President of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca has been made an honorary graduate by the University of Leicester.

The university bestowed the honorary degree at its graduation ceremony on Friday 18 January 2019 at De Montfort Hall in Leicester.

During her acceptance speech, President Coleiro Preca thanked the University of Leicester for the honour which they bestowed upon her, adding that "this is a truly memorable moment in my life, which I will treasure forever."

The President also commended the University of Leicester for being an inclusive university which promotes the most important values of humanity, such as human dignity.

"These are values which I treasure so much. Through this, I truly feel connected with this wonderful university, and, in fact, I feel so honoured to have been chosen to be connected to this university. I am also proud of you, as the University of Leicester is an example of what our human family should stand for. I truly look forward to an even better connection by exploring further collaboration with the University of Malta", the President said. 

President Coleiro Preca dedicated this honour to all the children in Malta and the United Kingdom, and all over the world,  but in particular to the 264 million children around the world who, as yet, do not have access to education. She said that these children are still being denied one of our very fundamental human rights.

The President was accompanied by the Maltese High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Joseph Cole.