German Chancellor Angela Merkel chosen for JL Nehru Award

New Delhi, May 9 (PTI) German Chancellor Angela Merkel
has been chosen for the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Award for
International Understanding for her enormous efforts for
sustainable and equitable development, it was announced here
on Monday.
The jury, chaired by Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari
has decided to confer the award for 2009 on Dr Merkel, the
Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, an External
Affairs Ministry release said here on Monday.
The 57-year old German leader is known for her efforts
for good governance and understanding and for the creation of
a world, better positioned to handle the emerging challenges
of the 21st century, it said.
She has been sympathetic to developing countries and our
own developmental imperatives and has led the search for a
balanced solution based on principles of equity and
sensitivity to the interests of the developing world, it said.
The award carries prize money of Rs 1 crore besides a
trophy and citation.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, Mother
Teresa, Kenneth Kaunda, Aung San Suu Kyi, Hosni Mubarak, Josip
Broz Tito and Nelson Mandela are some of past recipients of
the award.