Iohannis will receive the “Washington Oscar” for his “remarkable career” and “exemplary leadership of Romania”

The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, will receive on May 8 the Distinguished International Leadership Award from the Atlantic Council, an American think-tank, for his “remarkable career, for Romania’s exemplary leadership and for his role as a transatlantic and European leader”, according to a statement published on Tuesday on the organization’s website, quoted by Agerpres.

The 2024 Atlantic Council Awards, dubbed the “Oscars of Washington” by the media, will be held at a star-studded dinner at the Waldorf Astoria on May 8 in Washington, DC.

Stephen J. Hadley, Chairman of the Atlantic Council’s International Advisory Board and former US National Security Advisor, will introduce President Iohannis and present him with the award.

Along with the President of Romania, the US Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe (SACEUR), the Commander of the US European Command, General Christopher G. Cavoli, and the Oscar-winning Malaysian actress and producer of Chinese origin Michelle Yeoh will be awarded. , goodwill ambassador of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and member of the International Olympic Committee.

Laureates of the Distinguished Leadership Awards 2024

Gina Raimondo will be honored for her outstanding public service as the 40th US Secretary of Commerce and Rhode Island’s 75th and first female governor, as well as her private sector achievements.

Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli will receive the award in recognition of his more than 35-year career in the US military, in which he served in a wide variety of positions in the United States, Europe and Asia.

Actress Michelle Yeoh is recognized for her talent and historic achievement of being the first person of Asian descent to win Best Actress at the Academy Awards, as well as her commitment to defense as a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador and member of the International Olympic Committee.

“The recipients of the 2024 Distinguished Leadership Awards are outstanding and highly diverse global representatives and leaders who have contributed to a better world through their lifelong commitment and contributions,” said Frederick Kempe, President and CEO of the Atlantic Council. quoted on the institution’s website. “By honoring them, we hope to inspire others to assert themselves, at a time when the world so urgently needs outstanding leaders,” he added.

Each year, the Distinguished Leadership Awards gala brings together a high-level international audience of over six hundred political, business, military, artistic and civil society leaders to celebrate the laureates, chosen from among the personalities who best represent the pillars of the global relationship.

Clinton, Bush and Biden, among the laureates of previous editions

Among the laureates of previous editions are the former US presidents George W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George HW Bush and the then vice-president Joe Biden, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the current and former directors general of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva and Christine Lagarde, Director General of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, but also illustrious artists, including Dua Lipa, Lionel Richie, Bono, Gloria Estefan and Renee Fleming.

The Atlantic Council, created in 1961, is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization whose employees must maintain high standards of personal and professional integrity, openness and honesty in their communications and relationships with themselves, with other organizations, with government officials, with the mass media and the public.

Since 1996, the Council has recognized international brand leaders through its annual awards gala.