Sorry, no posts were found for this category.
Sorry, no posts were found for this category.
Yolanda Moreno was the prima ballerina of Venezuela. Born in San Juan, she started dancing aged 13 and her talent was soon recognised. She quickly became an international star and later became a choreographer as well. During her career she gained the title of “The Venezuelan People’s Ballerina”. Over the course of her career she has performed in more than 500 choreographies and reinvigorated the public interest in Venezuelan dance and folklore. She also founded one of the most successful dance schools in Venezuela.
Ydnekatchew Tessema was a footballer and pioneer of modern sports organizations in Ethiopia. He is considered one of the country’s biggest sporting heroes. He played and coached Ethiopian clubs and teams, and founded the modern Ethiopian Sports office at age 22. Africa saw him as an ambassador of African sport who took pride in athletic advancements made by the continent, and in March 1988, he was made Posthumous Honorary President of the African Football Confederation. He led many Ethiopian sports delegations, including Ethiopia’s Olympic teams to Rome 1960, to Tokyo 1964 and to Mexico 1968. He was the leader of the struggle that expelled apartheid in South Africa from African Football in 1960, from the Olympics in 1971 and from FIFA in 1976.
Mr. Tessema was awarded the Gold Mercury Award for his success in developing sport in the country and contributing to African sport, evidenced through the endeavors of such international athletes as Abebe Bikila, Mamo Wolde and Mirutse Yifter. The awards ceremonies and conference of the Gold Mercury International Award took place in Ethiopia, and was the first time ever an award ceremony was conducted in Africa. Tessema’s exemplary attitude to sport was made apparent through his conviction that sport should be a shared ideal, irrespective of race, tribe, religion or politics affiliation. He viewed it as a way for us to overcome these differences.
Xerox Corporation was presented with the 2006 Gold Mercury Corporate Governance Award for their innovative technologies, products and services which are used to improve business results. Xerox upholds the Corporate Governance guidelines through their commitment to monitoring the effectiveness of policy and decision making at both the board and management level, with the aim of enhancing long-term shareholder value. It was recognised by Gold Mercury International for its standards and practices in its leadership structures, remuneration policies and shareholder rights and information. Furthermore its Code of Ethical Conduct, transparency, reporting and control were commended. It’s commitment to policy and practice in recruiting, hiring and promoting in all job classifications, regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, age, national origin, marital status or sexual orientation was also recognised. Xerox’s work in the promotion of diversity and equal opportunities are examples of outstanding Corporate Governance and responsibility of a company.
Xerox Corporation Award Announcement
Wolle Chekol was an Ethiopian politician who served as the country’s Minister of Finance from 1987 to 1990. Born in 1941, he earned a degree in Economics from Haile Selassie I University and then an MA in Economics from the Centre for Development Economics in Massachusetts. Mr Chekol served as a senior expert in the Development Commission of Ethiopia before acting as the Africa Group’s Vice Chairman at the 1976 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. The following year he was promoted to Chairman and served as the Africa Group’s Chairman at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. In 1979 he became the Minster of Foreign Trade, a position he held until 1987 when he became the Minister of Finance. After completing his term as Minister of Finance he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia, a position he held from 1989 to 1991. During his career he also embarked on business ventures, acting as the General Manager of the Micor and Small Enterprise Development Programme (MSEDP) as well as being a Founding Partner and Deputy General Manager of Afroconsult PLC.
Vandemoortele is a Belgian family controlled group, whose businesses centre around bakery products and lipids. They develop, produce and market frozen bakery products as well as margarine and fats, with the products being primarily sold under private labels by retailers, as well as being marketed under Vandemoortele’s own brand names. The company started in 1899 as a single factory in Belgium, set up by Constant Vandemoortele. This small local manufacturer and supplier of soap and cattle feed grew into a national producer of edible oils. It subsequently extended into the European market, becoming a European producer of bottled oils, refined oils, crude oils, margarines, fats and mayonnaise. In 1978, the company expanded their product portfolio to include frozen bread and bakery products and in 1980 they began producing soy drinks. From 1998 onward, the companies focused on producing soy foods, lipids and bakery goods. Today they hold a leading position in Europe in the lipid and bakery product industry.
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.
Uolevi Raade is the former Chairman of Neste, the Finnish oil refining company. Born in 1912, he graduated with degrees from the Helsinki University of Technology and Åbo Akademi. While studying at the Helsinki University of Technology he helped found the student flying club and during World War Two he served as a fighter pilot. In 1954 he became the Director of the Ministry of Trade and Industry and it was in this position that he devised a strategy for Finland to receive war reparation payments from the Soviet Union. The following year he became the Managing Director of Neste, with the company buying the first oil refinery over the next few years. Mr Raade worked with his friend, former President Urho Kekkonen to promote the project, rallying politicians and industries at home and abroad. In 1959 he became Chairman of the Board of Neste and until his retirement in 1979, he served as both Chairman and Managing Director of Neste. During the course of his career he was also actively involved in industrial federations and served as a member of the board for thirty seven corporations.
UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) is a United Nations organisation which works to defend and promote children’s rights through specific programmes and delegations. It is the world’s leading advocate for children and operates around the central notion that all children should have several basic rights. These include: a right to adequate nutrition, a right to education, a right to health, a right to participate, a right to protection and a right to clean water. UNICEF was formed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1946 (becoming a permanent member in 1953) in order to provide food and healthcare to those children whose countries had been heavily affected by World War Two. In 1959, UNICEF worked to adopt the Declaration of the Rights of the Child which acted to establish children’s rights to protection, education, healthcare, shelter and nutrition; principles which continue to define the organisation today. In 1965, UNICEF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the ‘promotion of brotherhood amongst nations’. In 1979, the same year that marked the International Year of the Child and saw countries reaffirm their commitment to children’s rights, Gold Mercury International recognised UNICEF for their sustained efforts in upholding children’s rights. In 1982 UNICEF launched the Child Survival and Development Revolution which was based on four simple techniques: growth monitoring, oral rehydration therapy, breastfeeding and immunisation; these would assist in saving the lives of millions of children each year. In 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the UN General Assembly. The popularity of the treaty made it the most widely accepted human rights treaty in history. The following years were focused on setting goals for children’s health as well as attempting to draw attention to the effect of war and conflict on children. Today, with staff in over 390 countries and territories, most of UNIECEF’s work is done in the field and lends to a more practical hands on approach as they seek to uphold children’s rights on a global scale.
Time Magazine is an American weekly news magazine which has become the world’s largest circulated weekly news magazine, amassing a readership of 25 million people. Time Magazine was established in 1923 by Briton Hadden and Henry Luce, becoming the first weekly news magazine in the United States. Its aim was to convey the news from the perspective of the people, which explained the reason for the single person cover, which it has become known for. The first issue was published on March 3, 1923 and following Hadden’s death in 1929, Luce managed Time Magazine singlehandedly. During the early years of the magazine, an innovative approach to marketing led to its readership increasing dramatically. From 1931 a weekly radio programme, ‘The March of Time’, was broadcast featuring a dramatisation of the week’s news for listeners. This brought the magazine significant publicity. The writing style in Time Magazine was initially very distinctive, regularly using inverted sentences. It also became known for its red border and its annual person of the year, which is awarded to the individual or group who has had the biggest impact on the news during the course of that year.
The Times is one of Britain’s longest running and most influential daily newspapers. It is traditionally regarded as a moderate newspaper, often supporting the Conservative Party. The Times was founded by publisher John Walter in 1785 under the name, ‘The Daily Universal Register’. This was later changed to The Times in 1788 and it henceforth it began to publish commercial news and notices. From 1817 to 1841, The Times was controlled by Liberal editor Thomas Barnes, who developed it into a larger, independent newspaper that would now begin to widely influence British opinion. In 1841, John T Delane became Editor, and hired the world’s first war correspondent to cover the Crimean War. In the 1950′s The Times enjoyed a long awaited overhaul due to Editor Sir William Haley who put news on the cover in place of advertisements. In 1981, The Times was bought by News International and in 2003 the newspaper began to be produce tabloids and broadsheet styles. The Times is renowned for quality journalism and has employed many distinguished journalists during its long history. These include, amongst many others, Robert Fisk, Lord Reese-Mogg, Michael Atherton, Robert Crampton, Michael Gove, Alice Bowe and Peter Riddel.
The Economist is a weekly magazine, focusing on international business and world affairs. Its editorial stance supports free trade and globalisation and it targets educated readers and influential professionals. Founded in 1843 by James Wilson, its initial aim was to advance the repeal of the Corn Laws, which were a system of import tariffs. In its early stages it chose to focus on thirteen key areas, including parliamentary reports, general news from the Court of St James, the metropolis and the provinces, agricultural topics, commercial topics and colonial and foreign topics. Today, The Economist features articles on world news, politics and business as well as occasional articles on science, technology and the arts. It has become well known over the years for its critiques and opinions on various economic policies, as well as its views on politicians. It has also become known for its competent analysis of world affairs and has appointed many distinguished editors during the course of its publication. These include Sir Walter Layton, Sir Alistair Burnet, Andrew Knight and currently John Micklethwait.
Teo Capriles was a renowned Venezuelan athlete. Born in 1907, his athletic skill was evident from an early age and he excelled in cycling. In 1936 he travelled to Berlin intending to participate in the Olympics which were being held that year, but was refused permission to compete as there was no Venezuelan representation. In 1938 he participated in the Bolivarian Games and in 1946 he participated in the Central American and Caribbean Competitions winning gold medals in both. He became the most successful Venezuelan cyclist of the time. He retired aged 40, having also competed at high levels in swimming and diving. He went on to become the Founder of the Venezuelan Federation of Swimming. His sporting legacy also led to the Caracas velodrome being named after him, as well as a swimming academy. He was also a skilled painter and musician, creating over 300 works dedicated to the Venezuelan landscape.
The Aldabra Foundation was presented with the 2006 Gold Mercury Environment Award for its work in providing specialised knowledge and financial support to ensure the preservation of the ecosystem and environment of Aldabra. Aldabra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, holding the finest surviving tropical atoll ecosystem and the largest raised coral atoll on earth. Due to its unique ecosystems and the species within, it is ecologically and scientifically valuable. The Foundation recognises this and aims to ensure the preservation of the atoll, as well as to promote scientific research into Aldabra’s pristine marine and terrestrial environments. The Aldabra Foundation’s goal is to secure the ecological wonders of Aldabra for future generations by creating the resources and harnessing the expertise required for this task. The increasing impact of human activity is contributing to the decline of the world’s coral reefs, however Aldabra has thus far escaped much of these stresses. Because of this it provides a natural laboratory for studying tropical marine ecosystems and related environments. The Foundation’s mission is to set up a highly developed research facility on the atoll, which will be capable of supporting world leading scientific research into the environment. This will in turn enable comparative terrestrial and marine analysis to achieve a better understanding of ecological change as well as specific anthropogenic impacts on tropical ecosystems such as overfishing, pollution, global warming and ocean acidification.
Television Trust for the Environment Award Announcement
Renowned gerontology scientist Dr Craig Willcox and esteemed neurology/brain ageing scientist Dr Giovanni Scapagnini, in collaboration with Gold Mercury President Nicolas De Santis, delve into the impact of global population ageing. Their visit to Gold Mercury’s headquarters in London was an opportunity to showcase their expertise and discuss critical challenges to global ageing, particularly the influence of nutrition and brain disease. Dr Willcox’s groundbreaking research,’ Healthy Ageing and Food Diet – The Okinawa Centenarian Study, focuses on the interconnection between ageing and disability processes among the oldest people in Okinawa and Hawaii. Dr. Scapagnini’s work focuses on the cellular stress responses and molecular mechanisms of brain ageing and neurodegenerative disorders. Given the generally ageing demographics in the developed world, these are two pressing research areas, with the developing world soon following suit. According to the World Population Report by the United Nations, by 2050, the number of older persons in the world will exceed the number of young for the first time in history, a startling demographic phenomenon which will have untold and powerful consequences in many areas. Dr. Willcox, a member of the Okinawan Centenarian Study, and Dr. Scapagnini have authored several papers on Okinawans and the Okinawa Diet. This dietary study is based on the eating patterns of a group of elderly inhabitants in Okinawa, a collection of over a hundred islands off the coast of Japan. These people are reported to have some of the world’s most extended life spans and best health. Changing our views on nutrition and physical activity, which are crucial to healthy ageing, cannot be overstated. Global Health is one of the eight main global areas of governance, as broken down by GLOGO® – Gold Mercury’s Global Governance Model and Centre for Sustainable Globalisation.
Gold Mercury has identified that an ageing population growing with unhealthy lifestyles and diets is a crucial obstacle to worldwide sustainability. As such, Gold Mercury is conducting a series of talks with leading global ageing experts to develop intelligence and solutions about nutrition and health education. With the increasing dependency associated with an ageing population, and the world population predicted to reach 16 billion by 2100, the issues of neurodegenerative illness, disability, and unhealthy lifestyles, and their impact on ageing, need to be further researched and understood.
“Gold Mercury’s intelligence on globalisation and especially GLOGO®; their unique global governance model, is a visionary approach to re-invent the way that we see global challenges and how we can organise our world. GLOGO® does not see global areas as fixed, separate compartments, but as an interconnected system that is constantly changing. This model can provide a lot of clues as to how to improve decision-making, governance and collaboration; to solve global challenges in health, ageing and other areas.”
Vint Cerf – a world-renowned computer scientist, recently visited Gold Mercury’s Offices to meet with its President, Nicolas De Santis, and both exchanged views on the future of globalisation, technology and sustainability. Vint Cerf is widely regarded as the “father of the internet” due to his role in developing the TCP/IP protocols that power the modern internet. During their meeting, Mr Cerf and Mr De Santis discussed Mr Cerf’s numerous and varied projects, ranging from the interplanetary internet to planetary terraforming and the future of information networks.
Mr Cerf was also shown GLOGO®: Gold Mercury’s Global Governance Monitoring System, which provides a unique monitoring and rating system to organise world complexity and report on the impact of significant decisions and events on the future of our planet.
We at Gold Mercury were deeply honoured to host such a visionary and exceptional individual. Vint Cerf, who has revolutionised human civilisation worldwide, shares our unwavering commitment to a sustainable future in a globalised world. This shared vision inspires us to continue our work towards a better tomorrow.
“Vint is a very special individual who spends his time envisioning the future. Our discussion was one of the most exciting I have ever had, ranging from the future of water on our planet and the interplanetary internet to how we can terraform other planets to make them more similar in biosphere to Earth so that they can be habitable by humans in the future.”
Soichiro Honda was the founder of the Japanese manufacturer Honda, which has been the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959. Born in Japan in 1906, his childhood was spent assisting his father in his bicycle repair business. After leaving school Mr Honda began work as an apprentice at an auto repair garage in Tokyo. In 1928, he returned to his hometown of Hamamatsu as a trained mechanic and started his own auto repair business. During this period, Mr Honda became particularly interested in cars and motorcycles. In 1937 he founded the Tōkai Seiki Company to manufacture piston rings which he sold to Toyota, a prominent Japanese car manufacturer. Following a bomb attack during World War Two which destroyed Tōkai Seiki’s plant, Mr Honda sold the remainder of his business and used the money to fund the Honda Technical Research Institute in 1946. The following year he began manufacturing motorcycles from the Honda Motor Company and within a decade Honda had become the leading motorcycle manufacturer in the world. Through effective marketing and advertising they entered the American market and opened the first US dealership in 1959. As President Mr Honda was an innovator for the Japanese business sector, promoting executives on performance basis rather than the period of time they had been working for the company. His methods attracted the press’ attention and he was admired for his business operations by American business practices. He served as President until he retired 1973, but continued on as Director. He died in 1991 and was subsequently appointed a Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.
