Ronald Reagan

AWARD LAUREATES | Ronald Reagan


Ronald Reagan

Former President of the United States of America

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

LAUREATE PHOTOS


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Professor Thomas Risley Odhiambo

AWARD LAUREATES | Professor Thomas Risley Odhiambo


Professor Thomas Risley Odhiambo

Entomologist and Environmental Activist

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:

  • Land-Use Literacy for Sustainable Food Production in Africa, 1994
  • Science for Development in Africa : Proceedings of the Consultation on the Management of Science for Development in Africa, Duduville, Kasarani, Nairobi, Kenya, November 21-24, by Turner Timinipre Isoun, 1988
  • Hope Born Out of Despair : Managing the African Crisis, by United Nations University.

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.”

Link to The Guardian Obituary

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Merawi Sitot

AWARD LAUREATES | Merawi Sitot


Merawi Sitot

Ethiopian Musician and Artistic Luminary

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.

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H.E. Anwar El-Sadat

AWARD LAUREATES | H.E. Anwar El-Sadat


H.E. Anwar El-Sadat

Former President of Egypt

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.

LAUREATE PHOTOS


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Akio Morita

AWARD LAUREATES | Akio Morita


Akio Morita

Founder of Sony Corporation

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.

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