MAX SCHMIDHEINY FOUNDATION FREEDOM PRIZE FOR 2001 AWARDED TO Lennart meri and N. R. Narayana Murthy

    On Saturday, May 19, in St. Gallen (PROTEXT/ots) - LennartMeri, President of the Republic of Estonia, and N. R. NarayanaMurthy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of InfosysTechnologies, were presented with the Max SchmidheinyFoundation's Freedom Prize for the year 2001. The presentationtook place at the 31st ISC Symposiums in the great hall of theUniversityof St. Gallen. An audience of more than 800 guests from all overthe world heard Dr Stephan Schmidheiny, President of theFoundation Council, describe the achievements of theprizewinners.
    Every year, the Max Schmidheiny Foundation honours persons andinstitutions who have contributed to the maintenance and furtherdevelopment of a free social and economic order. It therebypromotes outstanding scientific, political and entrepreneurialinitiatives and achievements that safeguard individual freedomand responsibility. This year's value of the prize is CHF200,000.-; it was awarded for the 23rdtime.
    Referring to the overall topic of the 31st ISC Symposium, the'New Balance of Power', Dr Stephan Schmidheiny discussed therole of freedom as a 'variable' in the interplay of forces. Hepaid particular attention to the factors that are important forensuring a maximum level of individual freedom within the contextof the balance of power, which is constantly being changed as aresult of the continuous interaction between theauthorities and interested parties.
    Freedom and individual responsibility have been enhanced by thecommitment of the prizewinners, Lennart Meri and N. R. NarayanaMurthy, in their own spheres of activity, politics and business,whose development they have actively helped to form.
    Lennart Meri has been honoured as an author and intellectual whoexpressed with a poet's touch in his literary and cinematic worksthe hopes and fears of his fellow countrymen and in so doing madea significant contribution to maintaining the national identityof the Estonian people during the period of Soviet occupation. Asa statesman, Meri's courageous yet judicious quest for freedomand democracy shaped Estonia's aspirations to gain independencepeacefully and turned him into a moral and politicalauthority within his country. By supporting exemplary reforms insocial policy, a market-based economy and the reinstatement ofdemocratic institutions, Meri, a quintessential European,instilled self-confidence and pride in his people. He hasunfalteringly smoothed Estonia's path into the community ofdemocratic states, not merely by emphasizing thehistorical bonds between Estonia and Europe.
    By awarding the prize to N. R. Narayana Murthy, the MaxSchmidheiny Foundation is honouring an entrepreneur whoconsistently denounced the system of planned economy, control andsuppression of personal initiative and the bureaucracy that leftIndia stagnating during the 1980s and who, with a firm resolve,grasped the opportunities once the new and more openeconomic order allowed him to establish a trend-setting cybercompany. As the pioneer of a meritocratic business culture whoplaced his trust in the know-how of local specialists, Murthythus made his company a beacon of quality performance andcommitment for employees, investors and the general public. Hemade full use of the untapped potential of Indianbusiness culture and innovation and - ultimately - added both tothe strength of the Indian economy and his country'scompetitiveness. As an advocate of social justice, Murthy seesthe creation of individual wealth by means of honest gainfulactivity as the best solution to poverty, India's greatest curse.He is obviously aware that in India, such a goalcan only be attained with realism, modesty and the will tocombine an appropriate degree of modernization with continuedadherence to the spirit - rather than the form - of tradition.
    Further information:
    Max Scmidheiny Stiftung
    Postfach 1045
    CH-9001 St. Gallen
    Tel. +41 71 227 20 70
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