University of Melbourne honours renowned international law expert Dr Samuel Pisar AO

Dr Samuel Pisar AO, a distinguished alumnus of the Melbourne Law School, officially received one of the highest honours at the University of Melbourne, when he was conferred with the Degree of Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) on 27 August.

Dr Pisar received the Honorary Doctorate at a public graduation ceremony in the University’s iconic Wilson Hall alongside graduating Law, Medicine, Education and Music students.

Dr Pisar graduated with an LLB (Hons) from the University of Melbourne in 1953, with the Rt Hon Sir Zelman Cowen as his mentor, and also holds doctorates from Harvard and the Sorbonne.

His remarkable career includes serving as an advisor to President Kennedy and the US State Department, UN agencies and the International Olympic Committee, where he played a major role in the selection of Sydney for the 2000 Olympic Games. As an international lawyer admitted to United States, British and French Bars, he has also acted as legal counsel to UNESCO in Paris and to many other governments, corporations, banks and humanitarian organisations across the globe.

Born in Poland, Dr Pisar survived two years of Soviet occupation and four years deportation to Auschwitz and other concentration camps. At 16, he was the only survivor of his family and school. He came to Melbourne soon after and commenced his education at Melbourne Law School.

Click here to read the full citation.

Click here to read Dr Pisar’s address.