Sadequain Naqqash was a legendary Pakistani artist, whose talent earned him widespread recognition and awards, including the Gold Mercury International Award. He was born in 1930 to a family whose trade was calligraphy. In the late 1940′s he joined the Progressive Writers and Artist Movement and his exceptional skill was quickly recognised, allowing him to hold his first solo exhibition in 1954. During the 1960′s he focused on the idea of labour, struggle and persistence against natural elements and these ideals featured heavily in his works of the time. Sadequain was deeply interested in the mysteries of the universe, the meaning of life, role of human beings in the universe, freedom and self-determination, survival and progress and the fine line between reason and emotion. He became well known for his exquisite calligraphy skills, acting as an innovator in this medium in Pakistan. He is often credited with bringing this art form into the mainstream. He was also renowned for his murals which earned him respect and admiration around the world. These large murals dealt with a range of subjects. His most famous mural is currently situated in the Head Office of the State Bank of Pakistan and is entitled, ‘Treasures of Time’. He was dedicated to his art and known to paint all day and night and it is estimated that he created over 15,000 pieces of artwork. His talent earned him numerous awards, including the ‘Tamgha e Imtiaz’, the ‘Laureate Biennale de Paris’ and the ‘Quaid e Azam Award’.
Sabancı Holding is the largest industrial and financial conglomerate firm in Turkey. Their mission is to manage a competitive strategic portfolio with sustainable growth potential, to create value for all stakeholders. Sabancı Holding has grown considerably since its inception, and it currently controls 70 companies, many of which are recognised leaders in their respective sectors. They have subsidiaries in varying industries such as energy, retail, telecommunications, automotive, textiles, hospitality and consumer goods. Sabancı Holding companies today operate in more than 18 countries and have expanded their business to include multinational partner companies such as Citigroup and Carrefour. The Sabancı family collectively remain Sabancı Holding’s major shareholders owning 60.6% of the share capital, while shares are also traded on the Istanbul Stock Exchange with a free float rate of 39.4%.
Rudolf Dassler was the founder of German sportswear company PUMA. The company began in 1924 when Dassler joined his brother in forming a shoe factory. The company gained a significant amount of publicity and increased sales after American sprinter Jesse Owns wore Dassler’s spiked track shoes at the 1936 summer Olympics. After they both joined the Nazi party, the relationship between the two brothers became fractured, which led them to split the business in 1948. Mr Dassler then went on to create a new sportswear company which was initially named Ruda before the name was changed to PUMA in 1948. The business grew quickly, with athletes and every day Germans favouring the PUMA footwear. Following Mr Dassler’s retirement he handed control of the company over to his son who helped transform the company into a worldwide phenomenon.
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.
Rómulo O’Farrill was a Mexican media entrepreneur. Born in 1917, he was the eldest son of Rómulo O’Farrill Silva, an automobile industrialist and publisher who co-founded ‘Telesistema Mexicano’, ‘Novedades’ and ‘The News’, as well as ‘Instituto Mexicano de Rehabilitación’. In 1933 he attended the United States Benedictine based school, St Anselm College, in order to learn English. After graduating in 1937, he received an MBA from the Detroit Business Centre. In 1949 Mr O’Farrill and his father obtained a concession from the XHTV-Channel 4, the first commercial television station to be used in Mexico. The first commercial broadcast from the station was the state of the union address by President Miguel Aleman Valdes in September 1950. The family’s television holdings grew and eventually developed into Telesistema Mexicano which would later be renamed Televisa. Mr O’Farrill would later manage and then become Chairman of the Board of this company. In 1969, the O Farrill’s established a newspaper company which distributed the newspaper ‘Novedades’. They also launched ‘The News’, which would become one of Latin America’s largest distributing English language dailies. During his career he sat on the boards of a number of corporations, including RCA Victor de Mexico and Sears Roebuck de Mexico. From 1962-1963 he served as President of the Inter-American Press Association. He was also a founding member of the Mexican Council of Businessmen and was appointed Honorary Consul of Ireland in Mexico, a role he held for over twenty years.
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.
Judge Rajsoomer Lallah was a prominent Mauritian lawyer and judge. Born in Mauritius, in 1933, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in Jurisprudence from Oxford University in 1957 and then continued his studies at Middle Temple in order to become a Barrister. In 1960 he completed his studies with a MA in Law at Oxford University. Upon his return to Mauritius, Mr Lallah was appointed Deputy to the Electoral Commissioner, with his duties including registering electors, drafting electoral regulations and administering the general elections. In 1970, Mr Lallah became the Special Adviser at the Commonwealth Secretariat and in this role he provided legal advice to Commonwealth governments. This advice was wide ranging, from taxation, independence negotiations, resource development and negotiation with multinational companies. In 1976 he became a Queen’s Counsel, Assistant Solicitor General in Mauritius, and Vice Chairman of the United Nations Human Rights Committee. He also progressed to serve as the Committee’s Rapporteur and Chairman. In 1978, he became Parliamentary Counsel and then in following year he was elected as Pro Chancellor and Chairman of the Council of The University of Mauritius. In 1980, he was chosen to become a Judge of the Supreme Court of Mauritius whilst also involving himself in managing UN human rights assessments. Judge Lallah’s activities within the UN saw him examine human rights cases in Chile, industrial complaints in Nigeria and genocide claims in Cambodia. He also assisted in forming a post-apartheid constitution for South Africa in 1991. Following his retirement from the Supreme Court in 1995 Judge Lallah continued to work for the UN, serving as Special Rapporteur in Myanmar from 1996 to 2000.
Rafael Termes was presented with the 2004 Gold Mercury Award for Global Economic and Social Policy for his contribution to the areas of economics and finance. Born in Barcelona in 1918, Professor Termes graduated as an industrial engineer but eventually settled on a career in finance. In 1955 he was appointed Regional Advisor to the Banco Popular Español, a role he held until he became the Vice-President of the Regional Council in Barcelona in 1960. In 1964, Professor Termes became a member of the Board of Banco Popular Español and helped set up the Spanish Analysts Investment Institute the following year. From 1970 to 1973 he represented Spain in the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies and from 1977 to 1990 he served as the President of The Spanish Association of Private Banks (AEB). From 1978 until 1985, he was a Member of the Executive Council of the Association for the Advancement of Management. Professor Termes taught for many years at the IESE Business School, specialising in finance. He also served as the Honorary President of the Spanish Institute of Financial Analysts and the President of the International Centre of Financial Research at IESE. Professor Termes was the author of several books and landmark studies which focused on the notion of market economics as the best system to organise ethical societies. He published many works including: El Poder Creador del Riesgo (1986); Del Estatismo a la Libertad: Perspectiva de los Países del Este (1990); Desde la Banca: Tres Décadas de la Vida Económica Española (1991); Antropología del Capitalismo: Un Debate Abierto (1992); Las Causas del Paro (1995); and Desde la Libertad (1997). Professor Termes has been honoured with numerous awards including the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit, the Free Enterprise Award and the Economics Prize Infanta Cristina Castilla y Leon.
Professor Thomas Risley Odhiambo (February 4, 1931 Alego, Nyanza Province – May 26, 2003) was a Kenyan entomologist and environmental activist who directed research and scientific development in Africa. He was described as a “Visionary entomologist harnessing science for Africa’s poor”. Odhiambo was the founding director of the Nairobi-based International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) and a leading figure in African science for several decades.
He encouraged the younger generation of thinkers to venture into the fine arts, investigate its relation to history of life sciences and to go out and create global academies and research institutions using technology. His inspiring effect led to the re–emergence of accumulated indigenous knowledge and technology systems in the modern African world. He led visions on agricultural development in Africa by initiating effective scientific projects leading to advancement in growing indigenous crops and disseminating methods of insect control.
“Thomas was a special man on a mission to improve Africa’s food sustainability and the wellbeing of its people. He is one of our most deserving laureates.”
– Eduardo De Santis, Chairman of Gold Mercury International, remembering Odhiambo
Professor Odhiambo published several books focused to improve sustainable food production and the african crisis including:
Shem Wandiga, former president of the Kenya National Academy of Sciences (KNAS), said that Odhiambo had been a “giant of a scientist” in Africa. “We might have underestimated his accomplishments in this part of the world but internationally he was recognised and respected,” he said. “Our efforts now should be to further his dream for a science-led African development.”
Pravda is a Russian newspaper which is distributed nationwide and which served as the media platform for the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1918 to 1991. Pravda published its first edition in May 1912 and was initially founded as a daily workers newspaper due to it having no distinct political orientation. Later it became an important tool of the Bolshevik movement, with its Editorial Board comprised of prominent Bolshevik members. In 1914, the newspaper was closed by the Tsar due to censorship; however, it constantly reappeared under different names. Following the overthrow of the Tsarist regime, Pravda was able to re-emerge as the official newspaper of the Party. It retained this role until the collapse of the Communist Party in 1991, when Brosi Yeltsin shut down the Communist Party and all of its property. It was then sold to Greek investors and became a voice for the conservative-nationalist opposition. Due to declining readership, Pravda was shut down temporarily in 1996 before later being purchased by the Communist Party of The Russian Federation, making it again, the official organ of a communist party. It still operates today from Moscow and is published three times weekly.
Poul Hartling was presented with the Gold Mercury Award for International Law & Humanitarian Affairs in 1982. He was a member of the Liberal Party of Denmark, serving as Foreign Minister from 1968 to 1971 in the cabinet of Hilmar Baunsgaard. Mr Hartling became Prime Minster of Denmark in 1973 after the Danish Social Democratic Party Government of Anker Jørgensen was unable to form a government following the 1973 election. He served as Prime Minster from 1973 to 1975 until the Social Democrats regained the leadership of Denmark. In 1978, Mr Hartling became the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, a post he held for eight years. During his time as High Commissioner, the issue of refugees had become a major issue due to the escalation of the Cold War. Furthermore, the mass exodus in Indochina and the lack of an international response to the issue meant the UNHCR had to lead complex and highly politicised humanitarian operation. Other high profile relief operations undertaken by UNHCR, under the direction of Mr Hartling included finding relief for refugees in the Horn of Africa and Central America, as well as for Afghan refugees in Asia. In 1981 UNICEF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, an award Mr Hartling accepted on behalf of the organisation.
Paloma O’Shea is the Founder of the Reina Sofía Musical School and the Creator and President of the Albeniz Foundation. Born in Spain in 1936, she began studying piano in 1941 before moving to France in order to further her interest in music. At the age of fifteen her musical talent was recognised and she was awarded the Primer Premio Fin de Carrera and the chance to perform with the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra. After marrying Emilio Botín, Executive Chairman of Grupo Santander, she chose to dedicate her time to promoting classical music in Spain and as a result she became a patron of the arts. In 1972 she founded the Albeniz Foundation and created the Concurso de Piano de Santander, which is now known as The Paloma O’Shea International Piano Competition. It is held every three years in Spain and is organised by the Albeniz Foundation. In 1991, she founded the Queen Sofía College of Music, which is a private music school that has grown to become one of the leading music schools in Spain. Her commitment to the promotion of arts and music in Spain and her initiatives to encourage musical talent have led to Ms O’Shea receiving numerous awards including The Gold Mercury International Award, as well as the Légion d’honneur of France, the Picasso Awards of UNESCO and in 2008 she was given the rank of Marchioness of O’Shea by the King of Spain.
Pakistan Television Corp is a public and commercial broadcasting television network, as well as a state owned mega-corporation. It was founded in 1964 by an international sector organisation NEC. Its first broadcast was transmitted from a small pilot station in Lahore in November 1964, followed by Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1965, Rawalpindi and Islamabad in 1965 and then Karachi in 1966. In 1971, Pakistan Television, under a nationalisation programme, became government owned. This allowed its network infrastructure to expand all over the country. Whilst originally broadcasting in black and white, colour television was eventually introduced by the network in 1976. In 1987, The Pakistan Television Academy was created in order to educate students who had an interest in working within the television media sector. A full scale satellite broadcasting service was launched in 1991, before digital TV satellite broadcasting was introduced in 1999. Programmes produced by Pakistan Television Corp are varied and include dramas, documentaries, current affairs stories, entertainment and sport. Its programmes are produced in Urdu as well as other regional languages such as Sindhi, Punjabi, Pashto and Balochi. The viewer base, in 2012, rose significantly and the network now enjoys a considerable percentage of Pakistani viewership.
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a permanent intergovernmental organisation comprised of the following twelve oil producing countries: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Its aim is to co-ordinate and unify petroleum policies amongst member countries to ensure fair and stable prices for producers and a regular and efficient supply to consumer nations. It was formed at the Baghdad Conference in September 1960, with the five founding members being Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. For the first five years of its existence, OPEC headquarters were located in Geneva, before moving to Vienna in 1965. During the 1970′s, OPEC experienced international coverage as member countries began to seize control of their domestic petroleum industries. In 1976 the OPEC Fund for International Development was established. OPEC initiatives reduced the market impact of Middle East hostilities in 1990 to 1991. Furthermore, innovative OPEC oil prices assisted in strengthening and stabilising crude oil prices in the early 2000′s. In 2007, OPEC established stable energy markets, sustainable development practices and environmental policies as three guiding themes for the future of their policies and initiatives.
The President of Gold Mercury International, Nicolas De Santis, had an audience with H.M. King Felipe VI as part of a delegation led by its President, Javier Cremades, from the World Jurist Association and its executive branch, the World Law Foundation, where Nicolas De Santis is also a board member. Gold Mercury has a long history with the Kingdom of Spain. The Gold Mercury Award was presented to King Felipe VI’s father, H.M. Juan Carlos I, for defending the democratic transition in Spain (1977) and to Queen Sofia (1984), for her dedication to promoting the arts.
It is a great privilege to have had the opportunity to visit H.M. King Felipe VI at the Zarzuela Palace. Our discussions encompassed a range of pressing global issues, such as peace and security, the evolving landscape of AI and its potential impact on public opinion, and the critical matter of climate change. King Felipe VI has a deep understanding of the significance of upholding the rule of law as a cornerstone for ensuring peace and promoting democratic values on a global scale.
Said Nicolas De Santis, President, Gold Mercury International.
Don Jose Ignacio Domecq (left) in May 1970 at the Capitoline Hill in Rome with Don Manuel Domecq-Zurita, after receiving the Gold Mercury Corporate Award for his contribution to developing international cooperation through trade.
One of our historic Laureates is Don Jose Ignacio Domecq who won the Gold Mercury Award in May 1970. The award was presented at the Gold Mercury annual ceremony at the Capitoline Hill (Campidoglio) in Rome.
I remember Pedro with incredible love. He was an intelligent man of great human values. It was an honour to present him with the Gold Mercury Award”
says Eduardo De Santis, Chairman Gold Mercury, who presented Domecq the Award in 1970.
