The results of the fourth edition of the LeaDeR awards were announced Wednesday 10 December in Brussels at a ceremony held in the Jacques Delors Building of the EU’s Committee of the Regions. Awards were presented in nine categories by Sir Graham Watson, President of the ALDE Party and Mr Bas Verkerk President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) in the EU’s Committee of the Regions.
The results were as follows:
The 2014 LeaDeR in the Category of Young European of the Year: Ms. Guoda Lomanaite of the Lithuanian Liberal Youth, for having brought together young people and decision makers from all over Europe to co-create and suggest recommendations on how to tackle topical policy issues.
The 2014 LeaDeR in the Category of Most Effective EU Ambassador: Mrs. Conny Bieze-van Eck, member of the Provincial Government in Gelderland of the Dutch VVD Party, for having ensured that her citizens, her region, her locality not only relate to Europe and benefit from Europe, but actually link to other European areas.
The 2014 LeaDeR in the Category of Best Liberal European Elections Campaign: Ms. Kristina Yngwe, Member of the Swedish Parliament of the Centre Party, for running a European Elections campaign which – in less than 10 months – established her name in Swedish politics and launched her next campaign for national parliament resulting in her election.
The 2014 LeaDeR in the Category of Promoting Party Interaction with Citizens: Mr. Carsten Schuster, district councillor of Hamburg-Harburg of the German Free Democratic Party, for his determined and targeted action to tackle the limited capacity of public transportation services in Harburg and for launching an initative called “yellow card for the Harburg Transport Association”.
The 2014 LeaDeR in the Category of Achievement in Opposition: Mrs. Françoise Bertieaux, President of the MR Group in the Parliament of the Federation Wallonia-Brussels, for her tireless efforts in lobbying for parental choice and for a special relationship between school, students and parents in Brussels schools.
The 2014 LeaDeR in the Category of Achievement in Government: Mr. David Tutt, Eastbourne Council Leader of the UK Liberal Democrats, for his visible leadership in having put core liberal values of innovation, forward-thinking and opportunity into action in transforming what was officially the worst Council in the south-east of England into one widely recognised as among the very best in the country.
The 2014 LeaDeR in the Category of Jury’s Special Award: Mr. Violin Ivanov Krushovenski, Mayor of Misia of the Bulgarian National Movement for Stability and Prosperity, for the action he took to protect homes from the floods and in making public buildings available to victims of the floods.
The 2014 LeaDeR in the Category of Lifetime Achievement: Lord Graham Tope CBE, Member of the UK House of Lords of the Liberal Democrats, for his dedicated work with liberal democrats throughout decades, during which he campaigned for a community that takes pride in participatory democracy and has direct communication with the leadership of the Council.
The 2014 LeaDeR in the Category of President’s Award: Mr. Yousuf Gilani, of the Norwegian Venstre Party, for his leadership in organising a large demonstration in the capital city, in order to reject religious extremism and the atrocities committed in Syria and Iraq of the organisation known as The Islamic State.
