South African cleric Desmond Tutu was on Sunday awarded one of Germany’s most prestigious honours, the Marion Doenhoff Prize for International Reconciliation and Understanding.
The retired Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town has become ”a symbol for peace and justice in the world”, German Economic Assistance Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said.
The renowned prize was awarded by the influential weekly newspaper Die Zeit together with the Zeit foundation Ebelin.
Doenhoff was a leading German journalist and intellectual who was co-publisher of Die Zeit until her death at the age of 92 in March 2002.
Tutu, a key figure in the South African fight against apartheid, today speaks around the world for peace and justice. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.
On Monday Tutu is due to join former South African president FW de Klerk in the German capital to take part in an art project for worldwide peace.
The two men are to witness the unveiling of a giant boulder of black granite from South Africa that is intended to symbolise world peace. — Sapa-dpa