Jose Ignacio Domecq Gonzalez, was the aristocratic head of the Spanish wine-making family who owned Pedro Domecq, one of Spain’s oldest and largest sherry and brandy shippers, from 1816 until 1994, when it was merged with Allied Lyons P.L.C., the beverages giant based in London. It is now known as Allied Domecq P.L.C.
The tall, lean Mr. Domecq was known throughout the international wine trade as ‘El Nariz’ for literal as well as figurative reasons. His hawk like nose, endlessly caricatured in profile, was memorably large. It was also his fortune, an indispensable gift in the blending necessary for creating fine sherries.
From childhood on, he said, he memorized aromas and tastes ranging from those of the freshly pressed must of palomino grapes to those of the rich, old dry sherries called olorosos dating to 1730, when the company was founded. Its rise began in 1816 when a forebear, Pedro Domecq, acquired it and gave it his name.
Sherry, like port and madeira, is a fortified wine, which means that alcohol is added for body and strength. The name is an Anglicization of Jerez, the capital of sherry production. Mr. Domecq’s skills as a blender were outstanding. In an essay for ”Christie’s Wine Companion” (Salem House, 1987), he wrote:
Strolling through a bodega, dipping out old sherries which have rested undisturbed for generations, must be one of the most satisfying encounters a man can have with wine”.
It was this relationship to sherry, perhaps Spain’s unique contribution to wine culture, that led Mr. Domecq’s competitors and admirers to observe that he was a man of long views. In his essay, he offered his perspective this way: In ancient bodegas
One watches human egos come and go — all talking loudly about market trends etc., in the jargon of the moment — while the wine ignores them all and silently ages, turning itself with our tactful guidance into the same lovely old perfection enjoyed by our ancestors”.
Mr Domecq died in 1997 at his home in Jerez de la Frontera, in southern Spain. He was 82.
Don Jose Ignacio Domecq (left) in May 1970 at the Capitoline Hill in Rome with Don Manuel Domecq-Zurita, after receiving the Gold Mercury Corporate Award for his contribution to developing international cooperation through trade.
Archbishop and Cardinal Miguel Obando Bravo was awarded the Gold Mercury International Award in 1981 for his tireless work as a human rights defender. He was born in La Libertad, Nicaragua, in 1926 and was ordained a priest on August 10, 1958. In 1968, he was appointed Titular Bishop of Puzia di Bizacena and Auxiliary Bishop of Matagalpa. It was during this time that in Matagalpa that he dedicated his pastoral care to the Campesinos and their urgent problems. In 1970 he was promoted to the position of Archbishop of Managua. Archbishop Obando Bravo became a key figure in Nicaraguan politics during the 1970′s, due to his vocal criticism of the corrupt Anastasio Somoza regime. He questioned the government’s management of relief funds following the 1972 Managua Earthquake and highlighted human rights abuses which were being carried out by the National Guard. Archbishop Obando Bravo retained a peaceful stance, however, and acted as an intermediary between the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) and the Somoza government during Sandinista hostage-taking incidents. He was also critical of the Sandinista revolutionary government’s policies and their human rights violations. Archbishop Obando Bravo’s commitment to peaceful resolutions and his desire to preserve human rights ensured he was popular amongst many Nicaraguans and led him to become a Gold Mercury International laureate.
Michel Camus (1911-1985) was the former President of Camus, a company which produced a family made brand of cognac. Mr Camus joined the family company in 1931 when he was just twenty one years old, and after several years of promotion, he was appointed President. A major feature of his Presidency was creating an increased export relationship between Camus and Russia. The relationship allowed the company to achieve an exclusive spirits export and import contract between France and Russia in 1959. In the early 1960′s he continued to expand the company internationally by exporting to the American group, DFS Galleria, who produced a variety of Camus gifts, such as Limoges porcelain and Baccarat crystal decanters that were aimed at travellers. He also heavily promoted the quality of his cognac in a signature frosted bottle. During his time at Camus, the company continued to become internationalised, opening its first office in Hong Kong in 1971.
Artist Merawi Sitot was born in 1936 in the rural Ethiopian region of Wollo Ambassel. An orchestra that came to town one day had such a profound impact on him that at age 14 he moved to Addis Ababa to pursue a musical career. Merawi helped set up the Ethiopian National Theatre and managed the National Theatre’s Music Orchestra for 27 years.
Through a long and versatile musical career, he worked with his country across three successive governments as a sax and clarinet player and arranger for more than 43 years, writing and composing music that he toured around the world with fellow musicians including the acclaimed Tilahun. Together with other artists of the “Golden Era” of Ethiopian music, they helped raise awareness and opened up enjoyment of African music to a global audience.
Upon receiving the Gold Mercury International Award for Global Culture in 1985 for his contributions to his country’s culture, he dedicated it to the national theatre, his self-pronounced “second-home”, declaring:
”Though this award is given to me, it is not only mine. It is the output of my friends who have been working so hard with me for the last 43 years […] rather this [the national theater] is the right place for it.”
This year, the ninth edition of the Ethiopian Music Festival held at the National theatre, which is organised by the alliance Ethio-Francaise with the support of various embassies and institutions, was dedicated to Merawi along with Getachew Debalque, another luminary of the Ethiopian musical stage.
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.
Marcelino Oreja Aguirre was a Spanish politician and businessman who served as the Spanish Foreign Minister, Secretary General of the Council of Europe and European Commissioner during his illustrious career. Born in 1935 in Madrid, he studied Law at the University of Salamanca and later received his Doctorate from the University of Madrid. By 1973 he had embarked on his political career, founding the group Tacitus and two years later he became the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A year later in 1976 he was appointed Foreign Minister. In this role, Mr Oreja Aguirre was involved in the signing of the Declaration of Human Rights at the United Nations, as well as overseeing Spain’s entrance into the Council of Europe. In 1983, he was put forward as a candidate for the Spanish government to the Secretariat General of the Council of Europe and the following year he was appointed Secretary General, a role he held for five years. In 1989 he was elected to the European Parliament and by 1994 he had become the European Commissioner for Transport and Energy before then becoming the European Commissioner for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy. He retired from political life at the end of his mandate; however he still plays an active role as a member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences as well as the Spanish Royal Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation.
Manuel Cabré was a renowned landscape painter. Born in Barcelona in 1890, he moved to Venezuela at a young age. As his father taught sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Caracas, he studied there and became fascinated by the Venezuelan landscape, particularly the El Avila Mountain north of Caracas. He chose to paint it from all angles and shades and as a result he received widespread recognition and praise. He later moved to Paris, living there until 1930, learning the techniques of cubism and impressionism. In 1931 he returned to Venezuela, again committing himself to painting the outdoors. He became known for his extensive skills, technique, colour and form, which were all evident in his paintings. In 1955 he received the National Award in Painting and in 1955 he won the Herrera Toro Award. Between 1942 and 1946, he served as Director of the Caracas Museum of Fine Arts. He continued painting until his death in 1984.
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.
Luis Garcia Berlanga was a Spanish film director and writer who played a prominent role in the revival of the Spanish film industry. His interest in film was fostered during his legal and literature studies in Madrid. His interest in the subject matter eventually led to him joining the state run film school, The Institute of Cinematographic Investigations and Experiences in 1947. He introduced his work as a director with the 1951 film, ‘That Happy Couple’ before establishing himself with the 1953 comedy, ‘Bienvenido, Mister Marshall’. This film used irony and satire to parody Franco’s regime and the utopia they had seemingly created. The film somehow escaped strict censorship laws but lost out at the Cannes Film Festival for being “anti- American”. In 1961 he directed the Oscar nominated film, ‘Pacido’, and later he achieved more critical success with the film, ‘El Verudi’, which won the Critics’ Choice Award at the Venice Film Festival in 1963. In 1968 he became the head of the judging panel at the Berlin International Film Festival and by the late 1970′s he had re-established himself in the genre of erotic fiction. In 1986 he became the first director to win the Prince of Asturias Award.
The Aldabra Foundation was presented with the 2006 Gold Mercury Environment Award for its work in providing specialised knowledge and financial support to ensure the preservation of the ecosystem and environment of Aldabra. Aldabra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, holding the finest surviving tropical atoll ecosystem and the largest raised coral atoll on earth. Due to its unique ecosystems and the species within, it is ecologically and scientifically valuable. The Foundation recognises this and aims to ensure the preservation of the atoll, as well as to promote scientific research into Aldabra’s pristine marine and terrestrial environments. The Aldabra Foundation’s goal is to secure the ecological wonders of Aldabra for future generations by creating the resources and harnessing the expertise required for this task. The increasing impact of human activity is contributing to the decline of the world’s coral reefs, however Aldabra has thus far escaped much of these stresses. Because of this it provides a natural laboratory for studying tropical marine ecosystems and related environments. The Foundation’s mission is to set up a highly developed research facility on the atoll, which will be capable of supporting world leading scientific research into the environment. This will in turn enable comparative terrestrial and marine analysis to achieve a better understanding of ecological change as well as specific anthropogenic impacts on tropical ecosystems such as overfishing, pollution, global warming and ocean acidification.
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.
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper. It was founded in 1944 by Hubert Beuve-Méry, and has since grown to become the world’s main source of printed French news, with 35,000 copies of the paper being distributed abroad on a weekly basis. It was founded at the request of General De Gaulle following the removal of the German army from Paris in World War Two. The German army had taken over the newspaper Le Temps, which had previously served as the most important French newspaper. Hubert Beuve-Méry’s provision upon being chosen to be Editor in Chief of the newspaper was to have complete editorial independence. The governance of the newspaper is structured collegially, with many journalists, who have tenure with the paper, also being allowed to be financial stakeholders and participate in the elections of senior executives. The paper’s editorial line has often been described as centre-left, with Le Monde backing several Socialist candidates in recent years.
L’Express is a French weekly news magazine. It was founded in 1953 by Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber and Francoise Giroud during the first Indochina War. Its initial aim was to emulate the U.S news magazine, TIME. During its early years, the magazine was centre left in content and supportive of Pierre Mendes-France’s policies in Indochina. It has often courted controversy due to its opposition to France’s war in Algeria and due to such positions it has often been momentarily censored by the French government. From 1964 onwards L’Express became less politically engaged and its circulation rose as a result. L’Express has published many notable journalists over the years, including Raymond Aron, Jean-François Revel and André Gorz. Today L’Express has a large following online and enjoys widespread circulation throughout France.
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.
The Konrad Adenauer Foundation is a German political foundation associated with the Christian Democratic Union. It was established in 1955 as a ‘Society for Christian-Democratic Civic Education’, taking its name from the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. Their programmes are aimed at promoting freedom, liberty, peace and justice across the world. They predominantly focus their efforts on consolidating democracy, unifying Europe and strengthening transatlantic relations. This political basis was constructed through the use of the materials and research documents they acquired whilst acting as a consultant firm and think tank. Similar to other German political foundations, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation is financed mainly through federal and land government funds. Today their headquarters are located in Bonn and they have an additional 78 offices and programmes running in over 100 countries.
Kerry Kennedy was recognised with the 2006 Gold Mercury Humanitarian Award for her work as an internationally renowned human rights activist, the Founder of both The Robert F Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights and the “Speak Truth to Power Programme.” Her dedication to raising awareness of human rights over many years has been commendable. She began her work in human rights in 1981 and since this time has led more than 40 delegations to various countries in the search for equal justice. Ms Kennedy established the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights in 1987 to protect the rights codified under the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Her commitment and work regarding human rights covers diverse issues such as child labour, indigenous land rights, freedom of speech, judicial independence, ethnic violence and women’s rights. Her book Speak Truth to Power: Human Rights Defenders Who are Changing our World is a powerful representation of those individuals, from more than forty countries who are seeking to advance human rights. The book features interviews with these human rights defenders and is accompanied by powerful portraits by world renowned photographer Eddie Adams.
Kerry Kennedy Awards Acceptance Speech – Part 1
Kerry Kennedy Awards Acceptance Speech – Part 4
Kerry Kennedy Awards Acceptance Speech – Part 2
Kerry Kennedy Awards Acceptance Speech – Part 3
Juan Luis Cebrián was presented with the Gold Mercury Award in 1986 for his contribution to Global Culture. Born in Madrid in 1944, Mr Cebrián studied Humanities at the University Complutense, before graduating from the Official School of Journalism in Spain in 1963. He was a founding member of the political magazine, ‘Cuadernos para el Dialogo’ in 1963 and served as Deputy Editor of the ‘Pueblo Daily Newspaper’ from 1963 to 1975. In 1973, Mr Cebrián also became the Head of Information Services of the Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española RTVE, during the last government of the Franco dictatorship. He was the founding Editor of ‘El País’, and served as Director of the publication from 1976 to 1988. Under his leadership, the paper became the best-selling newspaper in Spain. Mr Cebrián was also a writer and author, publishing nineteen books in ten different languages over the course of his career. After becoming a Gold Mercury International Award Laureate, he became the CEO of Prisa Group, as well as the Vice President of the Spanish Society of Broadcasting and Prisa TV.
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.
José Joaquín Cabrera Malo is a Venezuelan forestry and agriculture expert. Born in 1921, he qualified as an agricultural engineer. He worked toward reforestation and was successful in converting what was almost desert into the largest man made forest in the world, named Uverito Forest. This planting began in 1966 and it eventually went on to cover an area of around five hundred thousand acres. The forest also triggered a difference in climate change, contributing to an increased incidence of tropical rain. It also led to an increased diversity of animal species that previously did not exist in the area. He showed sustained commitment to reforestation and aimed to prevent the exploitation and clearing of forests by logging companies.
José Figueres Ferrer was a moderate Costa Rican politician who served as President of a governing Junta and then later as constitutional President. He studied at universities in Costa Rica and Mexico before also being educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Upon his return to Costa Rica in 1928, Mr Figueres Ferrer bought a farm and became a successful coffee grower and rope manufacturer, whilst also building houses and providing medical care for his workers. In 1942 his criticism of the government forced him to become an exile in Mexico for two years. When he returned to Costa Rica he formed the Democratic Party, which eventually became the Social Democratic Party. Mr Figueres Ferrer then began training the Caribbean legion, a force of 700. Following the 1948 presidential election where Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia sought reinstatement after being defeated by Otilio Ulate Blanco, Mr Figueres Ferrer obtained the arms and ammunition he had hidden on his plantation and led an uprising in support of President Ulate. After two months of civil war, the Costa Rican army was defeated and Mr Figueres Ferrer became the President of the provisional Junta, who wrote a constitution which abolished the army and granted women the right to vote as well as guaranteeing public education for all. He handed power over to President Ulate after serving as provisional President, yet he was elected President in 1953 after President Ulate had completed his term. During his term in office he vowed to follow a pro-United States policy due to his strong anti-communist stance. He also nationalised banks and implemented numerous social reforms. He was elected for a second term in 1958 and during this term he worked with several UN agencies to improve conditions in Costa Rica, as well as writing articles on Costa Rica and Caribbean politics. He became a symbol of the ‘democratic left’ in Latin America and became one of the first Latin American presidents to embark on diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. During his third term as President from 1970 to 1974 Mr Figueres Ferrer prevented an economic collapse by discovering a new market through which Costa Rica could sell 30,000 tonnes of coffee to the Soviet Union. He also managed to sustain Costa Rica’s volatile economy during this period by negotiating with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to receive aid. After his presidency he became an Ambassador for subsequent administrations and supported the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua. He also rallied against U.S policy to support Nicaragua’s contra guerrillas.
