On the evening of June 20, 2017, the trustees of the American Academy in Berlin awarded the 2017 Henry A. Kissinger Prize to Germany’s Federal Minister of Finance, Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble. The laudation for Dr.Schäuble was delivered by former US Secretary of Treasury Lawrence H. Summers.

The prize, which is awarded annually to a renowned figure in the field of international diplomacy, recognizes Dr. Schäuble for his decisive role in fostering transatlantic dialogue, in shaping an increasingly integrated Europe, and in effectively responding to current global challenges. It honors his enduring political engagement, which has significantly shaped Germany in its unification, advanced the European idea, and promoted the European-American partnership.

The Henry A. Kissinger Prize has been awarded annually since 2007. It was established to honor a Founding Chairman of the Academy, former US Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, whose initiatives to create and sustain a stable East-West relationship helped to lay the foundation for change in Europe, the end of the Cold War, and the unification of Germany. Previous recipients of the prize are former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt; 41st President of the United States George H.W. Bush; former President of the Federal Republic of Germany Richard von Weizsäcker; New York Mayor and philanthropist Michael R. Bloomberg; former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl; former US Secretary of State George P. Shultz; founder of the Munich Security Conference Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist; former US Secretary of State James A. Baker, III; former President of Italy  Giorgio Napolitano and former Federal Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany Hans-Dietrich Genscher; and former US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power.

Photo: Annette Hornischer