October 19, 2005

Hungarian Prime Minister Gyurcsany Receives GW President’s Medal

BY FRANK BROOMELL

Prime Minister of Hungary Ferenc Gyurcsany was awarded the University’s President’s Medal by GW President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Oct. 6 in the City View Room of the 1957 E Street building.

Gyurcsany received the President’s Medal for his service as Prime Minister. Since taking office in 2004, he has been an important figure in reforming left-wing politics in Europe, and has been willing to engage in serious debate about the state of affairs in Hungary, Europe, and the world. After receiving the medal, Gyurcsany addressed several topics, including US-Hungarian relations.

He emphasized his country’s ties to the United States saying, “We together have more chance to win, we together have more chance to protect our values.”

Gyurcsany added that while there are many differences between the United States and Hungary, and the United States and Europe, we have an “obligation to hold each others’ hand,” and together defend the rights and ideals that we both hold to be important. The Prime Minister also had some kind words for GW saying that the University is, “a place of the values of freedom and democracy.”

Trachtenberg expressed hope in increasing GW-Hungarian relations and in accumulating scholarship money to assist Hungarian students in receiving an education at GW.

GW’s President’s Medal was established in 1988 and is the highest honor awarded by the president of the University. Other notable recipients of the medal have included Vaclav Havel, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Walter Cronkite.

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