On November 8, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Atlantic Council hosted the Freedom’s Challenge dinner and awards ceremony.  Held at Berlin’s Hotel Adlon, the event was attended by government, military, business and cultural leaders from across the Atlantic Alliance.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered the evening’s keynote address.  In recognition of their fights for democracy and liberty, the Atlantic Council presented Freedom Awards to:

  • Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on behalf of the American people
  • President Lech Walesa, on behalf of the Polish people
  • President Vaclav Havel, on behalf of the Czech and Slovak peoples (in absentia)
  • Admiral James Stavridis, on behalf of NATO troops
  • Vice Chancellor Guido Westerwelle, on behalf of the German people
  • Mayor Klaus Wowereit, on behalf of the people of Berlin

Media Coverage:

Blogger Reactions:

Institutional Coverage:

German Language Coverage:


Freedom’s Challenge
Publication:

A commemorative publication to mark the occasion, Freedom’s Challenge, was launched at the dinner.  Freedom’s Challenge provides analysis on the enduring significance of the Berlin Wall’s fall, German reunification, the peaceful end of the Cold War, the expansion of NATO and the spread of Euro-Atlantic values.

The publication features contributions from leading Atlanticists, political and military leaders and leading commentators and writers, including:

  • Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States
  • George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States
  • Helmut Kohl, former German Chancellor (1982-1998)
  • Margaret Thatcher, former UK Prime Minister (1979-1990)
  • Chuck Hagel, Chairman, Atlantic Council
  • Fred Kempe, President & CEO, Atlantic Council
  • Hans-Dietrich Genscher, former German Foreign Minister
  • Horst M. Teltschik, former National Security Advisor to Chancellor Helmut Kohl
  • James Jones, National Security Advisor to President Obama
  • Colin Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State; former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • Thomas Enders, President and CEO, AIRBUS  
  • Lord Robertson, former NATO Secretary-General
  • Lord Douglas Hurd of Westwell, former UK Foreign Secretary
  • Josef Ackermann, CEO, Deutsche Bank
  • Brent Scowcroft, National Security Advisor to Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush
  • Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter
  • Peter Schneider, journalist; author of The Wall Jumper
  • Adam Michnik, a Solidarity leader; founding editor of Gazeta Wyborcza
  • Frederick Forsyth, author of The Day of the Jackal, The Fourth Protocol
  • Richard Burt, U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, 1985–1989
  • Frederick Taylor, historian; author of Dresden and The Berlin Wall
  • David Marsh, founder member, German-British Forum
  • Michael Dobbs, former foreign correspondent, Washington Post; Cold-War historian
  • Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State
  •  Klaus Naumann, former Chairman, NATO Military Committee
  • Tennent H. Bagley, author of Spy Wars: Moles, Mysteries and Deadly Games; former deputy head of CIA counterintelligence against the Soviet Bloc
  • Barry R. McCaffrey, Atlantic Council Executive Committee
  • Kevin Rosner, Senior Fellow, Institute for the Analysis of Global Security
  • Charles F. “Chuck” Wald, Former Deputy Commander, U.S. European Command
  • David Catarious, Analyst and Project Director, CNN
  • Sherri Goodman, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, CNA
  • Mathew J. Burrows, Director of the Analysis and Production Staff, National Intelligence Council
  • Julian Lindley-French, Member, Atlantic Council Strategic Advisors Group; Special Professor of Strategic Studies, University of Leiden; Eisenhower Professor of Defence Strategy, Netherlands Defence Academy; Senior Associate Fellow, United Kingdom Defence Academy
  • Hans Binnendijk, Theodore Roosevelt Chair in National Security Policy and Founding Director of the Center for Technology and National Security Policy, National Defense University
  • Kori Schake, Research Fellow, Hoover Institution; Associate Professor of International Security Studies, United States Military Academy
  • Jamie Shea, Head Policy Planning, Private Office, NATO Secretary General
  • John Kirton, Director, G8 Research Group
  • Chris Donnelly, Director, Institute for Statecraft and Governance
  • Shuja Nawaz,  Director, South Asia Center, Atlantic Council
  • Mihaela Carstei, Assistant Director, Energy and Environment Program, Atlantic Council
  • David Phillips, Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council
  • Damon Wilson, Vice President and Director, International Security Program, Atlantic Council

 
Photo credit: Elke A. Jung-Wolff.