Urho Kekkonen

Former President of Finland

AWARD LAUREATES | Urho Kekkonen


Urho Kekkonen

Former President of Finland

Urho Kekkonen was the former Prime Minister and President of Finland. Born in 1900, in the Savo region of Finland, he fought for the White Guard during the Finnish Civil War. Once the war was over and Finland had become independent in 1921, Mr Kekkonen began his career as a journalist before moving to Helsinki in order to study law.  During this period of study he also worked for the security police EK, which familiarised him with anti-Communist policing. In 1927, following his graduation from university, Mr Kekkonen began practicing as a lawyer, working for the Association of Rural Municipalities. In 1936 he undertook his Doctorate in Law at the University of Helsinki, soon becoming involved in the Northern Ostrobothnian Student Nation. He also served as Editor in Chief of the student newspaper during this time.  He became actively involved within the student political scene, particularly right wing movements. In 1933, Mr Kekkonen became a civil servant within the Ministry of Agriculture and was subsequently elected to parliament in 1936. Upon his election he became Justice Minister and remained in the post for one year. Following this, he served as Minister for Interior from 1937 to 1939. During the Continuation War, Mr Kekkonen became the Director of the Karelian Evacuees Welfare Centre and also served as the Ministry of Finance’s Commissioner for Co-ordination. By 1944 he had become a leading politician within the Peace Opposition, once again being appointed Minister of Justice where he was given the task of dealing with the war trials. From 1948 to 1950 his success and knowledge led to him becoming Speaker of Parliament and eventually Prime Minister. He was then elected President in 1956, yet it was not until his re-election that he began to drastically alter existing policies. Some of the foreign policy initiatives that he instigated included the Nordic nuclear free zone proposal, a border agreement with Norway and a conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. He did not, however, alter his predecessors policies of neutrality. He was elected for a third term in 1968 and again for a fourth in the 1978 Presidential election. During these terms he continued to strive for improved Finnish-Soviet relations and closer military cooperation. He was forced to resign due to ill health in 1981 before his death in 1986.

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Ronald Reagan

AWARD LAUREATES | Ronald Reagan


Ronald Reagan

Former President of the United States of America

Ronald Reagan was a former President of the United States. During his illustrious career he also served as Governor of California as well as working within the radio, television and film industries. Born in Tampico, Illinois in 1911, he studied Economics and Sociology at Eureka College. Following his graduation he became a radio broadcaster, specialising in announcing sporting matches. While working as a broadcaster he took a screen test which won him a seven year contract with Warner Brothers Studios and a chance to break into Hollywood. Over the next twenty years he appeared in 53 films including Kings Row, Dark Victory, Santa Fe Trail and John Loves Mary. In the midst of his film career he was ordered to serve for four years, in a limited service role, in the United States Army. President Reagan, in 1941, was initially elected to be on the Board of Directors of The Screen Actors Guild; however, upon his return from military duty he was elected President of the Guild. He served for another seven consecutive one year terms as President and led through many periods of dispute. During this period his political views shifted from liberal to conservative and he began touring the country as a television host espousing conservatism. In 1966, he became Governor of California, elected by a significant margin of votes and was again re-elected in 1970. In 1980 President Reagan gained the Republican presidential and was elected President after winning the 1981 election. During his presidential term President Reagan managed to obtain legislation to stimulate economic growth, reduce inflation and increase employment. He was re-elected to a second term in 1984 and at the end of his administration the United States was experiencing its longest ever recorded period of peace time prosperity without recession or depression. President Reagan’s foreign policy stance is also admirable as was his desire to improve relations with the Soviet Union and his ability to negotiate a treaty with them that would eliminate intermediate range nuclear missiles. It was because of these foreign policy feats that President Reagan was awarded the Peace Award by Gold Mercury International. President Reagan also sought combat the spread of drugs as well as international terrorism, as shown by the harsher penalties for drug importers and his handling  of the Libyan attack in 1986. After leaving office in 1989, President Reagan continued to make appearances on behalf of the Republican Party as well as establishing the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award before his death in 2004.

