Kofi Annan To Receive 2001 NDI Democracy Award

The National Democratic Institute (NDI) announced today that United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and Peter and Linda Biehl of the Amy Biehl Foundation in South Africa, will receive its 14th Annual W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award at a Washington, D.C. dinner on November 28. Annan will receive the NDI Award two weeks before he and the United Nations are presented with the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway.

In announcing the decision to honor Secretary-General Annan, taken by the NDI Board of Directors at its September 19 meeting, NDI cited his global leadership in advancing peace, democratic governance, the rule of law and human rights. With this award, NDI will recognize the importance of efforts to promote democratic institutions and values as both ends in themselves, and as a means to dealing with the breeding grounds of political extremism, conflict, disease and environmental degradation.

"Like no other United Nations leader before him, Secretary-General Annan has committed the world body to universal values of democracy and human rights," said NDI Chairman and former U.S. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, who also served as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. "He has consistently and forcefully spoken out in support of political systems that give citizens a genuine stake in their society and has dedicated U.N. resources to this goal."

Kofi Annan, a Ghanaian national, was appointed Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1997. He is the first Secretary-General to come from within the organization, having served in the areas of refugee assistance, budget, personnel and peacekeeping. He was reappointed to his second term of office by unanimous vote of the General Assembly. His wife, Nane Annan, a Swedish artist and lawyer, will accompany him to the award dinner. She is the niece of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who helped thousands of Hungarian Jews escape from the Nazis during World War II.

Peter and Linda Biehl will be honored for their efforts on behalf of their daughter, Amy, a former NDI staff member who was killed in South Africa while working for reconciliation there. The Biehls have advanced their daughter's legacy through the Amy Biehl Foundation, which provides educational opportunity, health training and entrepreneurial and leadership skills to residents in townships throughout South Africa.

"The programs of the Amy Biehl Foundation embody Amy's own commitment to a democratic, multi-racial society," said Albright. "Through the Foundation, the Biehls have resolved to build a constructive legacy from personal despair and to remember Amy through human service."

"The tragedy of September 11 was a vivid reminder of the vulnerability inherent in a free society," said NDI President, Kenneth Wollack. "The international community must act forcefully to overcome the immediate threat of terrorism and, at the same time, recognize that democracies provide a long-term deterrent to political extremism and conflict."

The 14th Annual NDI Award Dinner will be held on November 28 at 6:30 p.m. at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C. Established to honor the late diplomat and politician Averell Harriman, NDI's award recognizes individuals who exemplify the Institute's commitment to democracy and human rights.

Past recipients of the Award have included the eight political party leaders who negotiated the Northern Ireland peace agreement, President Eduard Shevardnadze of Georgia, Burmese democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel, South African President Thabo Mbeki, former Argentine president Raul Alfonsin, Chile's 1988 Free Election Movement, former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, former U.S. vice-president Walter Mondale, Senator Edward Kennedy, former senator George Mitchell, the late Lane Kirkland, president of the AFL-CIO, and then-U.S. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright.

The National Democratic Institute is a nonprofit organization working to strengthen and expand democracy worldwide. NDI works with democrats in every region of the world to build political and civic organizations, safeguard elections, and promote citizen participation, openness, and accountability in government.

For more information about contributing to the dinner or attending as a member of the media, please contact jeanf@ndi.org