Born in 1930, José Federico Carvajal served as the President of the Senate of Spain from 1982 to 1989. Shortly after graduating with a Law degree from the Central University in 1956, he became a member of the International Bar Association, defending numerous cases before the Court of Public Order. From 1954 he was a member of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) and wishing to become more actively involved in politics, he ultimately ran for and was elected as Senator for the province of Ávila in 1977. His successful time as Senator of Ávila led to him eventually being elected Senator of Madrid in 1982 and later that year, President of the Senate of Spain. He held this position for two terms before once again being elected as a senator in the 1986 elections. In 1989 during the general election he was appointed Deputy to the Congress by the province of Madrid where he became a member of the Constitutional Commission.
Jean Rey was a Belgian politician who served as the President of the European Commission. Born in 1902, he obtained a PHD in Law from the University of Liège in 1926. He initially embarked on a law career, serving as a Barrister at the Court of Appeal. He soon became, however, more actively involved in politics and in 1935 he joined the Liberal Party and was subsequently elected City Councillor of Liège. In 1939 he rose to obtain a seat in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives. He became increasingly active in his opposition of the Belgian policy of neutrality during the Second World War and after becoming a reserve officer he was captured by the Germans and taken to a Nazi concentration Camp where he spent the duration of the war. Following the conclusion of the war he returned to his political career, and in 1947 in strongly supported passing a bill which would see Belgium become a federal state. In 1949 he was appointed the Minister of Reconstruction and from 1954 to 1958 he served as the Minister of Economy. In this role he was involved in the development of the European Coal and Steel Community as well as the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC). During his time at the EEC he played an active part in Walter Hallstein’s merger treaty, which saw the three communities being combined to form the European Commission. Due to the lead role he eventually came to play in the merger, he was appointed President of the European Commission shortly after its formation. The Commission eventually increased to fourteen members and oversaw the completion of the Community’s Custom Unions in 1968. At the Summit of The Hague in 1969, whereby European leaders had met to reinvigorate European integration, Mr Rey played a key role and was an influential member in the eventual decision of admitting the United Kingdom to the Commission. In the final year of his presidency Mr Rey also won the support of European governments for his idea to allow the community their ‘own resources’, which meant the European Commission could gain revenues from custom duties and levies on agricultural products. Mr Rey continued his goal for an integrated Europe by leading the European Movement from 1974 to 1978 and in the following year he became a member of the first European Parliament. He continued to remain involved within politics until his death in 1983.
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.
Janusz Burakiewicz was a Polish politician and diplomat who formerly served as the Minister of Shipping and Foreign Trade. Born in 1961, he spent four years as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps from 1941 to 1945. He entered a career in politics and quickly rose to become Minister of Shipping from 1964 to 1969. He then went on to become the Minister of Foreign Trade from 1969 to 1971, before serving as the Polish Ambassador in Belgrade from 1971 to 1978.
Dr Jacinto Convit was recognised by Gold Mercury International in 1981 for his contributions to Global Health, developing a vaccine to combat leprosy. Dr Convit entered medical school in 1932 at the Central University of Venezuela and it was here that he gained the title of Medical Science Doctor in 1938. Dr Convit was appointed Venezuelan Physician of the Servicios Antileprosos in 1946 and subsequently worked with a team to diagnose 18,000 cases of leprosy across the country. By 1949 his work had ensured the creation of between one and two sanitary dermatology service centres in every state. His untiring work led to the Organización Panamericana de Salud (OPS) to send medical personnel to receive training from Dr Convit in Venezuela and he encouraged them to acknowledge the feelings and suffering patients experienced because of the disease. In 1968 he became the President of the International Leprosy Association (ILA) and created the Instituto de Dermatología, later called Instituto de Biomedicine de Caracas (IBC) which he has led since 1972. Dr Convit was later successful in his attempts to help control the spread of the disease through his discovery of the leprosy vaccine. His contribution to the advancement of medical science has been invaluable and his lifelong dedication to researching and fighting diseases continues to have an impact on world health today.
The Irish Distillers Group, now owned by Pernod Ricard, imports and distributes wines and spirits, including Irish whiskey, cork dry gin, vodka and various wine types through their various subsidiary distilleries. The Irish Distillers Group was established in 1966 following a merger between John Power & Son, John Jameson & Son and The Cork Distillery Company. In 1972, Bushmills, who operated as the only other Irish whiskey distillery at the time, chose to also join the group. Following this merger, Irish Distillers had control over all whiskey production within Ireland. The main reason for their success is due to the production of Jameson, which has become the world’s fastest growing international brand of whiskey.
The International Red Cross is the world’s largest humanitarian organisation and aims to provide assistance without discrimination regarding nationality, race, religion, class or political position. It is comprised of several organisations which are legally independent but united under the movement’s common principles. The International Red Cross was created in 1863 when five Swiss men, including Henry Dunant, formed the International Committee for Relief for the Wounded which later became known as the International Committee of the Red Cross. A flag was adopted, a red cross on a white background, an inversion of the Swiss Flag which served as a protective emblem. In 1864, 12 governments adopted the first Geneva Convention which signalled a milestone for humanity and which also granted neutrality for those who were providing medical services on the battlefield. In 1899, The Hague Conventions were adopted at the Second International Peace Conference in The Hague. The laws covered by these conventions extended to wars on land and at sea. The International Red Cross became especially active during World War One as it provided assistance to prisoners of war as well as providing information on captured military personnel. In 1917 their efforts were recognised when the movement won the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1929 the Geneva Conventions were revised to include references to wounded armed forces in the field and prisoners of war. By 1960 there were over 100 National Societies associated with the Red Cross movement, including in former colonies in Africa and Asia. In 1963, in celebration of its centennial, the Red Cross was awarded their third Nobel Peace Prize. In 1990, the UN General Assembly allowed the International Red Cross observer status for its assembly and subcommittee meetings, This was the first time observer status had been granted to a private organisation. In 2004, following the tsunami in South Asia, the International Red Cross embarked on its largest task to date. More than 22,000 volunteers assisted victims who were without food or shelter and in danger of epidemics. Their Strategy 2020 is currently implemented as the guiding principle for relief activities this decade. It includes strategic aims on saving lives, protecting livelihoods, strengthening recovery from disasters, enabling healthy and safe living, promoting social inclusion and promoting a culture of non-violence.
Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC) is a scientific research institute and graduate training centre located in Venezuela. It is the largest of the agencies attached to the Ministry of Popular Power for Science and Technology. The original institute, named the Venezuelan Institute for Neurological Research (IVNIC), was originally founded by Dr Humberto Fernandez Moran in 1955. The IVNIC institute operated between 1956 and 1959 before it was decided that the mission and vision of the institute needed to be expanded. This led to the creation of the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research. The institute now focuses on research, technological developments and training as well as providing advice and external services. The research conducted is done in a variety of fields including medicine, biology, chemistry and physics. The headquarters also houses many departments who focus on the areas of anthropology, ecology, microbiology, cell biology and nuclear technology. The ‘Marcel Roche Library’ has over 160,000 volumes and its catalogue of specialised periodicals exceeds 8300 titles. Due to this UNESCO, in 1996, named the Marcel Roche Library the ‘best regional library for science and technology’. The institute plays an important role in educating and conducting research that will affect the future of science and technology.
The Venezuelan Institute for Petroleum Technology (INTEVEP) is a Venezuelan company which develops projects in the areas of refining, exploration and production of petroleum. Founded in 1976, the company began conducting research and development soon after. In 1977, a group of 75 professionals and technicians joined the company and by 1979, the company had established itself as a subsidiary of Petroleos de Venezuela. This allowed them to adopt policies and administrative activities that were aligned with the larger corporation. By 1985 their focus remained on transport and on improving the recovery of light and medium oil and the use of waste materials, as well as adjusting the processes of determining the quality of the product. In 1986, they began integrating emulsions technology into the production and handling of heavy oils and in order to suit the company’s new activities the company changed its name to INTEVEP SA, Research and Technology Support in 1989. During the 1990′s INTEVEP continued to work on new projects in order to support and expand the Venezuelan oil industry.
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).
Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (IESA) is a private non-profit business school. It was founded in Venezuela in 1965, and has since expanded to include campuses in the most important economic centres in the country: Caracas, Maracaibo and Valencia. The school has received international recognition for its ability to educate quality top-level managers in a wide range of topics relating to management science. Influential leaders and managers regularly return to the IESA in order to receive executive training to tackle the challenges of the markets in which they operate. It is one of only four schools of management and business in Latin American and thirty-four in the world to have three major international accreditations which relate to its academic standards, intellectual production and teacher performance.
Instituto de Cooperación Iberoamericana (ICI) was a Spanish organisation, created in 1979 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and based in Madrid. ICI’s predecessors were the Instituto de Cultura Hispánica and the Centro Iberoamericano de Cooperación, whose aims were to preserve the idea of Hispanic culture. In November 1988, ICI became the AECI (Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional) and experienced a change in its functions and infrastructure. In 2007 AECI became a state agency and transferred its name to AECID (Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo). Currently AECID’s objectives are to manage and implement public policies directed at international cooperation to ensure sustainable development. They also work to actively build peace and move towards global citizenship. Poverty reduction is the ultimate goal of the AECID and they use the Millennium Development Goals as a reference to guide their work. They currently have 44 technical cooperation offices and 15 cultural training centres located in partner countries worldwide.
Eduardo de Santis, founder of Gold Mercury International was born in Positano (Italy) in 1929. He passed away on March 25 in Madrid. Entrepreneur and visionary, he was a creator of global iconic brands and a champion of governance and sustainable globalization.
He began his film career in the fifties, first as an actor in more than 20 films and then as a screenwriter and producer, a bridge between Europe and America with great co-productions. During the shooting of Las aeroguapas he met the Spanish actress María Cuadra, with whom he married and had three children, Natasha, Nicolas and Antonella.
His remarkable business career in the sector of corporate identity and brand development began in the seventies with the help of his partner Walter Landor, founder of Landor Associates. Together, they developed the most iconic brands in the world in various sectors and fields.
A, visionary, he always anticipated trends and, in that spirit, in the nineties he set up his company and developed, together with his son and partner Nicolas, the concept of Corporate Vision. “A brand and company without strategic vision will not get far,” he said.
His footprint in the world of brand creation and corporate vision has been historic. He worked with the creative genius Joan Miró in the creation of the brand of the star of La Caixa savings bank, created those of Iberia, Campsa, Argentaria, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Coca Cola, Banamex and developed corporate visions that continue today, such as Cepsa, Santander, Iberdrola, Campofrío, Puleva, Prisa, CEU, Alitalia, Santillana, Scottish Power and many more.
His contribution to sustainable globalization, peace and cooperation was very important. In Rome in the sixties, with the help of Italian President Giuseppe Saragat, he created the Gold Mercury International think tank, focused on improving peace, cooperation among peoples, global governance and corporate responsibility. As chairman of Gold Mercury until his death, he worked with personalities such as US Presidents Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford, Soviet leader Leonidas Breznev, King Juan Carlos, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez or Kerry Kennedy , daughter of Bob Kennedy. In the business world he collaborated with Emilio Botín, Akio Morita or Gianni Agnelli.
Eduardo de Santis was ‘Commendatore della Repubblica Italiana’ and was decorated several times by his country. In 2013 he received the ‘Order of the Italian Star’ from the hands of President Giorgio Napolitano, the oldest national honor in Italy, established by the newly born republic in 1947.
With his death we also lose a great European. Eduardo de Santis believed blindly in a united Europe and worked with me to promote his identity and launch the euro when I was president of the International European Movement and the European Parliament. But most important, he was a humanist who believed in the kindness of people. He was a good man through and through.
This ‘In Memoriam’ was published in the Spanish global newspaper EL PAIS. Link to article in Spanish.
IKEA is the world’s largest retailer of furniture with around 300 stores in 26 countries and around 130,000 employees, of which 96,000 work in retail, and 15,000 in manufacturing in Swedwood. The IKEA group company Swedwood has grown in line with IKEA’s expansion in recent years to become arguably the world’s largest single manufacturer of wooden furniture. Manufacturing some 100 million furniture pieces every year, IKEA Swedwood operations are part of the everyday life of people worldwide. IKEA Swedwood takes an active role and has deployed guidelines and policies in the fields of environment, health, safety, risk management and other welfare issues. IKEA Swedwood does not use wood originating from national parks or reserves and does not accept wood from loggings that threaten high conservation values. IKEA Swedwood have FSC™ certification (Forest Stewardship Council®) Mix or FSC™ Controlled Wood for the flow into all our units, as well as FSC™ forestry management certificate on all own leased forests. IKEA Swedwood implement standards for all their log yards, including water management. IKEA Swedwood treat their foremost raw material with the greatest of consideration during the entire manufacturing process, from its source in nature to its final user.
Hurriyet is a Turkish newspaper founded in 1948 by Sedat Simavi. It has a high circulation number with a news network, which is made up of 52 offices and 600 reporters. Following its establishment, Hurriyet quickly became the most widely read newspaper in Turkey. It has become known for its diverse readership and quality journalism and is currently owned by Dogan Media Group. Hurriyet has now, in an attempt to keep pace with the changing nature of the sector, expanded into printing, distribution, online services, book publishing and TV productions through its domestic and overseas subsidiaries and affiliates. Hurriyet is also the first and only media company in Turkey to have been assigned a credit rating by an international ratings agency.
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.
His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan is the Imam of Nizari Ismailism and the Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network. Born in Geneva in 1936, he assumed the position of Aga Khan following his grandfather’s death in 1957. He also became the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, as he is a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. He graduated from Harvard University in 1959 with a degree in Islamic History before continuing in his role of Imamat. In this role he stated he wanted to continue the work of his grandfather who had sought to build modern institutions in order to improve the quality of life of the Nizari Ismailis. He also advocated the importance of fostering co-operation and positive relations with different ethnicities and religions. His position also included a large degree of diplomacy, including when President Idi Amin of Uganda expelled Nizari Ismailis from the country in 1972. Prince Aga Khan enlisted the assistance of Canadian President Pierre Trudeau who allowed the Nizari Ismailis to migrate to Canada. Prince Aga Khan has also had an active interest in development programmes and has encouraged Nizari Ismailis to contribute to the progress of the developing world. In 1982 he was presented with the Gold Mercury International Award, which coincided, with his silver jubilee year of Imamat and the launch of many social and economic development projects. He founded the Aga Khan Development Network which has become one of the largest private development networks in the world and co-ordinates 200 agencies and institutions, with staff mostly based in developing nations. It operates in the fields of education, culture, health and economic development focusing on Third World countries, with its network operating in 35 of the poorest countries in the world. He is also a celebrated businessman, owning hundreds of racehorses and valuable stud farms. During the course of his career he has been bestowed with numerous honorary titles, degrees and awards.
