HE Abdullah Gül, President of Turkey, was awarded the 2010 Chatham House Prize. President Gül was recognized for being a significant figure for reconciliation and moderation within Turkey and internationally, andadriving force behind many of the positive steps that Turkey has taken in recent years.

Mr Gül has worked to deepen Turkey's traditional ties with the Middle East, mediate between the fractious groups in Iraq and bring together the Afghan and Pakistani leaderships to try to resolve disputes during 2009. He has also made significant efforts to reunify the divided island of Cyprus and has played a leading role, along with his Armenian counterpart, in initiating a process of reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia.

President Gül is also recognized for being an unwavering proponent of anchoring Turkey in the European Union. Under his leadership, Turkey is consolidating civilian democratic rule and undergoing extensive political and legal reforms to bring the country closer to European standards of democracy and human rights.

President Gül collected the award and a scroll signed by our Patron, Her Majesty The Queen, at a ceremony in London on 9 November 2010.

Rt Hon David Cameron, UK Prime Minister, said; 'I was delighted to hear that President Gül is being awarded the 2010 Chatham House award...I see the award as a celebration of Turkey's place on the world stage.'

Dr DeAnne Julius, Chairman of Chatham House, said: 'President Gül has been voted the winner of this year's Chatham House Prize because of his qualities as a national, regional and international leader. I warmly congratulate the President on this award which recognizes his accomplishments and acknowledges the growing influence he has achieved for Turkey.'

Dr Robin Niblett, Director of Chatham House, said: 'Chatham House members have a deep interest in international affairs and have voted for President Gül to acknowledge his efforts within Turkey as well as on the international stage. Our members represent a cross-section of the most influential globally orientated individuals in business, academia and public life.'

Suzan Sabancı Dinçer, Panel of Senior Advisers, Chatham House, and Chairman and Executive Board Member, Akbank, said: 'As a Chatham House Senior Adviser and a Turkish citizen I am proud and delighted that President Gül is to receive this prestigious award. His efforts to bring stability and prosperity to Turkey's region and his encouragement of Turkey's rapid progress towards reform and full European integration have been acknowledged by Chatham House members.'

Ceremony Highlights

More Information

The Chatham House Prize is an annual award presented to the statesperson deemed by members of the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House to have made the most significant contribution to the improvement of international relations in the previous year.

The other nominees for this year's prize were Christine Lagarde, Finance Minister, France and Stjepan Mesić, President of Croatia (2000-10). More information >>

Further details about the Chatham House Prize >>

Resources

Speeches

• Dr Robin Niblett
• HE Abdullah Gül
• Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
• Rt Hon Sir John Major
• Simon Henry, David Lidington MP, Jack Straw MP, Dr DeAnne Julius

First Magazine published a special edition to mark the 2010 Chatham House Prize and President Gül's visit to the UK. The articles below are re-published here with kind permission from First Magazine.

Impartial and international, Dr DeAnne Julius

Turkey's international role, Dr Robin Niblett

A quiet revolution in Turkey, Fadi Hakura

Sponsorship

Chatham House gratefully acknowledges the lead sponsorship of Royal Dutch Shell plc.

Sponsors:

Akbank
BAE Systems
Beko
Bloomberg Television
British American Tobacco
Citi
DIAGEO
eni
Europoint Holdings Ltd
HSBC
Royal Dutch Shell plc
The European Azerbaijan Society
Vodafone Turkey
Zorlu Energy Group

Sponsorship represents an important source of revenue for new research and activities at Chatham House during the following year and we are extremely grateful to our past sponsors for their support.

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