Rino Snaidero

AWARD LAUREATES | Rino Snaidero


Rino Snaidero

Italian Manufacturer

Rino Snaidero is an Italian manufacturer specialising in furniture. Founded in 1946 under the namesake Rino Snaidero, it was initially a small handmade furniture production company. Yet it steadily grew in popularity and became a large industry, which was seen as a company that was serving a society that had suffered the hardships of war. The company continued to grow annually, soon opening offices and factories in Europe. The seventies and eighties also saw an increased internationalisation of the business and it launched globally in the late 1980′s. In 1996, on the company’s 50th anniversary, President Rino Snaidero appointed his son as his successor as President of the company. In 2000, the Snaidero Group was formed, acquiring several companies in the industry. Today they specialise in the design and distribution of modular kitchens.

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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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Instituto Nacional de Industria (INI)

AWARD LAUREATES | Instituto Nacional de Industria (INI)


Instituto Nacional de Industria (INI)

Spanish State Entity Used to Promote Industrial Development

The Instituto Nacional de Industria (INI) was a state entity of Spain and was used to promote the development of industries. Created in 1941, its aim was to promote the creation of new industries and to develop a new vision for the economy. The creation of INI followed the Italian model of IRI and although it initially looked set for failure, it eventually became the largest industrial corporation in Spain. The INI was responsible for directing and implementing the huge investments necessary for the industrialisation of the country, in order to address the needs of national defence and to finance large-scale industrial projects. The INI had a positive effect on the Spanish economy, opening it up to international trade and especially to the European Economic Community. It later became privatised, and in 1992 it became the State Industrial Holdings Company (SEPI).

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H.M. King Juan Carlos I of Spain

AWARD LAUREATES | H.M. King Juan Carlos I of Spain


H.M. King Juan Carlos I of Spain

King of Spain

H.M. King Juan Carlos I of Spain was the recipient of the 1976 Gold Mercury International Peace Award for his role in Spain’s peaceful transition to democracy. He was born in Italy in 1938, following the exile of his grandfather King Alfonso XIII and other members of the Spanish royal family after the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic in 1931. He returned to Spain in 1947 after his father asked General Franco that his son be allowed to receive a Spanish education. Following the completion of his studies, Juan Carlos joined the Spanish military and eventually graduated as a naval, army and air force officer. He then continued his education at Complutense University studying Law, International Political Economy and Public Finance. In a bid to prevent a descent into civil war in the event of his death, Franco named Juan Carlos as his successor and began preparing him to eventually take control of Spain. Following Franco’s death, Juan Carlos became King on the 27th November 1975. Following his coronation King Juan Carlos I of Spain began the process of introducing vast reforms and in his first speech to the Spanish parliament he expressed his desire to re-establish democracy in the country. These reforms invoked the anger of many groups who expected him to maintain an authoritarian state. He continued on his path towards democracy, however, and appointed Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez who furthered King Juan Carlos’s goal of a democratic nation. His liberal stance and efforts to restore parliamentary democracy in Spain were recognised by Gold Mercury International and he was formally presented with the Peace Award in 1976.

