President John Agyekum Kufuor has been named winner of yet another award to show for his sterling stewardship as he enters the twilight of his two-term presidency.
Chatham House, home of UK’s Royal Institute of International Affairs announced on Monday the President will receive the
2008 Chatham House Prize for his tireless and selfless mediation in multiple crises across the continent during his chairmanship of the African Union in 2007.
The award is also in recognition of the President’s positive role in mediating conflicts with Ghana's immediate neighbours, including Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire, as well as making economic growth a priority and contributing to social freedom and the development of a robustly free press in Ghana.
His two term, almost eight-year presidency has been studded with many honours, including the
Order of the Star and Eagles, the nation’s highest honour he created mid-year as part of a list of national awards, and of more recent, (August 21, 2008), the "Merit Award for Excellence"from the African Association of Quantity Surveyors in recognition of his contribution towards the development of Africa and especially Ghana, an honour he shares with the legendary Nelson Mandela of South Africa.
The annual
Chatham House Prize is awarded a statesperson deemed by Chatham House members to have made the most significant contribution to the improvement of international relations in the previous year.
The prize
President Kufuor beat three other nominees to the title; HH the Aga Khan, Founder, Agha Khan Development Network; Ambassador Christopher Hill, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, US; and HE Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The prize is a crystal award and a scroll signed by Chatham House Patron, Her Majesty The Queen and President Kufuor will be expected in London on Monday, October 27 to collect his award from HRH The Duke of Edinburgh at a dinner at Drapers' Hall to be addressed in keynote speeches by Lord Ashdown, a President of Chatham House, and Lord Malloch-Brown, Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN.
Previous winners of the prestigious award include Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missned of Qatar and UNESCO Special Envoy for Basic and Higher Education – (2007); HE Joaquim Chissano, President of Mozambique from 1986 to 2005 (2006); and HE President Victor Yushchenko of Ukraine who picked the 2005 prize.
Sponsors of this year's award ceremony include Lead Sponsor Royal Dutch Shell plc as well as Bloomberg News, British American Tobacco, Chevron, and Tullow Oil.
Story by Isaac Yeboah
