Prize of Liberty
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
The Prize for Liberty (Prijs voor de Vrijheid in Dutch, sometimes translated as Prize of Liberty, Liberty Award or Prize for Freedom) is an annual award granted by the Flemish classical liberal think tank Libera!. It is considered to be one of the most important political honours in the Low Countries.
Every laureate is to hold a so-called Gustave de Molinari Lecture upon receiving the award, named after the French/Belgian liberal philosopher Gustave de Molinari. The prize was created by Nova Civitas in 2003 and awarded annually ever since. Since 2010, the prize is awarded by Libera!, the political heir to the disbanded Nova Civitas think tank.
Laureates
- Jean-Marie Dedecker (2015), former Belgian Senator and MP, founder and party leader of LDD
- Peter De Keyzer (2014), chief economist of BNP Paribas Fortis
- Frank van Dun (2013), libertarian philosopher and legal scholar
- Johan Van Overtveldt (2012), editor-in-chief of the weeklies Knack and Trends.
- Anthony M. Daniels (2011), a British conservative author and social critic.
- Frits Bolkestein (2010), a former Dutch liberal conservative politician and European Commissioner for the Internal Market.
- Mark Grammens (2009), a Belgian independent journalist and publisher of the newsletter Het Journaal.
- Urbain Servranckx (2008), a well-known Belgian actor, stand-up comedian and singer.
- Derk-Jan Eppink (2007), a Dutch columnist and author, advisor to former European Commissioner Frits Bolkestein.
- Alain Destexhe (2006), a Belgian senator for the Reformist Movement.
- Matthias Edward Storme (2005), a liberal conservative university professor and outspoken flamingant.
- Ayaan Hirsi Ali (2004), a former Member of the Dutch Parliament for the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy.
- Luuk Van Middelaar (2003), a Dutch historian and philosopher.
