Former Hungarian PM given prestigious German award

Former Hungarian Prime Minister Németh has been awarded the prestigious German ‘Point Alpha Prize’ this year for his contributions to the unification of Germany and Europe. The Prize is the appreciation of Miklós Németh’s courageous role in the fall of the Iron Curtain in Hungary 25 years ago. As the head of government in 1989, he allowed for the barriers on the border with Austria to be broken down and thus, the border was opened for many East German refugees.

Former Hungarian Prime Minister Németh has been awarded the prestigious German ‘Point Alpha Prize’ this year for his contributions to the unification of Germany and Europe. The Prize is the appreciation of Miklós Németh’s courageous role in the fall of the Iron Curtain in Hungary 25 years ago. As the head of government in 1989, he allowed for the barriers on the border with Austria to be broken down and thus, the border was opened for many East German refugees.

His decision was a landmark contribution to the completion of the East-West confrontation, the Board of Trustees of German Unity of the Point Alpha Foundation stated. The prize of EUR 25,000 will be presented to him on June 15 in the former U.S. observation point of Point Alpha between Thuringia and Hesse provinces, once an observation post on the East German – West German border in the Rhön Mountains.

The ‘Point Alpha Prize’ has been awarded since 2005. Previous recipients include former German Chancellors Helmut Kohl and Helmut Schmidt and other statesmen like former presidents Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union, George Bush senior of the United states and Václav Havel of Czechoslovakia.