Quadriga was an annual German award sponsored by Netzwerk Quadriga GmbH, a non-profit organization based in
Berlin. The award recognized four people or groups for their commitment to innovation, renewal, and a pioneering spirit through political, economic, and cultural activities.
The award consisted of a small statue resembling the
quadriga
A () is a car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast and favoured for chariot racing in Classical Antiquity and the Roman Empire until the Late Middle Ages. The word derives from the Latin contraction of , from ': four, and ': yoke.
The four- ...
atop the
Brandenburg Gate
The Brandenburg Gate (german: Brandenburger Tor ) is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II after restoring the Orangist power by suppressing the Dutch popular unrest. On ...
in Berlin. ''Werkstatt Deutschland'' presented the award annually on
German Unity Day
German Unity Day (german: Tag der Deutschen Einheit) is the National Day of Germany, celebrated on 3 October as a public holiday. It commemorates German reunification in 1990 when the German Democratic Republic ( East Germany) joined the Federa ...
, which commemorates
German reunification in 1990. The award was presented by prominent individuals, including
Viktor Yushchenko,
Bernard Kouchner
Bernard Kouchner Order of the British Empire, KBE (born 1 November 1939) is a French politician and doctor. He is the co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Médecins du Monde. From 2007 until 2010, he was the French Minister of Fo ...
, and
Mikhail Gorbachev.
History
The award was first given in 2003. For the first two years, the award ceremony took place at
Konzerthaus Berlin
The Konzerthaus Berlin is a concert hall in Berlin, the home of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. Situated on the Gendarmenmarkt square in the central Mitte district of the city, it was originally built as a theater. It initially operated from ...
. From 2005 until 2008, the ceremony was held at
Komische Oper Berlin
The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces opera, operetta and musicals.
The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, just a few steps from Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, alo ...
opera house. In 2009, the award ceremony was hosted at the seat of the
Foreign Office of Germany.
The announcement that
Vladimir Putin would receive the award in 2011 was widely condemned. As a result of protests by Quadriga board members and former recipients, the 2011 awards and ceremonies were cancelled. Likewise, the Quadriga was not awarded in 2012.
Recipients
2003
*
Armin Mueller-Stahl
Armin Mueller-Stahl (born 17 December 1930) is a retired German film actor, painter and author, who also appeared in numerous English-language films since the 1980s. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role i ...
, German actor
*
Norman Foster, British architect
*
Jean-Claude Juncker, Prime Minister of
Luxembourg
*
Einars Repše, Prime Minister of
Latvia
*
Amal Rifai,
Odelia Ainbinder, and
Sylke Tempel, authors of ''Wir wollen beide hier leben: Eine schwierige Freundschaft in Jerusalem''
2004
*
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to ...
, Prime Minister of
Turkey
*
Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, French author
*
Thomas Quasthoff, German singer
*
Šimon Pánek, Czech humanitarian
*
Hamid Karzai, President of
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
2005
*
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longe ...
, former German Chancellor
*
Timothy Berners-Lee
Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee (born 8 June 1955), also known as TimBL, is an English computer scientist best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web. He is a Professorial Fellow of Computer Science at the University of Oxford and a profess ...
, British scientist, inventor of the
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet.
Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web se ...
* Catherine McCartney, Claire McCartney, Donna McCartney, Gemma McMahon, Paula Arnold and Bridgeen Hagans, family of Robert McCartney, a victim of
IRA terrorism
*
Karīm al-Hussaynī, Āgā Khān IV, head of the
Ismaili
2006
*
Shimon Peres, Vice Prime Minister of
Israel
*
Riccardo Illy
Riccardo Illy (born 24 September 1955) is an Italian businessman and former politician.
Biography
Riccardo Illy was born in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. His paternal grandfather, Francesco Illy, was of Hungarian origin. He's Waldensian.
...
, Italian politician
*
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck,
Ulrich Mühe
Friedrich Hans Ulrich Mühe (; 20 June 1953 – 22 July 2007) was a German film, television and theatre actor. He played the role of Hauptmann (Captain) Gerd Wiesler in the Oscar-winning film '' Das Leben der Anderen'' (''The Lives of Others'', 20 ...
, and
Sebastian Koch, German artists in recognition of their work ''
The Lives of Others
''The Lives of Others'' (german: link=no, Das Leben der Anderen, ) is a 2006 German drama film written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck marking his feature film directorial debut. The plot is about the monitoring of East Berli ...
''
*
Viktor Yushchenko, President of
Ukraine
2007
*
Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Fritz Kurt "Gerd" Schröder (; born 7 April 1944) is a German lobbyist and former politician, who served as the chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germa ...
