's power to transcend divisions and deliver peace, and we need that beacon of hope now more than ever," she said.

"But with hope comes responsibilities, the responsibility to be a citizen, to be willing to discuss and learn from people unlike yourselves.

"To debate and compromise in search of common ground to participate in our shared institutions, to respect the rights, dignity and needs of all people, and to uphold the rule of law."

Mrs Clinton used her speech to encourage people and politicians in Northern Ireland to work together to resolve their differences over Brexit and dealing with the legacy of past violence.

Speaking for 15 minutes, she also paid tribute to the late Pat Hume, wife of former SDLP leader John Hume, and said "peace is a process not an event".

With her inauguration, Mrs Clinton became the university's 11th chancellor.

She was appointed in January 2020.

But Mrs Clinton has not been able to visit the university in that capacity due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The former US secretary of state has had an illustrious career serving as a US senator for New York and as first lady during her husband Bill's two terms as US president.

She was also the losing Democratic Party candidate in the presidential election which saw Donald Trump come to power.

During the ceremony, 14 figures from the worlds of business, politics, sport, the arts, policing and education were awarded honorary degrees.

These include Derry Girls writer and creator Lisa McGee, former Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Sir George Hamilton, and international hockey player Shirley McCay.

Speaking ahead of the event, Mrs Clinton said she was pleased to be in Belfast.

"I am proud of my longstanding connection with Northern Ireland and its people and look forward to continuing to make my contribution to the university over the next few years," she said.

Prof Ian Greer, Queen's president and vice-chancellor, said Mrs Clinton had an "enormous amount" to offer the university and would continue to work as a "key advocate for Queen's on the international stage".

A number of protesters gathered outside the university on Friday morning as Mrs Clinton arrived, chanting "shame on Queen's".

They were protesting against the United States' foreign policy.

The majority of students at Northern Irish universities spent the 2020/21 academic year taking their degree courses online.

The university is also making a special posthumous award to recognise the public service achievements of Norman Houston, director of the Northern Ireland Bureau in Washington for more than 12 years, who died in January.

During the ceremony, the university, with support from the Northern Ireland Bureau in Washington, will announce an annual Norman Houston Study Northern Ireland Scholarship which will support a US student studying at Queen's.