Hernando De Soto won the 2006 Gold Mercury Social & Economic Policy Award for his work with the Institute for Liberty and Democracy (ILD). As President of the ILD, Mr De Soto’s organisation has been able to work with Heads of State, aiming to simplify and restructure the process of granting property rights. This in turn has transformed the lives of many poor people and greatly improved the rate of economic development within the country. Mr De Soto has had a pioneering influence in initiating changes in the structure of law. This altered Peru’s economic system, recognising the property claims of thousands of people who had previously operated in the ‘extra-legal’ sector. The ILD has allowed this system to be opened to everyone by reducing excessive regulatory processes and granting legal recognition to the already existing property claims of hundreds of thousands of poor people. The potential for both their individual economic development and that of their country has been made obtainable. Hernando De Soto’s commendable work and policy reforms have acted as a tool for other policy makers around the globe.
Hernando De Soto Award Announcement
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.
H.M. Queen Sofia was granted the Gold Mercury Humanitarian Award in 1984 for her dedication to numerous humanitarian causes. She was born in Athens in 1938, as Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark and a member of the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg dynasty. After experiencing a period of time in exile, spent in Egypt and South Africa, she went on to study music, childcare and archaeology in Athens. In 1962 Princess Sofia married Infante Don Juan Carlos de Borbon y Borbon in Athens. In addition to her official Royal engagements, Queen Sofia pursued many solo activities over the years. She established the Queen Sofia Foundation, which has contributed to a variety of humanitarian causes and of which she is Executive President. She has shown particular interest in causes and charities associated with disabilities and drug addiction. She acts as Honorary President of both the Royal Board on Education and Care of Handicapped Persons, as well as the Foundation for Aid for Drug Addicts. She has worked to fight the issue of child slavery and prostitution as well as to promote economic development in third world countries. Her work in highlighting these issues to the world and her commitment to combating them ensures her place as a great champion of human rights.
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.
H.M. King Baudouin I reigned as King of the Belgians from 1953 until 1993. Born in Belgium in 1930, he became King following his father’s abdication in 1951. King Leopold III had requested the Belgian government delegate his royal powers to his son and also allow him to ascend the throne. Upon becoming King, he found he had inherited a monarchy in crisis due to his father’s controversial actions during World War Two and his subsequent abdication. To further complicate matters the country was split in two due to provinces being separated by French and Flemish speakers. During his reign, however, King Badouin devoted himself to reconciling the two groups and unifying the country. He also attempted to bring peace abroad, as shown by his desire to act as a mediator to Belgium’s colonies who were moving towards independence. In 1959, he travelled to the Congo in order to help prevent the country succumbing to a state of anarchy. While his presence provoked demonstrators he was credited for his attempts at peace-making when he returned to Belgium. The colony of Congo eventually gained independence during King Badouin’s reign and he chose to personally attend the celebrations. In 1976 he formed the King Badouin Foundation, a foundation that is still active today and serves to improve the living conditions of the population. He was regarded as an honest, hardworking and involved King whose devout Roman Catholic faith influenced many of his policy decisions. He was bestowed with numerous awards before his death in 1993 and was succeeded by his younger brother, Prince Albert of Liege.
H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Sulman Al-Khalifa is the Prime Minister of Bahrain, a position he has held since 1971, making him the longest serving Prime Minister in the world. Born in Bahrain in 1935, he became a member of the Education Council in 1956 and was quickly promoted to Chairman a year later, serving in this position until 1960. He was then appointed Director of the Finance Department, a role he held for six years, whilst also acting as Director of Finance and President of the Electricity Board, Chairman of Manama Municipality and Head of the Bahrain Monetary Council. His many years of experience in diverse sections of Bahrain’s government led to him being appointed Chairman of the Joint Committee for Economic and Financial Studies in 1967. In 1970 he was elected Head of the State Council and the following year he was chosen to become Prime Minister. He remains Prime Minister today, and over the course of his career he has been granted many accolades and awards including the Gold Mercury International Award, as well as the Order of Khalifa and the Grand Cordon of the Orders of the Renaissance.
H.E. Zhao Ziyang was presented with the 1984 Gold Mercury International Peace prize for his implementation of ground-breaking reforms and his efforts to fight corruption. Zhao Ziyang began to play an active role in China’s politics in 1932 when he joined the Communist Youth League, becoming a full member of the party in 1938. Mr. Zhao achieved prominence as a Party leader in Guangdong in the early 1950′s, later following Mao in his Great Leap Forward and creation of an artificial famine. The severity of Mao’s actions during the Great Leap Forward, where rich peasants were tortured into revealing their food supply and millions died from starvation, led Mr. Zhao to support more moderate political and economic policies. One such policy was supporting a move to re-introduce limited amounts of private agriculture and commerce to people, a reform which was replicated throughout China. By returning private plots to farmers he helped reinvigorate China’s agricultural sector. In 1964 he became Provincial First Party Secretary of Guangdong province. He was dismissed from this position during the Cultural Revolution, due to his moderate political stance. Following Mr. Zhao’s lengthy political rehabilitation, he was appointed First Party Secretary of China’s largest province, Sichuan in 1975. It was here that Mr. Zhao introduced radical market oriented reforms, which significantly improved industrial production and agricultural output. This also led to his induction into the Politburo as a full member in 1979 and his appointment as Premier a year later. As Premier, Mr. Zhao oversaw the introduction of a new “market socialist” and “open door” economic programme. His aim was to develop a model for transforming the socialist system through the process of gradual economic reform. He also worked successfully to establish special economic zones in order to draw in foreign investments and create export hubs. It was his reform-minded political leadership and desire to rebuild the Chinese economy, which saw him become a Gold Mercury International laureate.
H.E. Todor Zhivkov was the former Chairman of the State Council of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria, as well as serving as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party for 35 years. Born in Bulgaria in 1911, he became an apprentice printer in the 1920′s before joining the youth wing of the Communist movement. During World War Two Mr Zhivkov fought in the partisan movement against Bulgaria’s alignment with Nazi Germany. In 1944 he became the Head of the Sofia Police Force and in 1945 he was elected to the BKP Central Committee as a candidate member and made a full member in 1948. In 1954 Mr Zhivkov became the youngest communist party leader in the Soviet Bloc; however, Chervenkov retained some of his powers as Prime Minister. In 1971 he was promoted to Chairman of the new council state, which gave him full control of Bulgarian affairs. Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet leader oversaw his rise to power and it was because of this that Mr Zhivkov was and still is regarded as a leader who was obedient to Moscow. Mr Zhivkov made significant gains to social policy in Bulgaria during his time as leader. Housing improved due to the building of better quality homes, standards of living increased and educational reforms were implemented. His foreign policy focused on increased relations with Yugoslavia, Turkey, Greece, Albania and Romania and an alliance with the Soviet Union. Due to Mr Zhivkov’s relationship with Khrushchev, however, his policy towards the Western World, particularly the United States, was determined by the Soviets. In 1989, a day after the Berlin Wall was breached, he was removed from power, found guilty of embezzling state funds and sentenced to seven years in prison, a sentence that was completed under house arrest. He was acquitted in 1996 by the Bulgarian Supreme Court and passed away two years later.
H.E. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was presented with the 2006 Gold Mercury Peace & Security Award for her efforts to achieve stability in Liberia. Mrs Johnson Sirleaf has worked tirelessly both locally and internationally for the past four decades, led by the desire for a free market system in Liberia and the ability to present the country as a model for African development. Upon winning the 2005 presidential election, she became the first democratically elected female Head of State in Africa. However with this role Mrs Johnson Sirleaf inherited the extensive task of rebuilding Liberia following fourteen years of civil war and destruction. She embarked on this transition by encouraging Liberians to reconcile their differences and work together to rebuild a new, unified Liberia. During her first presidential term, she launched a strong effort to prevent a regression into civil war by restructuring the economy and reforming existing governing practices. Through her strength and determination she has been able to ensure her country is on the path to peace, growth and development.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Award Announcement
H.E. Anwar El-Sadat was an Egyptian politician and solider, who served as President of Egypt from 1970 until his death in 1981. Born in Cairo in 1918, he graduated from the Royal Military Academy in 1938 before joining the Signal Corps. Sadat joined the Free Officers Movement after this and in 1952 they launched a coup d’état against King Farouk I. Gamal Abdel Nasser was eventually elected President in 1956 and under his leadership Sadat was appointed Minister of State in 1954 and then Secretary to the National Union in 1959. He served as Vice President for two terms and then, when Nasser died in 1970; Sadat assumed the role of acting President. Following a general election a month later he was appointed President. Early in his presidency he sought to consolidate his power by performing a “Corrective Revolution” in which he aimed to purge the government, political and security groups of Nasserites. He also made moves to revolutionise the military in order to present a strong military front. In 1971 Sadat encouraged a UN initiative to achieve peace that required Israel to return to pre-war borders, however, due to U.S support of Israel this eventually fell through. In October 1973 Sadat launched an attack on Israel with Syria’s assistance, which became known as the October War or Yom Kippur War. Sadat’s idea was to force Israel into negotiating a peace deal regarding issues of the Sinai Peninsula. Following intervention by the UN, peace was eventually declared, however, tensions between the countries persisted. In 1977 Sadat visited Jerusalem in order to present his peace plan to the Israeli parliament. His work eventually led to the Camp David Accords, which were mediated by Jimmy Carter in 1978 and signed in 1979. The agreement effectively normalised Egyptian-Israel relations and to this day, remains the legacy for which many remember Sadat. On October 6, 1981 Sadat was assassinated on the anniversary of the Yom Kippur War during a military parade in Cairo.
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.
Gunnar Engellau was a Swedish businessman who served as CEO of Volvo from 1956 to 1971 and then as it’s Chairman until 1978. Born in 1907, Mr Engellau graduated from the Royal Institute of Technology and immediately secured work at the Swedish Railway Company SJ, in 1932. In 1935 he left SJ to become Head of Planning at Motala and then Purchasing and Sales Manager in 1937. He became the President of Swedish Flygmotor in 1943, before taking over as CEO of AB Volvo in 1956. When he began at Volvo, the company produced 31,000 cars a year and by the time he retired production had risen to 205,000. During his time as CEO he turned Volvo into a global business, introducing it to the United States, which became a pivotal factor to its success during this period. He also opened new factories and expanded the business, creating more jobs. He retired in 1956 and his son-in-law took over as CEO. During his career he was on numerous boards, notably, the Scandinavian Bank, AB Electrolux and the Swedish American Foundation.
The Gulf Daily News is an English language newspaper based in Bahrain. It was founded in March 1978 by the Al Hilal Group and quickly became known as the ‘voice of Bahrain’. The newspaper’s initial aims were to focus on providing news to English speaking residents in Bahrain who were mainly of British, American, Filipino, Indian and Pakistani backgrounds. The newspaper was traditionally pro-government but has since included a number of Islamists and liberals amongst its staff. The newspaper has had many reputable journalists contribute over the years, including Indira Chan, Sara Wickham, Reem Antoon, Eunice Del Rosario, Tariq Khonji and Richard Moore.
Gregorio Peces Barba received the 1984 Gold Mercury International Award for International Law & Humanitarian Affairs. He was born in Madrid in 1938 and studied at the Lycée Français. He continued his studies after graduating from Lycée Français by studying Law at the Complutense University, where he also earned his Doctorate cum laude. He embarked on his law career in 1962, before co-launching the magazine ‘Cuadernos para el Dialogo’, which acted as a unifier for professionals who were opposed to the dictatorship of Franco. Mr Peces Barba was a staunch and vocal opponent of Franco’s dictatorship and continually protested on the grounds that Franco was violating human rights and democracy in Spain. It was because of this that in 1971, he was arrested and suspended from the bar. In 1972 he became a member of the Socialist Party (PSOE) and in 1977 he was chosen as the PSOE Deputy for Valladolid. He became one of the seven jurists who wrote the constitution approved in 1978, later becoming known as one of the fathers of the constitution. In 1982 he was re-elected as Deputy for Valladolid and later that year he was also elected to Speaker of the House. In 1986 he resigned from politics to become a teacher at various universities.
Grazia is an Italian weekly magazine targeted at women, whose main areas of focus are fashion, celebrity gossip and news. It was first published in Italy in 1938 and has expanded greatly since its establishment to include editions printed in the UK, France, Australia, Spain, Poland, Greece Serbia, Japan, India, Croatia and Germany, amongst others. It has long been regarded as a reference point for style and quality journalism. It was because of this and the originality of the magazine in its presentation of news that in 2005, a British edition began to be published. In Italy, the magazine is owned by Mondaori and continues to grow in readership and global circulation.
Nicolas De Santis, President of Gold Mercury International, gave a speech on UNIVERSAL VALUES AND THE LAW during the World Law Congress in Madrid in the presence of H.M. the King Felipe VI of Spain and other international authorities.
The World Law Congress of the World Jurist Association, gathered in Madrid more than 2,000 people from the international legal world and prominent figures from global civil society, to take the pulse of the most relevant issues of the international agenda.
“We support the mission and values of the World Jurist Association in promoting and defending democracy and liberty around the world. To achieve this we must guarantee for the respect and correct application of the rule of law. The World Jurist Association, organiser of this congress, is one of the global protectors of these values”
said Nicolas De Santis, President of Gold Mercury International.
Peace and Liberty Award Presented to the HM the King Felipe VI of Spain
During the Congress, the WJA World Peace & Liberty Award was presented to His Majesty King Felipe VI to distinguish the unwavering commitment of King to the Rule of Law and its prominent role at the international level as a leader in the defense of Democracy and Liberty. His invaluable contribution to the soundness and strengthening of the constitutional model, democratically approved by all Spaniards, makes him worthy of this recognition, making Spain a symbol for democracies in the world, with special emphasis on Latin America and Europe.
Full speech of Nicolas De Santis, President of Gold Mercury International, at the World Law Congress:
UNIVERSAL VALUES AND THE LAW
“Your Excellencies, local, national and international authorities, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is an honour to be here today at the World Law Congress, organised by the historic World Jurist Association, to present its new brand and vision based on Universal Values. This global event in Madrid is a historic moment for all people present here, but also for people around the world, as we will discuss the future of our planet.
Today, the structures of global governance are stretched to the limit as they try to resolve global issues, such as war, poverty, forced migration, degradation of our environment, global health, protecting human rights, and defending democratic principles. As the importance of non-state actors increases, year after year, and as our global population will reach 10 billion by 2050, our planet’s resources and social structures will face even bigger challenges and risks. We, as a planetary species, will know by then if we were able to work closer together, in peace and cooperation to guarantee our own future.
Within this narrative of global inter-dependence, law and justice will have to play a crucial role to support our sustainable future and create the basis for increased cooperation. We have now agreed 17 sustainable development goals of the UN, to achieve 169 targets by 2030.
To this challenge, I ask of all you here today, and the legal profession around the world, to keep innovating. Jurists and philosophers thousands of years ago, started the difficult road of defining crucial concepts. Law at its very core is originated and evolved from values. I ask of all of you, to think how law and justice can continue to define, defend and consolidate UNIVERSAL GLOBAL VALUES of equality, freedom, peace, fairness, mercy, respect and dignity for the individual and nature.
Universal values are a precious public good. And law and justice must go hand in hand in consolidating and protecting them. It is the only way in which power will be controlled and will be properly exercised for the benefit of all. The new brand of the world jurist association represents this new powerful mission. A beautiful mission for all of you to join.”
Thank you!
It is now time for me to present the new brand of the World Jurist Association.
