George H.W. Bush, 41st President of the United States, will receive the Robert Schuman Medal on Monday, November 10, during a Bush School conference celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, one of the most far-reaching events in world history. The Schuman Medal recognizes public figures who have advanced the cause of peace, the construction of Europe and human values through their public activities and personal commitment. The presentation ceremony will take place prior to the key note address at 6 PM in the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center.
Previous awardees have included former heads of state, prime ministers, members of the European Parliament, and leaders who have fought for human rights, including former Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl, current European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Pope John Paul II, and current Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel. President Bush will be the first American awarded the medal.
Bush School Dean Ryan Crocker said that this prestigious honor for President Bush is more than well-deserved.
“Throughout his long career in public service President Bush was always mindful of human rights and the need to advance the cause of peace in the world,” said Crocker. “It is especially appropriate for him to receive this recognition at a conference which revisits the world events in which he played such a major role.”
The Schuman Medal was introduced in 1986 by the European People’s Party (EPP) and will be presented by Elmar Brok, a member of the European Parliament and current head of the Foreign Affairs Committee. The Robert Schuman Medal is named for the French statesman who, in 1950, proposed to Germany and other nations ravaged by war that they establish peace between the peoples of Europe on the basis of a new European Community with strong, democratic institutions; he is widely considered to be one of the founders of the European Union.
The Berlin Wall conference at the Bush School will bring together a unique group of individuals from the United States and Europe to review these historic events and discuss their effect on international relations then and now. Many of the conference participants were directly involved in the momentous events of 1989. Speakers will include Lt. General Brent Scowcroft (Ret.) and former Secretary of State James Baker, both of whom were key advisors to President George H.W. Bush on national security issues, as well as Bush School Dean Ryan Crocker.