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Marshal Josip Broz Tito

AWARD LAUREATES | Marshal Josip Broz Tito


Marshal Josip Broz Tito

Former President of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Marshal Josip Broz Tito served as the President of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Born near Zagreb, in 1892, he fought in the Austro-Hungarian army during World War One and was captured by the Russian’s in 1915. Whist in Russia, he joined the July Day Demonstration in 1917 and later joined the Bolsheviks. He returned to Croatia in 1920, becoming a local leader of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. He rose in prominence within the Communist Party, becoming its Secretary General in 1939. During World War Two he proved himself to be an effective leader of the Yugoslav Partisan’s and as a Marshal, from 1943 he spread communist control over Yugoslavia. He then became the Premier and President of Yugoslavia and implemented an independent form of socialist rule in defiance of the Soviet Union. He also adopted a policy of non-alignment, built relationships with other bordering nations and improved his country’s relationship with the West. He also established a system of symmetrical federalism in Yugoslavia, which created equality amongst the six republics, whilst also maintaining control over separatist movements.

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Luis Herrera Campins

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Luis Herrera Campins

Former President of the Republic of Venezuela

Luis Herrera Campins is a former Venezuelan politician who served as President of Venezuela between 1979 and 1984. Born in 1925, he showed an early interest in politics and journalism and studied Law at the Central University of Venezuela. After organising a student union demonstration against the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez, he was imprisoned for four months and was deported. Upon his release he continued his studies, graduating with a Law degree in 1955 from Universidad Santiago de Compostela. Following the fall of Marcos Pérez Jiménez, Campins returned to Venezuela and in 1959 he was elected Deputy for the state of Lara, serving as Deputy/Senator for twenty years. In 1978, he was elected as President and inaugurated the following year. During his five year presidential term, Herrera continued the previous government’s economic policy of borrowing money on the world markets and eventually Venezuela came to owe the world banks more than 20 billion dollars. He also, however, developed a cultural development programme and reformed the existing educational programme. He also sought to develop Venezuela’s industry and agriculture sectors and combat corruption. His foreign policy stance was also strong, signing an agreement with Mexico in 1980 to provide Central American countries with oil. His presidential term ended in December 1983 and he died in 2007.

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Leonid Brezhnev

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Leonid Brezhnev

Former General Secretary of The Central Committee Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Leonid Brezhnev was the former General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Born in Ukraine in 1906, within the Russian Empire, Mr Brezhnev worked as land surveyor in the 1920′s before becoming a full member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1931. Following his graduation from the Metallurgical Institute in Kanenskoye, he worked as a metallurgical engineer in the iron and steel industries, as well as acting as the director of a technical school. In 1935 he served his compulsory military service and in 1936 he became Party Secretary in Dnipropetrovsk, which led to him being in charge of the city’s defence industries. During World War Two Mr Brezhnev became a political commissar in the Red Army, rising to eventually become a Major General in 1943. Following the war he was appointed to several positions within regional party committees that were based in the Ukraine. In 1952 he became a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU and a candidate member of the Politburo. Following Stalin’s death, Mr Brezhnev was forced to accept the position as Deputy Head of the Political Department of the Ministry of Defence. When Nikita Khrushchev came to power in 1954, however, he was appointed Second Secretary of the Kazakhstan Communist Party and was soon promoted to First Secretary a year later. By 1964 he had become Second Secretary of the Central Committee and soon after he helped lead the coalition which removed Khrushchev from power, which allowed Mr Brezhnev to become Head of the Party. He became committed to foreign policy and military reforms, developing the ‘Brezhnev Doctrine’, which outlined the right to Soviet intervention when other socialist countries are threatened. He strived to work with the United States through the policy of détente; his major foreign policy innovation. Under his leadership, the Soviet Union achieved a balance with the United States in its nuclear weapons programme as well as overtaking their space programme. This build-up of military assets, however, left the economic, agricultural and health care sectors deprived and led to a depressed standard of living. In 1979 he worked with Jimmy Carter to achieve the bilateral Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT 2), but soon after, in one of his last major decisions as leader, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in an attempt to save the regime. He held on to power until his death in 1982.

