On December 12, 2020, Governor Michael Dukakis will present Ursula von der Leyden, president of the European Commission, with the Boston Global Forum and Michael Dukakis Institute’s Annual Award “World Leader for Peace and Security” for her efforts to rebuild ties between the United States and Europe.
Governor Dukakis stated, “For the past four years, the White House has strained to the breaking point, our ties with our European allies—relationships that have fostered peace, human rights and defended the Western world from aggression for three-quarters of a century.”
Additionally, with the advent of Artificial Intelligence as a driving technological and societal force, President von der Leyden has committed to the goal of humanizing Artificial Intelligence and has advocated for standards in its development that will contribute to greater freedom, and democracy.
In May of last year von der Leyden was elected President of the European Commission and assumed the post on November 1, 2019.
A prominent political leader, von der Leyden was the first woman to assume the post of Germany’s Minister of Defense in 2013, after having served on Angela Merkel’s cabinet since 2005.
She is a highly regarded for her efforts to unify European nations on several fronts including the long-term goal of establishing a unified European Army.