The President of the Ramón Rubial Foundation, Lentxu Rubial, explained the choice of Nelson Mandela as winner of the 2009 Ramón Rubial Award in the category “Defense of Democratic Values”, “for his tireless, lifelong struggle against inequality in his country and for becoming a worldwide symbol of the struggle for freedom and democracy”.

Because of his age, Mr. Mandela, Nobel Peace Prize winner, could not attend the ceremony which took place in the Campos Elíseos Theatre in Bilbao and was presided by the Lehendakari Patxi López.

 

This was the fourth Ramón Rubial Prize awarded by the Foundation, which distinguishes those who have made exceptional contributions for the advancement of freedom, democracy, solidarity and tolerance. These values were upheld by the man who gave his name to the Foundation, and also follow the spirit of the first International Nelson Mandela Day.

 

Along with the award to South Africa´s ex-president, the “Solidarity and Cooperation” award was given to Mundukide Fundazioa, for his work to promote work solidarity with poor nations. The “Innovation” award was shared by Repsol YPF and Mercedes-Benz for their participation in the investigation of sustainable fuels and the production of electric vehicles respectively. The Remo Kaiku Sports Company was awarded the prize for being the Basque Sports organization that received the most merits. Ernesto Santolaya was acknowledged for his lifetime career in support of literary enterprise, and Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba was the winner of the category “Defense of Socialist Values”.