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H.E. Ahmed Zaki Yamani

AWARD LAUREATES | H.E. Ahmed Zaki Yamani


H.E. Ahmed Zaki Yamani

Former Minister of Petroleum Affairs and Minister in OPEC

H.E. Ahmed Zaki Yamani is a Saudi Arabian politician and a former Minister of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). He was born in Mecca in 1930 and graduated with a Law degree from King Fouad I University in Cairo in 1951. He continued his education abroad in the United States and graduated from New York University in 1955 with a Master’s degree in Law and later a second Master’s degree in Law from Harvard Law School in 1956. After graduating from Harvard he was hired as a legal advisor for the Oil and Tax Departments at the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Finance. During this time he established a private law office in Jeddah and from 1958 to 1960 he served as a legal advisor to the Council of Ministers. In 1962, Mr Yamani was named Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. In 1962 the General Petroleum and Mineral Organisation (Petromin) was established in order to become the national oil company and from 1963 Mr Yamani served as its Chairman. In 1964, due in part to Mr Yamani’s influence, The University of Petroleum and Minerals was founded in order to provide younger Saudi generations with an education and technical knowledge of the oil industry. Mr Yamani took a lead role in the development of OPEC and by 1968 OPEC had been joined by Kuwait and Libya with Egypt, Syria and Iraq joining in the early 1970′s. From 1968 to 1969 he served as Secretary General of OPEC, working for price stability and energy conservation. Following the Yom Kippur War, Mr Yamani moved to drop oil production alongside other OPEC members in the aim of using the economic turmoil this would create as a weapon against Israel. This led to worldwide oil prices soaring to record levels and negatively affecting Western economies. It was the first time that oil-producing countries had independently set the price of their own oil. Over the following years Mr Yamani regularly sought to oppose sharp increases in oil prices for which he was accused of fostering pro-western policies. Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the King demanded the Saudi Arabian oil quota be increased and the price be set at eighteen dollars. Mr Yamani refused to sign the agreement and he was dismissed and replaced as Minister of Petroleum. In 1988 Mr Yamani established the Al Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation and in 1990 he founded the Centre for Global Energy Studies in London.

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FAO (the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations)

AWARD LAUREATES | FAO (the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations)


FAO (the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations)

Specialised Agency of the United Nations

FAO (the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations) is a specialised agency of the United Nations that is committed to achieving food security for the global population. Their mandate is to raise levels of nutrition, improve agricultural productivity and better the lives of rural populations, thus contributing to the growth of the world economy. FAO was created in 1943 following President Franklin D Roosevelt’s decision to call a United Nations Conference on Food and Agriculture. It was during this meeting of 44 governments in Hot Springs, Virginia that a permanent organisation for food and agriculture was created; the FAO. After the first session in Canada, the FAO was established as a specialised UN agency. In 1960 the FAO launched the Freedom from Hunger Campaign in order to mobilise non-governmental support for food security. Two years later, the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission that set international food standards became operational. FAO then established a Technical Cooperation Programme, which allowed them greater flexibility and the ability to respond to urgent situations in a faster manner. In 1981 the FAO initiated the first World Food Day, which was observed by more than 150 countries and due to the success of this, in the following years, FAO’s programmes began directly targeting world hunger. This was illustrated by the launch of the Special Programme for Food Security to target low income food deficit countries and the hosting of The World Food Summit where 186 Heads of State and government representatives met to discuss the issue of world hunger. In 2007 FAO’s Committee on Fisheries in Rome, attended by 119 countries, agreed on a proposal to develop a measure to combat illegal fishing practices. In 2010 FAO played an important role following the Pakistan floods, which destroyed seed stores and killed millions of livestock. They distributed wheat seed to 500,000 farming families as well as providing feed, medicine and shelter for the animals of a further 235,000 families. FAO’s world headquarters are currently located in Rome and it has 191 member states, along with the European Union, Faroe Islands and Tokelau, which are associate members.

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Emilio Azcarraga

AWARD LAUREATES | Emilio Azcarraga


Emilio Azcarraga

Former President Televisa S.A

Emilio Azcárraga Milmo was a Mexican businessman and the former President of Televisa, the Mexican mass media company. Born in 1930, Milmo’s father was the owner of ‘Radio XEW’, a station that served as a starting block to build the media empire. At 21, he joined his father’s company working as a salesman. His father’s death in 1972 led to Mr Milmo being named Chairman of the Board. Upon his appointment he also renamed the company Televisa and after several years managed to build the company into a media empire. Under his direction he turned Televisa into the world’s largest producer of Spanish broadcast programming. During his leadership he also acquired major Mexican television stations and was actively involved in publishing news stories, advancing video rental and various real estate ventures. The entertainment programs that he chose for Televisa were specifically chosen because they accurately reflected Mexican society, life and culture. Due to his determination and the revolutionary changes he made to Mexican media his leadership style, when reflected back upon, is seen as bold and ambitious. Televisa continues to be the largest mass media company in Latin American today, with his son Emilio Azcárraga Jean serving as President since Mr Milmo’s death in 1997.

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