Kaja Kallas was presented with the Hans Ringier Foundation’s «European Prize for Political Culture» in Ascona today. «Kaja Kallas is a courageous woman – but she is also much more than that: Estonia’s Prime Minister represents the courage of a small country in perilous times. She is calling for resolute resistance by the West against Putin’s unjust war: negotiations with the dictator should be avoided ‹until Ukraine is free›. Kaja Kallas speaks for a country barely larger than Switzerland, which, as Russia’s immediate neighbor, is vulnerable to the aggression of the Kremlin and has previously suffered 50 years of violent repression at the hands of Moscow’s regime. Together with 1.3 million Estonian citizens, the stateswoman stands, if you will, at the forefront of freedom in the Western world,» says Frank A. Meyer, President of the Hans Ringier Foundation, of this year’s award winner.

Ignazio Cassis, President of the Swiss Confederation, paid tribute to the award winner in his presentation speech: «By speaking out strongly about injustice where it happens, by speaking out strongly when human rights are violated, you have become a powerful European figure. You have been standing up for our Western values, our common values, throughout your one and a half years as Prime Minister. Democracy is about keeping the truth alive. But if we want to do this, we must have the courage to reveal what is false».

The award was presented at the traditional «Dîner Républicain», which is held every year by Frank A. Meyer at the Castello del Sole hotel in Ascona, Switzerland.

Ringier AG, Corporate Communications

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Photo award ceremony
Caption: Ignazio Cassis – President of the Swiss Confederation, Frank A. Meyer, President of the Hans Ringier Foundation, Kaja Kallas – Prime Minister of Estonia, Arvo Hallik – Husband of Kaja Kallas (Portrait of artist Tania Jacobi)

Group picture Dîner Républicain 2022  Hotel Castello del Sole, Ascona, Schweiz.
Caption: Above from left to right: Marco Solari – President Locarno Film Festival, Franziska Hoppermann – Member of the German Bundestag, Ebba Herfs-Röttgen – Wife of Norbert Röttgen, Paola Rodoni-Cassis – Wife of Ignazio Cassis, Ignazio Cassis – President of the Swiss Confederation, Norbert Röttgen – member of the German Bundestag, Wolfgang Schmidt – head of the Federal Chancellery, Philippa Sigl-Glöckner – accompanying Wolfgang Schmidt and economist and director of the Berlin think tank Dezernat Zukunft, Norbert Hoppermann – husband of Franziska Hoppermann. Below from left to right Franca Lindner – wife of Christian Lindner, Frank A. Meyer, Kaja Kallas – Prime Minister of Estonia, Arvo Hallik – husband of Kaja Kallas, Lilith Frey – hostess, Christian Lindner – German Federal Minister of Finance.