The Petőfi Prize was established by the Public Foundation for the Research of Central and Eastern European History and Society in 2009 recognizes outstanding efforts made to advance freedom and democracy of Central European nations.

MOL Group MOL Plc. (), also known as MOL Group, is a Hungarian Multinational corporation, multinational petroleum, oil and natural gas, gas company headquartered in Budapest, Hungary. Members of MOL Group include among others the Croatian and Slovak former ...

(Hungarian Oil and Gas Public Limited Company) has joined the foundation. The founders intend to reward those who have made the noblest and gravest decisions of human coexistence without making compromises by a bust and a sum of EUR 10.000.

Description

The Public Foundation for the Research of Central and Eastern European History and Society established the Petőfi Prize in 2009 to acknowledge the outstanding efforts made to advance freedom and democracy of Central European nations. This prize is awarded to those outstanding people of the region or the whole world who have set an example and helped freedom to advance with their personal sacrifice and persistence. The founders wish to recognize and honour those people who, similarly to Petőfi, have made the noblest and gravest decisions of human coexistence without making compromises by the prize – a bust of

Sándor Petőfi Sándor Petőfi ( []; né Petrovics; ; ; 1 January 1823 – most likely 31 July 1849) was a Hungarian poet and Classical Liberalism, liberal revolutionary. He is considered Hungary's national poet, and was one of the key figures of the Hungari ...

by Richárd Juha- and the sum of EUR 10.000 reward. Without them our world would have been deprived of values which provide meaning for notions like freedom, justice and sacrifice. The Hungarian Oil and Gas Public Limited Company, MOL, has joined the foundation, give due weight to the message that, just like one of the most successful companies of Hungarian economy, this prize requires the utmost attention both locally and worldwide. The laureates are chosen both by the board and MOL from several nominees.

Laureates

* 2024 -

Mircea Dinescu Mircea Dinescu (; born November 11, 1950) is a Romanian poet, journalist, and editor. Biography Early life and poetry He was born in Slobozia, the son of Ștefan Dinescu, a metalworker, and Aurelia (born Badea). Dinescu studied at the Faculty ...

, Előd Kincses * 2023 -

János Áder János Áder (; born 9 May 1959) is a Hungarian politician and lawyer who served as President of Hungary from 2012 to 2022. He is a long-time politician of the Right-wing politics, right-wing Fidesz. As a representative of his party, he took par ...

* 2022 –

Wolfgang Schüssel Wolfgang Schüssel (; born 7 June 1945) is a retired Austrian politician. He was Chancellor of Austria for two consecutive terms from February 2000 to January 2007. While being recognised as a rare example of an active reformer in contemporary A ...

* 2021 –

Horia-Roman Patapievici Horia-Roman Patapievici (; born March 18, 1957) is a Romanian conservative and classical liberal writer, physicist, and essayist who served as the head of the Romanian Cultural Institute from 2005 until August 2012. Between 2000 and 2005, he was a ...

* 2020 –

Tamás Deutsch Tamás Deutsch (born 4 December 1969 in Budapest) is a male former backstroke swimmer from Hungary. Swimming career Deutsch competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics for his native country, starting in 1988 1988 was a crucial year ...

and Imre Kónya * 2019 –

Sándor Lezsák Sándor Lezsák (born 30 October 1949) is a Hungarian poet, teacher and politician. Between 2 April 2012 and 10 May 2012, Lezsák was temporarily the Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary, as the resignation of Pál Schmitt led to Speaker ...

and

József Szájer József Szájer (born 7 September 1961) is a retired Hungarian politician and former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) of the Fidesz party. He resigned as MEP on 29 November 2020 (effective at the end of December) after having been caug ...

* 2018 –

Václav Klaus Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second president of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. From July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, he served as the second ...

* 2017 –

Stanisław Dziwisz Stanisław Jan Dziwisz (; born 27 April 1939) is a Polish Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Kraków from 2005 to 2016. He was created a cardinal in 2006. He was a long-time and influential aide to Pope John Paul II, a friend of Pope ...

* 2016 – László Regéczy-Nagy és László Balás-Piri * 2015 – Karol Sauerland * 2014 –

Imre Kozma Imre Kozma (4 June 1940 – 17 October 2024) was a Hungarian Roman Catholic priest, the founder of the Hungarian Charity Service of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, patron of East German refugees arriving to Hungary in 1988–89. Biograph ...

and

Mária Filep Mária Filep is a Hungarian architect and main organizer of the Pan-European Picnic. Early life Mária Filep was born in Debrecen in 1953. She completed her degree in architecture at the University of Debrecen. Career She worked at the ...

* 2013 –

Vladimir Bukovsky Vladimir Konstantinovich Bukovsky (; 30 December 1942 – 27 October 2019) was a Soviet and Russian Human rights activists, human rights activist and writer. From the late 1950s to the mid-1970s, he was a prominent figure in the Soviet dissid ...

* 2012 –

Miroslav Kusý Miroslav Kusý (1 December 1931 – 13 February 2019) was a Slovak political scientist and politician. Described as a "dissident" of Czechoslovakia's communist regime, he was given an eight-month suspended sentence in November 1989 for an anti-g ...

* 2011 –

Mart Laar Mart Laar (born 22 April 1960) is an Estonian politician and historian. He served as the Prime Minister of Estonia from 1992 to 1994 and from 1999 to 2002. Laar is credited with having helped bring about Estonia's Economy_of_Estonia#Restoration_o ...

* 2010 –

Anne Applebaum Anne Elizabeth Applebaum (born July 25, 1964) is an American journalist and historian. She has written about the history of Communism and the development of civil society in Central and Eastern Europe. She holds Polish citizenship as well. Ap ...

* 2009 – László Tőkés, Gabriel Andreescu

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petofi Prize Awards established in 2009 Hungarian awards Sándor Petőfi