John Kerry, Jack Lang, Charles Pictet presented with philhellenism awards
Former US senator and Secretary of State John Kerry, former French minister Jack Lang and Swiss banker Charles Pictet were presented with the International Awards of Philhellenism ‘Lord Byron’ for 2021 at a ceremony of the the Academy of Athens on Wednesday.
Presenting the awards at the celebratory session of the Academy was President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou, while Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis delivered a message online.
“The glory of philhellenes, older and contemporary, remains untarnished through time,” Sakellaropoulou said, while presenting the award during Greece’s 200th anniversary since the declaration of independence from the Ottoman Turks.
For each honoree she noted that Kerry was a descendant of Thomas Winthrop, president of the Philhellenic Committee of Boston, Jack Lang had contributed to promoting European culture and unification as Education and Culture Minister, and banker Charles Pictet is a descendant of the Picted de Rochemont family, who collaborated with Jean-Gabriel Eynard to support Ioannis Kapodistrias and the philhellenic movement in Switzerland and Europe at large.
Each of the honorees receives the silver medal, a diploma, and a stipend of 10,000 dollars which is donated to a foundation of their choice amont those that promote Greek and Philhellenic ideals.
[ANA-MPA]