, former German Chancellor
* Aicha El-Wafi and Phyllis Rodriguez, mothers of a perpetrator and a victim of the
September 11, 2001 attacks seeking reconciliation
* ''
Der Spiegel'', represented by editor-in-chief
Stefan Aust
Stefan Aust (; born 1 July 1946) is a German journalist. He was the editor-in-chief of the weekly news magazine ''Der Spiegel'' from 1994 to February 2008 and has been the publisher of the conservative leading ''Die Welt'' newspaper since 2014 ...
*
Queen Silvia of Sweden
2008
*
Boris Tadić
Boris Tadić ( sr-cyr, Борис Тадић, ; born 15 January 1958) is a Serbian politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2004 to 2012.
Born in Sarajevo, he graduated from the University of Belgrade with a degree in psychology ...
, president of
Serbia
*
Eckart Höfling
Eckart Höfling (28 October 1936 – 1 March 2014) was a German Catholic priest who worked combating poverty in Brazil.
Höfling was born in Langenprozelten, Lower Franconia. In 1949 Eckart Höflich completed his schooling in Würzburg and passe ...
,
Franciscan
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
and director of ''Venerável Ordem Terceira de São Francisco de Peniténcia'' in
Rio de Janeiro
*
Wikipedia, represented by
Jimmy Wales
*
Peter Gabriel, musician and human rights activist
2009
*
José Manuel Barroso, president of the
European Commission
*
Marius Müller-Westernhagen
Marius Müller-Westernhagen (born 6 December 1948) is a German musician and actor. He has been a feature in German rock music since the mid-1970s. Müller-Westernhagen is known for his energetic public concerts, and his fans know his anthem-like ...
, musician
*
Campaign Change for Equality, activists from Iran
*
Václav Havel, author and former president of the
Czech Republic
*
Bärbel Bohley
Bärbel Bohley (24 May 1945 – 11 September 2010) was an East German opposition figure and artist.
Biography
As an artist, Bohley won prizes from the authorities, including a trip to the Soviet Union. Her opposition to the government did n ...
, initiator of the
New Forum
New Forum (german: Neues Forum) was a political movement in East Germany formed in the months leading up to the collapse of the East German state. It was founded on 9 September 1989 and was the first independent (non- National Front) political ...
and artist
*
Mikhail Gorbachev, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former president of the
Soviet Union
2010
*
George Papandreou
George Andreas Papandreou ( el, Γεώργιος Ανδρέας Παπανδρέου, , shortened to ''Giorgos'' () to distinguish him from his grandfather; born 16 June 1952) is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece from ...
: ''Power of Veracity''
*
Die Bundeswehr, represented by
Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg
Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Buhl-Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (born 5 December 1971), known professionally as Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, is a German businessman and politician of the Christian Soc ...
and
Lieutenant General Günter Weiler
Günter Friedrich Weiler (born 27 April 1951 in Duisburg, West Germany) is a retired lieutenant general of the German Army, the Bundeswehr. From 16 September 2010 until 9 April 2013, he was the Deputy Inspector General of the Bundeswehr.
Initial ...
: ''Service of Responsibility''
*
Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble and
Lothar de Maizière
Lothar de Maizière (; born 2 March 1940) is a German Christian Democratic politician. In 1990, he served as the only premier of the German Democratic Republic to be democratically elected freely and fairly by the people. He was also the last l ...
: ''Architecture of Unification''
*
Dr. Albrecht and
Kristina Hennig : ''Light of Empathy''
*
Olafur Eliasson : ''Art of Interaction''
2011
* ''Cancelled''
The announcement that
Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin would be awarded the prize led to a public outcry.
Quadriga board members
Cem Özdemir
Cem Özdemir (, ; born 21 December 1965) is a German politician who currently serves as Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture since 2021. He is a member of the Alliance 90/The Greens party.
Between 2008 and 2018, Özdemir co-chaired the G ...
of the German Green Party,
Jimmy Wales of Wikipedia, and
Heidelberg University history professor
Edgar Wolfrum stepped down in protest. Former recipients
Olafur Eliasson and
Václav Havel decided to return their awards. ''The New York Times'' commented that from the volume of outcry the ranks of people feeling Putin, a former
East Germany-assigned
KGB
The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
agent and later chief,
had rolled back democracy and human rights in Russia are apparently quite large.
The organisers decided not to make any awards in 2011 as a result of the controversy.
They released a statement on 16 July 2011 saying they acted "in light of the growing and unbearable pressure and the danger of further escalation" and that they deeply regretted hearing news of Havel's decision.
The awards ceremony scheduled for that October was therefore cancelled.
References
External links
* {{in lang, de (archived version)
German awards
Awards established in 2003
2003 establishments in Germany