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Kurt Waldheim

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Kurt Waldheim

Former Secretary General of the United Nations

Kurt Waldheim was an Austrian politician who served as Secretary General of the United Nations and President of Austria from 1986 to 1992. Born in 1918, Mr Waldheim was enlisted into the Austrian Army before studying at the Vienna Consular Academy and later graduating in 1939. His father was actively involved in the Christian Social Party and due to his known criticisms of the Nazis was arrested twice and later forced out of his job following the German occupation of Austria in 1938. In 1941 he served on the Russian front until he was wounded. Upon regaining his health he later returned to service from 1942 until 1945, a subject which would later become an issue of international dispute. In 1945 he began working in diplomacy, serving in Paris from 1948 to 1951 before becoming head of the Personnel Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vienna from 1951 to 1955. In 1955 he led Austria’s first delegation to the United Nations (UN), before serving as the Austrian Ambassador to Canada. He was then appointed Director General for Political Affairs in the Austrian Foreign Ministry and then in 1964, became Austria’s Ambassador to the UN. From 1968 to 1970 Mr Waldheim served as the Austrian Foreign Minister. Following an unsuccessful Presidential election attempt in 1971, he was chosen as the new UN Secretary General in 1972. Under his leadership the UN undertook effective relief efforts in Bangladesh, Nicaragua and Guatemala as well as peacekeeping missions in Cyprus, Yemen, Angola and the Middle East. As Secretary General, Mr Waldheim was particularly interested in ensuring future stability for Namibia and South Africa. In 1976 Mr Waldheim was re-elected despite some element of opposition, later becoming the first Secretary General to visit North Korea in 1979. In 1986 he ran a successful campaign for the presidency of Austria, yet after completing his six year term did not seek re-election. Mr Waldheim was later knighted by Pope John Paul II in 1994 for his political success before passing away on the 14th of June 2007.

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José López Portillo

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José López Portillo

Former President of Mexico

José López Portillo served as the President of Mexico from 1976 to 1982. He studied Law, Political Science and Public Administration at the National University of Mexico before embarking on his political career. In 1959 President Portillo joined the Institutional Revolutionary Party and served in several positions in the administrations of President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz and President Luis Echeverría before being selected as the Minister of Finance in 1973. As Finance Minister he instituted: economic reforms, a modernisation of tax collection procedures, pursued tax evaders and cut public spending. In 1976 he was elected President and instituted a conservative approach to policy making and social reform. One of the most significant political reforms of his presidency was to increase the size of the Chamber of Deputies in order to allow a greater number of minorities to participate in Mexican politics. Two years into his term he reopened diplomatic relations with Spain after a prolonged 38-year hiatus. He also developed a programme for the state owned Mexican oil agency, Pemex, to gain access to newly discovered large amounts of petroleum deposits. It resulted in a significant amount of economic growth for Mexico as well as improved profits for the Mexican oil exportation industry. The wealth, was however, squandered due to corporate corruption and general inefficiency. One of his last significant reforms as President was his controversial order to nationalise Mexico’s banking system. In the aftermath of his presidency he lived abroad for several years, returning to Mexico shortly before his death in 2004.

