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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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Austrian Chancellor Franz Vranitzky
Receives 1995 J. William Fulbright Prize
For International Understanding |
| The 1995 J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding was awarded
to Dr. Franz Vranitzky, then-Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria, on
Nov. 11, 1995. In a ceremony at the State Department, Dr. Vranitzky was
recognized as a "quiet but powerful force for democracy, human rights, and
economic progress in Eastern and Central Europe" by Maurizio A. Gianturco,
president of the Fulbright Association. |
| In accepting the award, Chancellor Vranitzky said economic development was the
only effective way to overcome "a new wave of nationalism" and other
destabilization forces created by the collapse of communism."
Chancellor Vranitzky announced he would honor the memory of Yitzhak Rabin by
donating his $50,000 Fulbright award to the Mideast Youth Peace Forum, an
Austrian based organization that brings together young people from Austria,
Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Egypt. The $50,000 Fulbright prize is made
possible by a grant from The Coca-Cola Foundation, the philanthropic arm of The
Coca-Cola Company. |
| E. Neville Isdell, president, Greater Europe Group, The Coca-Cola Company, also
presented Chancellor Vranitzky with "Tribute," a bronze statue miniature of a
sculpture in the company's permanent collection. It symbolizes homage,
gratitude, and thanksgiving. |
| "The collapse of communism has dramatically reduced the threat of a military
confrontation," said Chancellor Vranitzky. "At the same time, new insecurities
and potentially destabilizing factors have emerged: social and economic
disparities, migratory movements, organized crime, unsafe nuclear reactors,
aging atomic weapons, and above all, the danger of a new wave of nationalism and
the disintegration of multiethnic states. But the changes in the former
communist world have also created enormous new possibilities for cooperation.
We have to take advantage of these opportunities to a much larger extent than we
have done so far." He added that Austria fully supports the intention of
Central and Eastern European countries "to join the process of European
integration as quickly as possible." |
| "Austria has maintained a very special role in Europe as a bridge between East
and West," Dr. Gianturco said. "In 1989--a year that changed our world
forever--it was Franz Vranitzky's initiative, throwing open the border between
Austria and Hungary, that allowed thousands of East Germans, hungry for freedom,
to make it to the West." |
| Under Chancellor Vranitzky, Austria provided the second highest per capita level
of economic assistance to Eastern and Central Europe and has been a strong
supporter of international investment in that region. Austria was a pioneer in
establishing links with Central and Eastern European countries, including joint
ventures, technology transfers, and cultural exchange. In addition, Chancellor
Vranitzky played an important humanitarian role by helping provide safe transit
of Soviet Jews out of the Soviet Union during the 1980s. Chancellor Vranitzky
also led Austria to membership in the European Union. For his efforts on behalf
of European unity, he was awarded the 1995 international Karlspreis
(Charlemagne) Award by the city of Aachen, Germany. |
| Serving on the committee that selected Chancellor Vranitzky for the 1995
Fulbright Prize were Josef Joffe, editorial page editor and columnist for the
Munich daily newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung; Kyung-Won Kim, President of the
Institute of Social Sciences in Seoul, Korea; and Baroness Shirley Williams, a
professor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a
founder of the British Social Democratic Party. Other committee members were
Chairman Katz and Dr. Gianturco. |
| The Fulbright Association is a private, non-profit organization that supports
and promotes the Fulbright Program and other international educational and
cultural exchanges. It also facilitates continuing relations among former
Fulbright scholars. The late Senator Fulbright, who sponsored the legislation
creating the Fulbright academic exchange program in 1946, was Honorary Chairman
until his death in February 1995. |
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