Former Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaitė has been honoured with the Point Alpha Award for her dedication to preserving peace in Europe.
The 68-year-old received the €25,000 prize on Sunday at a ceremony at the Point Alpha memorial site on the border between the states of Hesse and Thuringia.
The German award honours extraordinary contributions to European peace and freedom as well as commemorating the peaceful reunification of Germany.
"You were popular in your country, but less so in many European countries: you were regarded as the 'Iron Lady of Lithuania'," said Michael Roth, a lawmaker from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats, in his congratulatory speech.
He emphasized that Grybauskaitė had shown foresight in her career and had also said uncomfortable things. He referred to a statement she made in 2016 in which she accused the Russian government of violating international law, jeopardizing global security and wanting to divide Europe.
At the time, her comments drew criticism, said Roth. Today, many would agree with her, he added.
Grybauskaitė, a former European Commissioner for Financial Programming and the Budget, was also praised for her role as an exemplary advocate for European integration and Lithuania's international relations.
Grybauskaitė served as Lithuania’s president from 2009 to 2019, during which she was a vocal critic of Moscow amidst the Ukraine crisis.
The Baltic nation is a European Union and NATO member, which borders the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Russia's ally Belarus.
Since 2005, the Point Alpha Prize has recognized contributions to German and European unification in peace and freedom. Named after a former US observation base in the state of Hesse, past recipients include Mikhail Gorbachev, George W. Bush and Helmut Kohl. She is the first woman to receive this honour.
