The Dr. Elemér Hantos Prize is awarded periodically to a person, persons, or organization for their efforts to promotie Economic Cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe. The Dr. Elemér Hantos Award is provided by the Central Europe Foundation of Zurich, Switzerland.
Dr. Elemér Hantos Prize 2006: Prof. Dr. Stefan Messmann and Prof. Dr. Tibor Tajti, award-winning authors providing crucial legal framework to encourage and assist international investment in Central and Eastern Europe. Click here for more information.
Dr. Elemér Hantos Prize 2007: Vaclav Havel, world-renowned writer, poet, political dissident, and human rights activist. After the fall of communism in 1989, Havel became the leading figure in the Civic Forum, a coalition of non-communist opposition groups pressing for democratic reforms. He served as president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 to 1992 and of the Czech Republic from 1993 to 2003. Click here for more information.
Dr. Elemér Hantos Prize 2008: Erhard Busek, Vice-Chancellor of Austria, served from 2002 to 2008 as Special Coordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, set up to resolve conflict and ensure freedom and stability in the region. The focus of his activities included: democratization and human rights, rights of minorities, rule of law, and promotion of free trade areas. Click here for more information.
Dr. Elemér Hantos Prize 2009: Adam Michnik, journalist and political activist, has worked tirelessly to defend democracy and human rights throughout Central and Eastern Europe. He played a crucial role during the Polish Round Table Talks, as a result of which the communists agreed to call elections in 1989, won by the independent self-governing trade union: Solidarność. Click here for more information.
Dr. Elemér Hantos Prize 2010: Rudolf Chmel, who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic for Human Rights and National Minorities where he contributed greatly to protecting the rights of minorities in the border regions of Central Europe. Click here for more information.
Dr. Elemér Hantos Prize 2011: George Soros, an American of Hungarian origin, has been a prominent international supporter of democratic ideals and causes for more than 30 years. His philanthropic organization, the Open Society Foundations, supports democracy and human rights in over 70 countries. The Open Society Foundations fund a range of initiatives around the world to advance justice, education, public health, business development and independent media. Click here for more information.
Dr. Elemér Hantos Prize 2012: György Konrad, Hungarian Nobel Prize winner, was president of the International PEN Club and for many years was president of the Akademie der Künste in Berlin. Through these activities he has contributed largely to the amelioration of East-West relations in Central and Eastern Europe. In addition Konrad was very active in the movement to change the communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe during the 1970’s and 1980’s. Click here for more information.
Dr. Elemér Hantos Prize 2013: Jadranka Kosor, Croatian Prime Minister and Vesna Pusić, Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs worked from opposite sides of the political spectrum to bring Croatia into the European Union. Click here for more information.
Dr. Elemér Hantos Prize 2014: The Kollegium Elemér Hantos of the University of Miskolc Hungary is a separate entity of the University of Miskolc. The activities of the Kollegium are inspired by the works and ideas of Dr. Elemér Hantos, described by the Kollegium as: “a pioneer spirit who showed that the only possible way of living together, not only for Central Europe but also for Europe as a whole, is to focus on the things that unite us and not on what divides us.” Click here for more information.
Dr. Elemér Hantos Prize 2015: Dr. Monica Luisa Macovei, a Romanian politician, lawyer and former prosecutor, was a Member of the European Parliament and Minister of Justice of Romania. She was credited with implementing the justice reforms, including combating corruption, essential requirements for Romania to become a member of the European Union. Click here for more information.
Dr. Elemér Hantos Prize 2016: Goran Svilanovic, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Member of the Serbian Parliament. As Secretary General of the Regional Co-operation Council he continued the work he started as chairman of the Working Table I of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe promoting democratization and human rights. Among other goals, he worked to promote the rights of minorities, freedom of media, and the protection of the rights of refugees. Click here for more information.
Dr. Elemér Hantos Prize 2017: Ivan Krastev, Bulgarian professor, has made significant contributions to the promotion of economic cooperation in Central Europe through his many academic works and roles as advisor and board member of numerous international organizations. He is chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies, Sofia, and is a Permanent Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna (IWM), where he directs the research project “Democracy in Question”. Click here for more information.
Dr. Elemér Hantos Prize 2018: Dr. Franjo Komarica, Bishop of the city of Banja Luka, has worked tirelessly to preserve peace in Bosnia Herzegovina. When war broke out in the former Yugoslavia in 1992, he tried to restore peace, and after the end of the war, he fought for the return of all displaced people to their homes and tirelessly engaged in providing humanitarian aid to all citizens. During the war, Msgr. Komarica provided refuge to many Muslim, Orthodox and Catholic families. Click here for more information.