Nicolas De Santis
President, Gold Mercury International
The topic of Nicolas De Santis’s Masterclass is GLOBAL GOVERNANCE & SUSTAINABLE GLOBALISATION ‘New corporate visions and platforms for understanding the complex problems of the world’. The masterclass focuses on new methods to develop foresight and support sustainable globalisation. The masterclass will feature GLOGO® (Global Governance Monitoring System) created by Gold Mercury as a tool to monitor global governance. GLOGO® organises our planet into 8 core global areas and identifies the most important present and future challenges in each area clarifying emerging opportunities and challenges for sustainable development.
The Masterclass topics include:
+ What is global governance, the global level where everything happens and its impact on sustainable development.
+ Making better strategic decisions based on a better understanding of reality.
+ Developing a new mindset about our world and our destiny as a human race.
+ Learning how to manage complexity to your advantage.
+ The future landscape: How exponential technologies and new business models are changing humanity.
“I believe that we cannot progress towards global sustainability without a strong ‘global civil society’ that shares humanistic universal values. We have developed GLOGO®, a future global governance framework as part of our efforts to create a global citizenship movement and to clarify how the decisions we make shape the future of mankind.”
said Nicolas De Santis, President of Gold Mercury International.
Visit to the SUSTAIN SUSTAINABILITY 2020 conference webpage→
The World Law Foundation (World Jurist Association) is a non-profit foundation made of the world’s top lawyers, jurists and legal firms promoting the Rule of Law as guarantor of freedom and democracy in the world. The World Law Foundation periodically organizes a World Law Congress, together with other institutions, inviting distinguished global leaders to debate the future of governance and the law.
The World Law Foundation has recently recognised Hon. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with the World Peace & Liberty Award for her extraordinary devotion to equality and civil rights. Justice Ginsburg has been a member of the US Supreme Court since 1993. The Award ceremony took place at the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on February 7, 2020.
It is an honour to join the distinguished board of the World Law Foundation (World Jurist Association) and work to promote its mission to protect the rule of law as the guarantor of peace and democratic values around the world.
Said Nicolas De Santis, President, Gold Mercury International.
Gold Mercury International President Nicolas De Santis hosted an event to launch the book Shaking the Skies by former IATA (International Air Transport Association) CEO Giovanni Bisignani. The CEOs of various airlines attended the meeting, including Robert Milton, Chairman of United Airlines. The book describes how the aviation industry survived 9/11 and underwent one of the most significant transformations in business history.
Giovanni Bisignani assumed the Director General of IATA role in June 2002, when the aviation industry was grappling with the aftermath of 9/11, one of its most formidable challenges. IATA, the global airline authority entrusted with managing a financial clearing system of $300 billion/year, ticketing, government lobbying, passenger safety policies, landing rights, and the future of commercial flying, was at a crossroads. Over his 10-year tenure, Bisignani spearheaded and supervised monumental and contentious changes in aviation. The Gold Mercury published book is a gripping account of the industry’s fight for survival in one of the world’s most dynamic sectors.
“In the turbulent skies of the aviation industry, Giovanni Bisignani rewrote its destiny with resilience and transformation. ‘Shaking the Skies’ illuminates the remarkable journey of survival and reinvention after 9/11, capturing the essence of a pivotal era in aviation.”
The Gold Mercury International Award has redesigned its website to make it easier to navigate and to operate on mobile devices, and to deliver a new, more modern user experience and interface.
Going responsive allowed Gold Mercury to also redesign the experience and organise its multimedia and video content better, adding exciting new sections on its laureates and the Award Ceremonies, including podcasts and videos.
By tracking visitor data we have realised that more and more were using mobile devices. We have developed this site to offer the best user experience no matter what device our visitors are using.
The new design allows for bigger pictures to be used about the Award laureates and the ability to broadcast LIVE event transmissions on all devices via simulcasting.
Nicolas De Santis, President of Gold Mercury International, attended Davos week during the World Economic Forum 2019. This year’s theme was: ‘GLOBALISATION 4.0 – Shaping a Global Architecture in the Age of Industrial Revolution’. The main focus of discussions was on the future of technology and how it affects the future of our world.
“Davos is now heavily influenced by technology and tech companies as the future of the world is being shaped by exponential technologies affecting every economic sector, from mobility and cyber defense to robotics and health. It is critical that we prepare the right economic and social transitions across industries, to make sure that change and disruption are managed properly and for this we all require great foresight, vision and ethical frameworks based on sustainable development. Most corporations are now embracing the SDG framework and linking those sustainable goals to corporate strategy and investments, but much more can be done.”
Giuseppe Saragat received the 1970 Gold Mercury International Peace Award during his final years as President of the Italian Republic. Mr Saragat was born in Turin, Italy and graduated from The University of Turin with a degree in Economics and Commerce. He joined the Socialist Party in 1922, later becoming the leader of the party. Following the establishment of the Fascist dictatorship in 1926 and Saragat’s vocally staunch opposition to it, he was exiled from 1926 and 1943. After returning to Italy in 1943, Mr Saragat became a member of the Italian Socialist Party (ISP) in 1944. Between 1945 and 1946 he served as Ambassador to France before becoming Chairman of the Constituent Assembly between 1946 and 1947. In 1947 Mr Saragat split with the ISP due to his concern over its close alliance with those supporting communism. He then founded the Italian Socialist Workers’ Party, which was later renamed the Italian Social Democratic Party. Mr Saragat served as Deputy Prime Minster between 1947-1949 and 1954-1957. In 1963 he became the Minister of Foreign Affairs before serving as Italy’s President from 1964 to 1971. Throughout his political life, Mr Saragat strived to ensure an anti-fascist Italian state whilst encouraging the continuing development of NATO and the common market, as well as strengthening Italy’s ties with the United States of America.
Gianni Agnelli was the former President of the Italian car industry company Fiat and during his leadership, he worked to ensure that Fiat became the most important company in Italy and a major car building company within Europe. Mr Agnelli was born in Turin in 1921 and was educated at Pinerolo Cavalry Academy, and studied Law at the University of Turin. In 1949 he joined a tank regiment with the Italian army, fighting on the Russian Front, where he was wounded twice. Upon his return to Italy after the war, he began to take a greater interest in his grandfather’s company, Fiat. When his grandfather stepped down in 1966 Mr Agnelli was appointed President and held the position until 1996. After his retirement, Mr Agnelli stayed on as Honorary Chairman until his death in 2003. During his time as head of Fiat, Mr Agnelli strove to not only expand the business abroad, but also to improve the accepted working conditions for his employees. It was because of the steps he made in this area that he was presented with numerous awards, including the Gold Mercury International Award for Corporate Governance.
Gerald Ford was the former President of the United States, rising from the position of Vice President to President following the Watergate scandal. Mr Ford was born in Omaha in 1913 and attended the University of Michigan, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 1935 and later graduating from Yale Law School in 1941. He went on to open a law practice and worked there until he received a call to duty in the U.S Naval Reserve. During World War Two he earned the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the Navy. Upon his return from war, Mr Ford became actively involved in local Republican politics and was elected to Congress in 1948. In 1964 former President Lyndon Johnson secured a second term and chose Ford to become Minority Leader, a role he held for eight years. In 1973 Vice President Agnew resigned and Ford was chosen as the replacement Vice President. Then in 1964 following Nixon’s resignation, Ford assumed the presidency, during a time in which there were issues of inflation, a depressed economy, energy shortages and the on-going task of ensuring world peace. Seeking to calm the widespread domestic tension that had arisen over the issues plaguing America, President Ford granted Nixon a full pardon. His goal in his first year in office was to tackle inflation and implement measures that would stimulate the economy. In the realm of foreign affairs President Ford worked to maintain U.S power, as well as to prevent a new war in the Middle East. President Ford achieved the latter of these two issues by giving aid to Egypt and Israel, which in turn, led to the two countries accepting an interim truce agreement. He also worked with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev to set limitations on the use of nuclear weapons. Gold Mercury International formally recognised President Ford for this international act of peace by awarding him the Global Peace and Security Award in 1976. Mr Ford went on to gain the Republican nomination for presidency in the 1976 election, however he lost to Jimmy Carter. Following his defeat President Ford joined the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) as a fellow, as well as founded the AEI World Forum. His final act for America, before his death in 2006, was in 2004 when he became an Honorary Member of AEI’s board, whose main goal was to rebuild the World Trade Centre.
Georges Pompidou was a French politician who served as both Prime Minister of France and President of the French Republic. He fought in World War Two as a Lieutenant and was awarded with the Croix de Guerre. He was introduced to politics in 1944 after meeting Charles de Gaulle who was Head of the provisional French government at the time. He was quickly appointed to Charles De Gaulle’s staff and remained a member of his shadow cabinet following his resignation in 1946. He was then chosen as Assistant to the General Commissioner for Tourism before being appointed to the post of Maître des Requêtes at the Conseil d’État, France’s highest administrative court. In 1953 he was hired by Guy de Rothschild to begin working at the Rothschild Bank, even without formal banking qualifications. By 1956 he had risen to become the General Manager of the bank. When De Gaulle returned to power during the Algerian crisis in 1958, Mr Pompidou became his Chief Personal Assistant and later, when De Gaulle became president in 1959, he was appointed Premier. Mr Pompidou was elected Prime Minister in 1962 and served until 1968, making him the longest serving French Prime Minister under the Fifth Republic. In 1969, following De Gaulle’s resignation, Mr Pompidou campaigned for the office of President and was subsequently elected. Soon after his appointment Mr Pompidou began embarking on an industrialisation plan for France and advanced the French civilian nuclear programme. His time in office was also underlined by efforts to modernise Paris. He was successful in continuing De Gaulle’s policies and ensured continued diplomatic relations and economic ties with Arab states, as well as a strengthened French economy. Mr Pompidou died whilst still in office in 1974.
Galo Plaza Lasso was a politician who served as President of Ecuador from 1948 to 1952. Born in New York in 1906, he completed a range of studies including Economics at The University of California and Diplomacy at Georgetown University. He moved into the political arena in 1938 when he was appointed Minister of War for Ecuador. In 1944 he was chosen to become Ecuador’s Ambassador to the United States and in 1945 he represented Ecuador at the Inter-American Conference on War and Peace and the UN Conference on International Organisation. In 1948 he won the Ecuadorian presidential election, going on to serve a four-year term. He embarked on a programme of economic development and governmental administration that led to the economy showing a significant level of improvement. His continual promotion of democratic rights was one of the defining features of his administration that he is still remembered for. He encouraged freedom of the press and free speech. He also helped to develop Ecuador’s banana boom, which allowed Ecuador to become a key supplier to the U.S market. Following his presidency, Mr Lasso dedicated himself to furthering the work of international organisations, most notably the United Nations. In 1958 he led the Special Committee meetings at the UN, called Economic Commissions for Latin America, which served the purpose of creating a Latin American common market. He also led a successful mission to send UN observers to Lebanon. In May 1964 he began work as personal representative to the UN Secretary General and assisted as a mediator in Cyprus. One of his final notable political acts was his 1968 appointment as the Secretary General of the Organisation of American States.
Fundación CIEPE is Venezuela’s State Research Center for Experimental Agro-industrial Production and aims to increase agricultural production in Venezuela and improve the country’s food security. CIEPE was inaugurated in 1973 and formally established the following year. In accordance with CIEPE’s aims the institution seeks to resolve the agricultural issues in Venezuela by focusing mainly on technological research and staff training. The technological aspects of Venezuela’s agriculture that the institute examines are the preparation and processing of all agricultural goods before they are distributed. In relation to food security, the institute seeks improve Venezuelan sovereignty through research, increased monitoring and an emphasis on innovation, a system which they believe will in turn, secure Venezuela’s agricultural goods. CIEPE also focuses on quality control through analytical services and reviews which are based on international and national standards. The institute also supports Venezuela’s economy as it looks to international sources for funding, which will allow them to operate at a greater capacity with better technological services and thus boost Venezuela’s economy and the global food economy.
Fundacion Ayacucho is an institution that was formed under Venezuela’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation sector in 1975 with the aim of contributing to the training of professionals in the technical and scientific sectors so that they could advance Venezuela’s technological development. These sectors had been identified as priorities in the development plans of Venezuela. Over 35 years the foundation has trained more than 135,000 Venezuelans in both domestic and foreign educational institutions. Today the goal remains to promote education amongst the Venezuelan population that resides in the low income bracket. The foundation previously granted around 3000 scholarships annually, however, due to the restructuring of the foundation and its funding since 2006, it has been able to grant around 15,000 per year.
The Friedrich Ebert Foundation is a non-profit German political foundation with some association to the Social Democratic Party of Germany. It is committed to the advancement of public policy issues and social democracy through education, research and international cooperation. It was established in 1925 and named after Friedrich Ebert, Germany’s first democratically elected President. The Foundation’s initial aims were to work against discrimination of workers in education. After being banned by the Nazis in 1933, the Foundation was reinstituted in 1946, later restructuring itself as an independent, charitable organisation. The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Academic Foundation is just one of their many initiatives. It works as one of eleven organisations to promote young talent in Germany. Scholarships are awarded to students with outstanding academic and political achievements. In addition to the scholarship, grantees also receive opportunities and support to nurture their talents. Today, The Friedrich Ebert Foundation has six adult education centres and 13 regional offices throughout Germany. It also maintains branch offices in over 90 countries and carries out activities in more than 100.
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.
Ettela’At is the oldest Iranian Persian-language daily newspaper. It is also the oldest Iranian newspaper, having been founded in 1926. It is one of Iran’s most widely read newspapers and currently the only international Persian newspaper. The paper is noted for being one of the few right wing Arab newspapers with a heavy international focus, as it continuously reports on Iranian events and Iranian persons abroad. Illustrating the right wing nature of the paper was its stance against the 1979 Iranian Revolution where, before the revolution, it published articles defaming Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Following the publication of materials slandering Ayatollah, protesters gathered outside Ettela’At headquarters and were subsequently fired upon by police when they refused to disperse.
Enrique de la Mata Gorostizaga, Vice President of the International Red Cross, won the 1979 Gold Mercury International Award for his involvement in humanitarian relief activities in situations of conflict and for his efforts in trying to uphold humanitarian law around the world. Born in 1933 he served as the Minister for Trade Union Relations from 1976 to 1977 in the interim government which arose after Franco’s death. In this position, he was instrumental in allowing the trade unions back into Spain. He joined the Union of the Democratic Centre and was elected to the Spanish Congress of Deputies in 1979. He then became the Vice President of the International Red Cross, before serving as the President of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies from 1981 to 1987.
Enrique Batiz was born in Mexico City on May 4, 1942. His interest in music began at an early age and he went on to study at the prestigious Julliard School. He achieved success as a pianist, before debuting as a conductor in 1969. In1971, under his initiative and in conjunction with the government of the Mexico State, the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México (OSEM) was founded, with the purpose of spreading music as an art as a means of creating union and identity among the citizens of the state.
He was the conductor of the State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra for 12 years (1971 – 1983), then of the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra for 7 years (1983 – 1989) and resumed directorship of the OSEM from 1990 to the present. Since 1984, he was named “guest conductor” of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and as an invited guest conductor, he has led more than 500 symphony orchestras around the world.
