Former High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, the United Nations Initiative which aims to improve understanding and cooperative relations among nations and peoples across cultures. Jorge Sampaio is also the former President of the Republic of Portugal from1996 to 2001. As President, his actions were mainly focused on education, social issues, human rights, European and international affairs. He was also appointed in May 2006 by the United Nations Secretary-General as his Special Envoy to Stop Tuberculosis, with the task to work to reach the Millennium Development Goal of beginning to reverse the incidence of the disease by 2015.