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Fulbright Association
1100 G Street, N.W.
Suite 525
Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone: (202) 347-5543
Fax: (202) 347-6540 |
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South African President Nelson Mandela
Awarded First J. William Fulbright Prize
For International Understanding |
| On October 1, 1993, the Fulbright Association awarded the first J. William
Fulbright Prize for International Understanding to Nelson R. Mandela. The
prize, which carries a $50,000 award, is made possible through a grant from The
Coca-Cola Foundation. |
| "The Fulbright prize honors Mr. Mandela for his personal courage and selfless
determination to eliminate racial and political barriers in South Africa and to
focus international attention on the divisive practices that have for so long
been part of the daily lives of South Africans of all races," said Stanley N.
Katz, president of the American Council of Learned Societies and chairman of the
international committee that selected Mr. Mandela to receive the Fulbright
prize. "The prize recognizes in particular Mr. Mandela's commitment to the
resolution of longstanding injustices in a peaceful and pluralistic manner," he
added. |
| Mr. Mandela spent 27 years as a political prisoner in South African jails before
his release in February 1990. Since then, as president of the African National
Congress, he has championed a process of national reconciliation. South African
leaders reached agreement earlier this year on ending 350 years of
white-minority rule and decades of government-ordered racial separation. Free
elections, with blacks voting for the first time in South African history, have
been set for April 27, 1994. On July 4, President Clinton honored Mr. Mandela
and South African President Frederik W. de Klerk for fostering South African
democracy. They also received the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize. |
| Mr. Mandela was nominated for this year's Fulbright prize by Thomas J. Gardner,
a former Fulbright professor in management at the University of Zambia. "His
skill and dedication present a lesson for all who strive for international
understanding and world peace," Gardner wrote in nominating Mr. Mandela. "He
surely stands in the company of the very few who have given so much to advance
the cause of freedom. His service should be measured against the personal pain
and suffering encountered along the path." |
| All members of the Fulbright Association were invited to submit nominations for
this year's prize. The nominations were forwarded to an international committee
which selected Mr. Mandela as the winner on July 30, 1993. Committee members
included Ashraf Ghorbal, Egyptian ambassador to the United States from 1973 to
1982; Helvi L. Sipilä, a Finnish lawyer and United Nations assistant secretary
general for social and humanitarian affairs from 1972 to 1983; Mochtar
Kusuma-Atmadja, an Indonesian lawyer who served as Minister of Justice from 1974
to 1978 and as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1978 to 1988; and Maurizio A.
Gianturco, senior vice president of The Coca-Cola Company and president-elect of
the Fulbright Association. Selection committee chairman Katz and committee
members Ghorbal, Kusuma-Atmadja, and Gianturco have held Fulbright fellowships.
In 1993, 72 people were nominated by 100 nominators, with nominations coming
from 22 different countries. |
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