His work is represented with a collection of 145 recordings of which 41 are with the Royal Philharmonic, 9 with the London Symphony, 3 with the Philharmonia, 12 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, 2 with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, 19 with the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra, 58 with the State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra, and 1 with the Toscana Orchestra in Florence, Italy, for the British record companies EMI Records International, Academy of Sound and Vision, Musical Heritage (USA), NAXOS, IMG International Management Group, Pickwick, RPO Records and Arts (German company). The repertory of Enrique Batiz as a conductor ranges from classical to contemporary works. He has been described as an artist who conducts with vehemence and enthusiasm, manifesting a deep understanding, unusual even among the finest conductors.
Photo: Jennifer Taylor for The New York Times
Empresa Nacional de Aluminio, also known as ENDASA was created in 1943 and began operating in 1947. The company was formed under the Instituto Nacional de Industria (INI). The INI aimed to promote and secure the development of Spanish industries and to create a degree of self-sufficiency for the Spanish economy. ENDASA, along with the other industries formed under INI, served to change the economy of Spain by creating new jobs and promoting sustainable growth. Today the company is known as INESPAL.
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.
Elvira Fortunato is a Portuguese scientist from the University of Lisbon. With her team partner Rodrigo Martins, they created the first transistor of paper in the world. Elvira co-led the team that invented a transistor which has the ability to change the colour of any surface: the electrochromic transistor. The device changes the colour to reflect any solid surface where it is applied – paper, glass, ceramic, metal or plastic. In the near future, we will be able to change the colour of our house or our car whenever we choose. The transistors can be applied to surfaces of paper, glass, ceramic (tiles), metal or polymer (plastic, rubber, polyurethane, polystyrene, etc.). This holds great potential for application in all types of displays- computer, TV, mobile phone, PDA – as well as in the static advertising media.
Edward Philip George Seaga served as the Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1980 to 1989. Born in Boston to Jamaican parents, he moved to Jamaica when he was three months old. He completed his schooling in Jamaica yet moved to America in the late 1940′s to complete his university degree at Harvard University. He graduated in 1952 with a Bachelor of Social Sciences. He then chose to accept a research post at the University of West Indies where his research instilled in him an interest in Jamaican music. From 1955 onwards he began to produce and supervise album recordings and subsequently formed West India Records Limited. He went on to become one of the most successful music producers in the region with his record company achieving great success. His focus then shifted to politics, and at the age of 29 he became the youngest member in the history of the Legislative Council to be nominated to serve in the Upper House of the Jamaica Legislature. In 1962 he was elected to the House of Representatives as a Member of Parliament for West Kingston, a seat he held for 43 years. Following his election he became the Minister of Welfare and Development from 1962 until 1967. He was then appointed Finance Minister before becoming the Leader of the Jamaican Labour Party. In the 1980 elections, the Jamaican Labour Party won the majority of seats and Mr Seaga was elected Prime Minister. During his presidency he established the Jamaica Festival, featuring an annual showcase of Jamaica’s music and culture. He was also instrumental in a number of successful anti-poverty, urban development and education aid programmes and was also one of the initiators of the Caribbean Basin Initiative which was sponsored by Ronald Reagan. He also implemented a range of new financial institutions which were aimed at building a financial market for successful economic growth and investment. These included the Agricultural Credit Bank, the Export/Import Bank and the Self Start Fund. In January 2005 Mr Seaga retired as Leader of the Jamaica Labour Party, choosing to focus on research and writing.
Edward L. Paramore was the former President and Vice Chairman of the Halliburton Company. Mr Paramore began working for Halliburton at the age of 20 as a truck driver. He was initially assigned to the company’s New Orleans office; however after performing Halliburton’s first offshore well treatment he was promoted to company’s headquarters. He continued to progress in the company due to his innovative business ideas and ability to increase the company’s profit margins. One such example of this was when he led the development of a complete line of well servicing equipment and techniques that were specifically designed for off shore drilling. Importantly, Mr Paramore also took into consideration the impact that oil drilling would have on the environment and whilst maintaining the company’s profits he introduced the Clean Gulf Consortium. The operation continues today and involves a non-profit cooperative alliance between drilling companies whose goal is to prevent environmental incidents and incur a quick response team to remediate any incidents should they occur. Mr Paramore’s model of environmentalism for drilling has become a model for other companies and is consistently used throughout the world today. Mr Paramore also assisted technically to offshore drilling by creating and pushing for such systems as skid-mounted pressure pumping and cementing equipment, well-testing units, bulk handling equipment, sand control and improved techniques for fighting offshore blowouts and well fires.
Dr Robert Gallo was presented with the 2006 Gold Mercury Health & Science Award for his pioneering work in the field of virology. Dr Gallo has made numerous significant discoveries which have led to diagnostic and therapeutic advances in viral diseases. Notably, his research played a key role in identifying the cause of the AIDS virus, which has greatly assisted in advancing detection and treatment methods associated with HIV/AIDS. He was also the first to identify a human retrovirus and the only known human leukaemia virus. He spent 30 years at the National Institute of Health before becoming the Founder and Director of The Institute of Human Virology. He also recently founded The Global Virus Network which gathers reputed virologists from around the world to face the task of identifying, investigating and controlling viral diseases. His dedication to the fight against viral diseases and the protection of mankind over the years is truly remarkable.
Award Announcement Dr Robert Gallo
Dr Robert Gallo Acceptance Speech Part 1
Dr Robert Gallo Acceptance Speech Part 2
Dr Hassan Ragab was the former Egyptian Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China and was responsible for re-introducing the science of making papyrus. Born in 1911 in Cairo, he graduated from Cairo University in 1933 with a degree in Engineering. In 1935 he became the Chief Maintenance Engineer at Ramleh Electric Railway in Alexandria before becoming a Captain in the Engineers Corps of the Egyptian army. In the early 1940′s he resumed his studies and graduated in 1943 from the General Staff College of the Egyptian Army with an MSC in Military Sciences. Following this, in 1944, Dr Ragab became Director of the Army Survey Department and later, he served as the Colonel Military Attache at the Egyptian Embassy in Washington. In 1948 he was appointed General Director and Founder of the Department of Research and Development of the Egyptian Armed Forces. In 1952 he was selected to become Under Secretary of State and Chairman of the Armament Factories and the following year he founded Egyptian Youth Hostels. He continued his diplomatic career in 1956, becoming Egypt’s first Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China and soon after he became the Ambassador of Egypt to Yugoslavia. In 1965 he rediscovered the secret of papyrus making and by 1968 he had founded the Papyrus Institute. In 1979, he graduated from the Institute National de Polytechnique de Grenoble with a distinction in Applied Biology. Dr Ragab, wishing to be involved with Egypt politically, founded the Pharanoic Village in 1985 and by 1990 he had become First Chief of the Egyptian Green Party. During the course of his career he was also a published author and recognised with numerous awards and honours including the Gold Mercury International Award.
Dr Gustav Heinemann was presented with the Gold Mercury International Peace Award in 1971 for his work as President of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following a short stint as a soldier during World War One, he studied Law, Economics, and History at university and graduated in 1922. He succeeded in passing the bar in 1926 and later earned a Doctorate of Law in 1929. After working as a legal adviser and a law lecturer he was appointed Mayor of Essen in 1946, a role he served in until 1949. He was a founding member of the Christian Democratic Union in North Rhine-Westphalia, which became an inter-denominational and democratic association of people who were opposed to Nazism. He later became a Minister of the Interior in the government of the newly formed Federal Republic of Germany, but resigned over the Chancellor’s decision to allow German participation in a Western European army. President Heinemann was a staunch opponent of armament and the acquisition of atomic weapons as he felt it would threaten Germany’s chance of unification and future peace. He went on to form his own political party, the All-German People’s Party, which advocated negotiations with the Soviet Union and sought to achieve a unified and neutral Germany. After dissolving his political party in 1957, he joined the Social Democratic Party and was elected President of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1969. During his presidency President Heinemann encouraged Germans to exercise their democratic rights and defend social justice. He also supported stability in the region by encouraging reconciliation with Eastern European states. He often looked towards the future, aiming to maintain peace by endorsing research into the nature and causes of conflict and was committed to achieving a stable democratic state.
Diario Panorama is a Venezuelan newspaper established in 1914. Based in Maracaibo in the state of Zulia, it has been a newspaper of reference since its foundation. It is distributed throughout a large area of Venezuela, with its weekly circulation today numbering over 200,000. Diario Panorama offers readers and advertisers a contemporary newspaper which appeals to a wide range of readers and is renowned for its journalistic ethics and credibility.
Der Spiegel is one of the two largest circulating news magazines currently being published in Germany, with a weekly circulation of more than one million. Der Spiegel was founded in 1946, to act as Germany’s equivalent to America’s TIME and Newsweek magazines. Its first edition was published in 1947 with Rudolf Augstein acting as its first Editor-in-Chief. In 1974 Augstein restructured the company to allow employees with three or more years experience in senior positions to become shareholders and participate in the management of the company, receiving a share of the profits. Der Spiegel has a long history of investigative journalism and exposing political misconduct. Demonstrating this was the famed Spiegel Scandal of 1962 in which the magazine published a report about the low state of readiness of German armed forces. This article is still credited with altering the political culture of post-war Germany. In recent years the magazine has also exposed other political scandals, as well as supported other controversial political movements such as Wikileaks. Der Spiegel also has a concentrated regional and local interest, often producing feature articles on problems affecting the German population, as well as suggesting strategies to tackle the issues.
De Telegraaf is the Netherlands’s largest and most widely circulated daily newspaper. Founded in 1893 by Henry Tindal, it was acquired by HMC Holbert following Tindal’s death in 1902. Following his acquisition, Holbert set about implementing changes to the newspaper. During World War One, De Telegraaf encountered controversy when it took a pro-British standpoint whilst the Netherlands was still officially neutral. Following the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War Two De Telegraaf, like other newspapers was controlled by the SS and released only pro-German editions. This led to a thirty-year ban on publishing after the war, which was later lifted in 1949, allowing De Telegraaf to grow into the biggest newspaper in The Netherlands. The newspaper reaches a wide-ranging audience due to the broad range of topics covered in its publications.
Corriere Della Sera is Italy’s largest selling daily newspaper. It is one of Italy’s oldest and most reputable newspapers, managing to maintain independence throughout numerous periods of political turmoil. The newspaper was founded in 1876 by Eugenio Torelli Viollier and from its early beginnings it immediately established itself as the Italian paper of reference, providing a voice for the industrial bourgeoisie of the North. Luigi Albertini led the newspaper, and under his guidance it became the most widely read newspaper in Italy during the 1910′s and 1920′s. Its popularity has not declined since then either, as demonstrated by the fact that it still remains Italy’s most widely circulated newspaper. In the 1960′s Corriere Della Sera was acquired by the Rizzoli Group and listed on the Italian stock exchange, attracting some of the biggest Italian industrial and financial groups as shareholders. Its publications today are extremely diverse; publishing a range of supplements including, Ido Donno and the Corriere Della Sera Magazine. Corriere Della Sera has hosted a number of prominent Italian writers and intellectuals over the course of its history including Dino Buzzati, Italo Calvino, Eugenio Montale and Pier Paolo Pasolini.
Compañia Nacional de Reforestación (CONARE) is a Venezuelan company formed in 1975 under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture. It focuses on the recovery of degraded forest areas and environmental education. It also aims to promote and manage forest plantations and conserve natural resources and raw material products for future generations. The company hopes to achieve this through a programme of sustainable development and community engagement.
The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) was presented with the 2006 Gold Mercury Cooperation & Development Award which is granted to individuals, companies and organisations that promote trade and investment in developing economies in order to provide better living standards to local people. Over the past 30 years CGIAR have achieved a great degree of success in reducing poverty and increasing food security in developing countries. With the work of CGIAR, food production has seen a measurable increase which has in turn improved the health and nutrition of millions of people. CGIAR’S push to develop more environmentally friendly technologies has also protected between 230 million and 340 million hectares of land from cultivation, assisting in the conservation and the preservation of biodiversity worldwide. Through its multifaceted approach, CGIAR has been able to improve local living standards as well as helping to protect the environment.
CGIAR Award Announcement
Nicolas de Santis Speech at CGIAR Award Event
Paul Wolfowitz Speech at CGIAR Award Event
Dr Cayetano Nino Rota is the current President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Production (CCIAI) of Argentina. Dr Rota has worked for CCIAI for 25 years and throughout his lengthy career he has strived to foster good business practices and community involvement, contribute to an increased quality of life and helping to create a diverse, cultural and entrepreneurial opportunities for all Argentinians. Dr Rota’s efforts in promoting the CCIAI’s goals also earned the Chamber Special Consultative Status from the United Nations in 1996. He also developed structured academic lessons for professors and teachers around the world who work in the fields of industry and development. It was because of his lesson plans and knowledge of the industry that today, CACIPRA, operates as an education centre as well, offering education in tourism, international trade, customs administration and technical development.
Casa Hogar Niñas Ciegas was founded as a home for blind girls in 1956 by the Dominica St. Thomas Aquinas congregation. The objective of the school is to support blind and visually impaired children. The majority of these girls come from small states such as Veracruz, Guerrero and Oaxaca. They receive education and rehabilitation at the National Institute of the Blind and as many are from low-income families and cannot afford to travel, the home is there to offer shelter and support. The home continues to run by selling clothes, food and through other fundraising activities.
Carlos Alberto Lleras Restrepo was a Colombian politician who served as President from 1966 until 1970. Born in Bogota in 1908, he studied Law at the Universida Nacional de Colombia, obtaining his degree in 1930. In 1931 he was elected to the State Senate of Cundinamarca and subsequently became a Congressman in the House of Representatives. In 1938 he was appointed the Minister of Finance whilst also accepting the position of Chair of Public Finance in the Faculty of Law at the National University. In 1942 he was elected to the position of Senator and later, Chairman of the Liberal Party. He ran unsuccessfully for President in 1944 but went on to win the election in 1966. He became President during a difficult political situation which was due to the fact that he wanted to increase presidential powers so he could act independently. The economic situation was also fragile as the liberalisation of imports in 1965 meant that the cost of goods purchased abroad had dramatically increased. International reserves were low and the price of coffee, which was their main export, had indicated that a downward trend was beginning. Mr Lleras, however, implemented a programme of economic reforms to counteract this, including; controlling foreign investments, abolishing the system of free imports, creating the national savings fund and the agency to promote exports as well as the institute to protect non-renewable sources. He also embarked on an overhaul of social policies, creating the Colombian institute for Family Wellbeing, the National Agency of Colombian Culture and the National Agency for the Construction of Schools. His presidential term was, and still is, known for its constant activity and attempts to interact with the Colombian people. His foreign policy also sought to increase trade and diplomatic relations with a wider range of countries and he renewed Colombia’s relations with the Soviet Union.
