The Diplomat
His Majesty the King yesterday presented the Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Award to Javier Solana, former Minister and former NATO Secretary General, whom he described as a “statesman” and a “great patriot” for his long career both in government posts and at the head of the Atlantic Alliance and European diplomacy.
Solana “personifies”, in Don Felipe’s opinion, the essence of these scholarships, which were created 75 years ago. “He is a firm advocate of cooperation between countries, of the need to reach consensus in order to build on solid foundations, and of the search for agreements”, all of which, he said, “are objectives that he has always pursued in his outstanding professional career”.
He also represents a concern for the knowledge of others and the necessary flexibility to understand other ways of being and doing,” he said, stressing that “curiosity and the desire to learn have not abandoned him” since he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship in 1966 to study for a doctorate in theoretical solid state physics.
Don Felipe praised the Fulbright scholarships, “one of the most powerful examples of public diplomacy in existence today”, stressing that the scholarship recipients become “true ambassadors of their countries” and thus contribute to incorporating “the component of cultural understanding, which is essential to overcome obstacles and challenges to build a better world, free or freer of prejudices”.
Solana said he was “enormously happy” about the award and stressed that thanks to the Fulbright scholarship that took him to the United States he had “an extraordinary experience”. “I have indelible memories” of that time, he said, assuring that even today he still returns “from time to time” to physics, “which I love very much”.
The event was also attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, EU and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, who is also honorary co-chair of the Fulbright Commission. Like the King, he had words of praise for Solana, “who is an example of what it means to be a foreign minister and to be at the service of Spain, and whom I also consider a personal friend”.
The minister recalled that, since its creation, more than 5,000 Spaniards and 3,800 Americans have benefited from one of these grants.
