Chancellor Angela Merkel has been awarded the Seoul Peace Prize. The Foundation in Seoul announced that the decision had been taken in recognition of the Chancellor’s special efforts to promote reconciliation and understanding, her role in the euro crisis, and her commitment to international affairs. Moreover, Angela Merkel has repeatedly accepted Germany’s responsibility for war crimes committed and apologised for these, thus honing global awareness of human dignity.

"The Chancellor has thanked the Foundation for this prestigious award. She is honoured to receive the prize and looks forward to accepting it in person in Seoul," declared deputy government spokesperson Christiane Wirtz on Wednesday in Berlin.

The Peace Prize

The Seoul Peace Prize was first awarded in 1990 by the Government of South Korea. It is awarded every two years in recognition of contributions to "the harmony of mankind, the reconciliation between nations and the world peace". The Peace Prize also expresses the desire for lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The Peace Prize has in the past been awarded to both individuals and institutions. Hitherto, however, no acting head of government has received the award. The Chancellor is the first acting head of government to be thus honoured.

Former laureates include UN Secretaries General Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-Moon, Muhammad Yunus of the Grameen Bank and institutions such as the NGO Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Oxfam.