Camilo José Cela, 1st Marquis of Iria Flavia, was recongised with the Gold Mercury International Award for Culture & Media in 1986 for his significant literary contributions. He was born in 1916 in Spain and attended The University of Madrid, during which he spent a period of time in Franco’s army during the Spanish Civil War. He published his first novel, ‘La Familia de Pascual Duarte’ in 1942. This novel would later become one of his most well-known written works and its popularity was so great that post-war pieces of literature reflected Cela’s style and flair. The reason for its popularity was due Cela’s distinctive narrative style, known as tremendismo, which emphasised violence and graphic imagery through lengthy descriptive passages. Influenced by his travels through rural Spain and Latin America. Cela also published two travel books; ‘Viaje a la Alcarría’ and ‘Del Miño al Bidasoa.’ His second novel ‘La Colmena’, telling the story of post-war Madrid and featuring over 300 characters, achieved critical acclaim. Much of his work during this time, due to strict censorship laws in Franco’s Spain, was published in Latin America first. During this period his style continued to change and adapt as shown by ‘San Camilo, 1936’, which, when published in 1969, drew significant attention from critics who recognised a more avant garde and experimental novel than Cela’s past works. He soon founded the literary review agency Papeles de Son Armadans in 1956 and then in 1969 began to publish ‘Diccionario Secreto’; a dictionary of previously unprintable slang and taboo words and phrases. He was honoured several times in his career, including being appointed Royal Senator in the Constituent Cortes, a role which enabled him to influence the wording of the 1978 Spanish Constitution. Following his induction as a Gold Mercury Award recipient, he also won the 1989 Nobel Prize in Literature and was given the title First Marquis of Iria Flavia in 1996 by King Juan Carlos I.
Axel Springer Verlag is one of the largest media companies in Europe. It was founded in 1946 by Axel Springer and his father Hinrich Springer and began with the launch of the Nordwestdeutsche Hefte and Horzu publications. These were soon followed by the Hamburger Abendblatt, the Bild and the Sonntag. In 1953 Axel Springer expanded with the acquisition of Die Welt, Welt am and Das Neue Blatt. Axel Springer became known for promoting German reunification through his newspapers and publications and by the 1960′s and 1970′s the company came under attack from left wing groups. In 1972 The Red Army Faction claimed responsibility for six bombs being placed the company’s Hamburg headquarters. In contemporary times, the company has gone on to become the largest publishing house in Europe, as it accounts for a 23.6% share of the German daily newspaper market. One of the original newspapers acquired by Axel Springer continues to be the highest circulating newspaper in Europe with a daily readership of 12 million people. Today, its 230 publications are varied and include news, automobiles, sports, computers, electronics, women and lifestyle newspapers and magazines. Its expansion is also present internationally as it currently operates out of 36 countries and has 11,500 employees.
Asociacion Latinoamericana de Integracion (ALADI) is the largest trade integration society in Latin America. It is comprised of thirteen member countries including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Its aims are to establish a common market as well as oversee the economic and social development of Latin America. ALADI began as the Latin American Free Trade Association (LAFTA) following the 1960 Treaty of Montevideo and initially the member countries were Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Their initial aim was to remove all restrictions of trade in Latin America within 12 years. By the 1960′s the combination of LAFTA’s member countries had a population of 220 million people and produced around $90 billion of goods and services annually. LAFTA had restrictions however, and unlike the EU, there was little political or economic integration. In order to rectify this LAFTA, in 1980, became known as ALADI and increased the membership to include other Latin American countries. ALADI is now responsible for regulations on foreign trade within Latin America and their aim for a common market is driven by three strategies. The organisation grants a regional tariff preference to products originating in member countries, regional scope agreement amongst member countries and partial scope agreements amongst two or more countries of the area. ALADI importance is demonstrated through the co-operative approach it takes towards worldwide integration movements and its continuing encouragement and support of third world countries to develop their integration into the globalised world.
Arturo Uslar Pietri was a renowned Venezuelan writer and politician. Born in Caracas in 1906, his interest in politics and literature began at an early age with examples of his work present in Venezuelan newspapers from 1922. He attended the Universidad Central De Venezuela, studying at the Faculty of Law and after graduating he formed the Avant Garde Valve Magazine with Fernando Paz Castillo and Miguel Otero Silva in 1928. To avoid the fate of imprisonment, which many other young writers were enduring due to protests against the Gomez regime, Mr Pietri began working at the Venezuelan embassy in Paris. He returned to Caracas in 1934 to continue his literary pursuits and to embark on his own political career. He served as the Education Minister from 1939 to 1941, as well as the Finance Minister in 1943 and the Interior Minister in 1945. He also held the position of Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic from 1941 to 1943 and was elected Deputy to the Legislative Assembly in 1944. Over a number of years he was also a regular contributor to the newspaper El Nacional. He also held many academic positions during his career, including Professor of Political Economy at Universidad Central de Venezuela and Professor of Spanish American Literature at Columbia University. His protest against political corruption in Spain led to his forced exile to New York in 1945. It was, however, during this time that he published the novel ‘The Road to El Dorado’ and the storybook ‘Thirty Men and Their Shadows’. Upon his return to Venezuela he served as Senator in Congress and later, unsuccessfully, launched a campaign to be President of the Republic in 1963. From 1975 to 1979 Mr Uslar Pietri served as the Venezuelan Ambassador for UNESCO. Over the subsequent years he devoted himself to his literature and in 1980 he published a collection of short stories, including what would become his most renowned pieces of literature; ‘Robinson Crusoe Island’ and ‘Visit in Time.’ The success and popularity of these two novels won Mr Uslar Pietri numerous literary awards and an increased international audience.
Armand Petitjean (1884-1969) was the founder of Lancôme, the internationally recognised cosmetics brand, whose name itself was initially inspired by the ruins of a castle. Born into a family of distillers, he founded the company in France in 1935. His motive was to create a brand that was able to deliver the much sought after ideal of French elegance to the world. His initial five perfumes were a big success and he eventually moved on to develop skincare products. His first skincare product was launched in 1936; a repair cream called Nutrix, which is still available today. In 1938 he branched into cosmetics, with his branch of Lancôme lipsticks becoming bestsellers. He was notoriously critical of advertising, stating that Lancôme would never advertise, making its early success all the more impressive. In 1961 he sold the company to his son, who subsequently sold Lancôme to L’Oreal in 1964. Today Lancôme remains one of the top brands in the luxury beauty sector, represented and used by models, actresses and make-up artists alike.
Antonio Saura was presented with the Gold Mercury Award for Culture and Media in 1986 for his work as an artist and writer. His distinctive artistic style and written creations have influenced generations around the world. He was born in Huesca, Spain in 1930 and after contracting tuberculosis in 1943, he experienced five years of immobility. It was during this time that he began to start painting and writing from the confines of his bed. His initial work had surrealist overtones, often featuring imaginary landscapes. Mr Saura held his first personal exhibition in 1950, the general theme of which was, ‘Constellations and Rayograms’. From 1954 to 1955 he lived in Paris and as his style matured and became more consistent and recognised he was associated with the surrealist school of art. In 1956 he exhibited his ‘Women and Self-portraits’ series at the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid. It was during this period that he discovered and exhibited the subjects that he would later become famous; works which featured women, nude portraits, self-portraits, shrouds, priests and scenes from the crucifixion. In 1957 Mr Saura founded the El Paso Group, which he led as Director until its dissolution in 1960. In 1960 he received the Guggenheim Award and the following year he held his first exhibition at the Pierre Matisse Gallery. In 1967 he moved permanently to Paris and became involved in politics, expressing his opposition to the Franco dictatorship and participating in numerous controversial debates. He continued to reinvent himself artistically and in 1968 he abandoned oil painting and instead devoted himself to working mainly with paper. In 1977 Mr Saura started to publish his writings, but continued to showcase his artistic works at various exhibitions and also create stage designs for the ballet and theatre.
Antonio Ortiz Mena was a Mexican economist and politician who held numerous government posts over the course of his career. He studied Law before working in the Mexican banking sector, at the Department of the Federal District and The National Urban Mortgage Bank. He served as Deputy Director of the National Mortgage Bank from 1946 to 1952, and later, he was appointed Director-General of the Mexican Institute of Social Security. He then became the Mexican Secretary of Finance and Public Credit in 1958, and retained this position until 1970. He oversaw a period of sustained economic growth and development in Mexico and was credited with helping usher in the ‘Mexican Miracle’, which elevated millions of Mexicans into the middle class. He went on to become President of the Inter-American Development Bank, leading it for seventeen years. During his leadership the Inter-American Development Bank dramatically increased their lending and he assisted in diversifying their operations, concentrating on Latin American infrastructure projects and financing for microenterprises. Following his resignation in 1988, Mr Ortiz Mena became the Director of Banamex, one of Mexico’s biggest commercial banks. He died in 2007 at the age of 99.
Antonio Mingote was recognised by Gold Mercury International in 1986 for his contribution to Global Culture. Mr Mingote was born in 1919 and spent his childhood in Daroca, Catalayud, Teruel and Zaragoza. He studied Philosophy and Arts at the University of Zaragoza but, wishing to live in Madrid, left the university in 1944. In 1946 he began working at the highly influential weekly graphic humour magazine La Codorniz. In 1953 he began to draw a daily cartoon in the ABC newspaper. These cartoons were famed for their distinctive irony and humour. He continued to draw a daily cartoon in ABC until his death in 2012. In addition to his cartoons Mr Mingote was also an acclaimed author of several novels, an actor and a script writer who worked on several films and stage productions.
Anton Jaumann was a German politician who served as the Bavarian Minister for Economy and Transport. Born in 1927 he studied Theology, Economics and Law before starting his own law firm in 1957. During this time he also served as CEO of the National Association of Bavarian Foreign Trade. He was a member of Bavaria’s parliament from 1958 until 1990. In 1966 he became State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance before becoming the Bavarian State Minister of Economy and Transport in 1988. During his term as Minister of Economy and Transport he made several key decisions and was noted as one of the many outspoken critics who voiced their concerns over the construction of the Munich Franz Josef Strauss Airport.
Xerox Corporation was presented with the 2006 Gold Mercury Corporate Governance Award for their innovative technologies, products and services which are used to improve business results. Xerox upholds the Corporate Governance guidelines through their commitment to monitoring the effectiveness of policy and decision making at both the board and management level, with the aim of enhancing long-term shareholder value. It was recognised by Gold Mercury International for its standards and practices in its leadership structures, remuneration policies and shareholder rights and information. Furthermore its Code of Ethical Conduct, transparency, reporting and control were commended. It’s commitment to policy and practice in recruiting, hiring and promoting in all job classifications, regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, age, national origin, marital status or sexual orientation was also recognised. Xerox’s work in the promotion of diversity and equal opportunities are examples of outstanding Corporate Governance and responsibility of a company.
Xerox Corporation Award Announcement
Álvaro Uribe Vélez was awarded the 2009 Gold Mercury Peace & Security Award for his efforts in attempting to improve Colombia’s internal security mechanisms, social cohesion and general development. During his time as president, Mr. Uribe sought to address Colombia’s security challenges by improving national security and engaging domestic support for the constitution. Official statistics have often been used to highlight his effectiveness at reducing crime in Colombia. Shortly after Mr Uribe’s induction as President in 2002, official figures released by The Ministry of Foreign Affairs showed a 99% reduction in the homicide of union leaders, an 85% reduction in victims of massacres and a 49% reduction in homicides. His hard line stance against those who posed a threat to security and stability also won him a high approval rating amongst the Colombian people. Mr. Uribe also achieved a number of successes against guerrillas, which helped to weaken their stronghold on Colombia. Moreover, Mr. Uribe’s determination to secure a more stable future for Colombia was prevalent in his continuing efforts to fight impunity and preserve human rights.
Álvaro Uribe Vélez Award Announcement
President Uribe Acceptance Speech
President Uribe Award Ceremony Address
The All Africa Leprosy & Rehabilitation Training Centre, now called The All Africa Leprosy, Tuberculosis and Rehabilitation Training (ALERT) Centre, won the 1982 Gold Mercury International Humanitarian Award for their advancements in global health. The medical facility, situated in Addis Ababa specialises in Hansen’s disease, also commonly known as leprosy. Their work focuses on the treatment and rehabilitation of patients as well as training programmes for medical professionals who treat leprosy around the world. They also specialise in research into the disease, which is undertaken in their Armauer Hansen Research Institute that was founded in 1970. The leprosy hospital was originally built by Dr Thomas Lambie in 1922, however, ALERT has continued to expand and build upon these foundations.
The Aldabra Foundation was presented with the 2006 Gold Mercury Environment Award for its work in providing specialised knowledge and financial support to ensure the preservation of the ecosystem and environment of Aldabra. Aldabra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, holding the finest surviving tropical atoll ecosystem and the largest raised coral atoll on earth. Due to its unique ecosystems and the species within, it is ecologically and scientifically valuable. The Foundation recognises this and aims to ensure the preservation of the atoll, as well as to promote scientific research into Aldabra’s pristine marine and terrestrial environments. The Aldabra Foundation’s goal is to secure the ecological wonders of Aldabra for future generations by creating the resources and harnessing the expertise required for this task. The increasing impact of human activity is contributing to the decline of the world’s coral reefs, however Aldabra has thus far escaped much of these stresses. Because of this it provides a natural laboratory for studying tropical marine ecosystems and related environments. The Foundation’s mission is to set up a highly developed research facility on the atoll, which will be capable of supporting world leading scientific research into the environment. This will in turn enable comparative terrestrial and marine analysis to achieve a better understanding of ecological change as well as specific anthropogenic impacts on tropical ecosystems such as overfishing, pollution, global warming and ocean acidification.
Aldabra Foundation Award Announcement
Al Ahram, founded in 1875, is Egypt’s largest news organisation. The newspaper publishes several editions; one geared towards a strictly Arab demographic and another aimed at international audiences, which has versions in both English and French. The newspaper was originally founded by the Lebanese brothers Beshara Takla and Saleem Takla, who were living in Alexandria at the time. In its early stages, it was a weekly newspaper that was published every Saturday. However two months after its creation it was turned into a daily newspaper and has been running as such ever since. During its time in publication Al Ahram has featured many prominent writers including the religious innovators Muhammad Abduh and Jamal al-Din al-Afghani. Furthermore, Nobel Prize winning writer Naguib Mahfouz, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein, Yusuf Idris, Edward Said, Anis Mansour and Mohammad Hassanein Heykal have also written for the newspaper.
Akio Morita was a Japanese businessman who co-founded the Sony Corporation. Born in Nagoya in 1921, his family were sake brewers who had been in the business for over 400 years. Mr Morita was viewed as the natural heir to the family business. From an early age he had a preoccupation with the functions of electronic appliances and was interested in maths and physics during his schooling years. He went on to study Physics at Osaka Imperial University and upon graduating was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Japanese Army during World War Two. It was during this time that Mr Morita met Masaru Ibuka, who would later become his co-founder of the Sony Corporation. In 1946 Mr Morita and Mr Ibuka founded the Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K, which had 20 employees and an initial capital of 190,000 yen. In 1949 the company developed the magnetic recording tape and sold its first tape recorder in 1950. By 1957 they had created a pocket-sized radio and in 1958 they changed their company name to Sony. During this period, Mr Morita was instrumental in Sony’s marketing, finances and human resources departments while Mr Ibuka worked on product improvements and technological developments. In 1960 they produced the first transistor television and in 1975 they produced the first home video recorder. In 1979 they released the Walkman, which became the world’s first portable music player. In 1984 they produced the Discman; an advancement on their previous Walkman products. From 1960 onward they expanded their company, opening up stores in the United States and becoming the first Japanese company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Mr Morita relinquished his position as Chairman in 1994 due to illness and died in 1999.
Addis Zemen is an Ethiopian Amharic newspaper published by the federal government through the Ethiopian Press Agency. It is a daily newspaper, offering national and world news as well as weather, sports, entertainment, business and travel coverage.