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Javier Perez de Cuellar

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Javier Perez de Cuellar

Former Secretary General of the United Nations

Javier Perez de Cuellar is a Peruvian politician and the former Secretary General of the United Nations. He began his diplomatic career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1940 and remained at the Ministry until 1944 when he left Peru to serve as Secretary in Peru’s embassies in France, United Kingdom, Bolivia and Brazil. He would also later serve as Ambassador to Switzerland, the Soviet Union and Venezuela. He became a member of the Peruvian delegation to the UN General Assembly in 1946 during its first session. In 1971 he was selected as the Permanent Representative of Peru to the UN, a role he held until 1975. In 1974 he represented Peru in the Security Council, serving as President in 1974 during the unrest in Cyprus. The following year he was selected to become the Special Representative of the Secretary General in Cyprus. In 1979 he was chosen to become the UN Under Secretary General for Special Political Affairs. In early 1981 he returned to Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, before he was appointed Secretary General of the UN in December that year. He was later re-elected for a second term in 1986. During his presidency he led mediations between Britain and Argentina as well as promoted the efforts of the Contadora Group whose aims were to secure peace and stability for countries in Central America. He also dealt with issue of Cyprus and assisted in negotiations for the independence of Namibia. He later ran an unsuccessful campaign to be President of Peru and instead became the President of the Council of Ministers and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as Peru’s Ambassador to France. He is a member of Club de Madrid, which is comprised of former leaders who work to promote democracy.

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Huang Hua

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Huang Hua

Former Foreign Minister of The People’s Republic of China

Huang Hua was a Chinese politician who served as the Foreign Minister from 1976 to 1982. Born soon after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, he studied at Yanjing University in Beijing during the 1930’s and was a student leader at the University during his time there. In 1936, shortly before China’s domestically devastating war with Japan, he joined the Communist Party. In the early stages of his career, Mr Hua was actively involved in the Beijing Communist Youth League. He was then appointed as assistant to Zhu De who was known as one of the greater communist leaders of the 1940′s. His next post was as Secretary to General Ye Jianying during the civil war. Mr Hua had strong English skills and thus the Communist Party’s victory over the Kuomintang; he served as a translator for Mao Zedong. He was also involved in truce talks during the Korean War. He then gained prominence as a diplomat, serving as an Ambassador in Ghana, Egypt and Canada. He then returned to China in order to assist in talks with the United States. He was heavily involved in China’s new brand of international diplomacy, shown through his involvement in China joining the United Nations in 1971. In 1976 he was selected as Foreign Minister and following his appointment he managed to negotiate and have a Friendship Accord signed with Japan in 1978, which led to increased diplomatic relations between the two countries. This new friendship assisted China’s economic reform process. In 1980 he played a pivotal role in China’s talks with the United Kingdom regarding the status of Hong Kong. His term as Foreign Minister was characterised by his desire to re-establish China as an international player.

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H.R.H. Prince Bernhard

AWARD LAUREATES | H.R.H. Prince Bernhard


H.R.H. Prince Bernhard

Prince Consort of the Kingdom of The Netherlands

H.R.H. Prince Bernhard (1911-2004) was the Prince Consort to Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. He was born in Jena, Germany into the family of Lippe as the eldest son of Prince Bernhard of Lippe. He studied Law at Lusanne and Munich Universities and upon graduating, began a career at the German dye corporation G Farben in Paris. In 1936 he met Crown Princess Juliana of the Netherlands and their engagement was quickly announced. To dispel Dutch fears of Nazism he renounced his German citizenship before his wedding in 1937. In 1940, following the outbreak of war, Germany invaded the Netherlands and the Dutch royal family fled to Britain. Prince Bernhard, however, returned to the Netherlands to join Dutch troops fighting the Nazis. In 1941 he became a Wing Commander in the RAF and trained as a pilot, obtaining his wings in 1941. From 1943 he served as Commander in Chief of the Dutch forces as well as leading Dutch resistance forces. Following the conclusion of the war, Prince Bernhard and Queen Juliana earned the respect and gratitude of the people by helping to rebuild the country. In 1948 Crown Princess Juliana took the throne, while Prince Bernhard became a Member of the Board of multiple companies. In 1954 he played a pivotal role in organising a meeting at the Bilderburg hotel for business executives and intellectuals to meet and discuss the economic problems that were being caused by the threat of communism. This meeting eventually became an annual occurrence and became known as the Bilderburg Group. In 1961 he assisting in the founding of the World Wildlife Fund and became its first President.

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