Johannesburg - Struggle veteran and anti-apartheid stalwart Lindiwe Sisulu will be honoured by the Russian equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize, the LN Tolstoy International Peace Prize, as a jurist.
In a letter by the LN Tolstoy International Peace Prize Foundation to the icon affectionately known as “Mama Sisulu” and former minister of tourism Sisulu as a jurist, it was informed: “Let me sincerely welcome you and inform you that on April 11, 2023, the Board of Trustees of the LN Tolstoy International Peace Prize Foundation decided to start accepting proposals for candidates for the prize from April 12 to June 12 this year.
“Materials on candidates received by the foundation after registration will be sent to the jury members for consideration. The date of the jury meeting is to be agreed additionally.
“We are sure that the high moral authority and rich experience of jury members, who contribute a lot to the development of international co-operation, will serve to select a worthy winner of the prize this year as well as to achieve our common goal of strengthening world peace, trust and mutual understanding among nations and peoples,” added the letter.
Sisulu will be flanked by heavyweights such as:
1. María Victoria Alcaraz, born in 1959, historian and specialist in cultural policies and management, director-general of international co-operation of the Ministry of Culture of the City of Buenos Aires, who for many years headed the famous Argentine opera house Teatro Colon (2015-22); Argentina.
2. Oleg Sergeevich Gaidukevich, born in 1977, is a political and public figure, deputy of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, and Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee on International Affairs in Belarus.
3. Pierre Louis Charles Francois De Gaulle, born in 1963, is a public figure and specialist in the field of banking and the grandson of the illustrious President of the French Republic, Charles de Gaulle. He contributes personally to the development of international co-operation.
4. Yukio Hatoyama, born in 1947, is a statesman, politician and public figure. He is the former prime minister of Japan and currently heads the East Asian Community Institute in Japan.
5. Emir Kusturica , born in 1954, is a director, actor and public figure from Serbia. He is the author of internationally acclaimed films and has been awarded prestigious international awards.
6. Wenfei Liu, born in 1959, writer, translator and public figure; doctor of philology; professor; deputy chairman of the Chinese Society for the Study of Russian Literature; member of a number of creative and scientific associations; The People’s Republic of China.
7. Achala Moulik, born in 1941, is a historian, novelist and biographer who held the posts of Secretary of Education, Government of India, Director-General of the Archaeological Service, and several others. She is known as one of the eminent representatives of the intellectual and literary elite of India.
8. Talgat Amangeldyuly Musabayev, born in 1951, pilot and cosmonaut, Hero of the Russian Federation (1994), National Hero of Kazakhstan (1994), Major-General of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant-General of Aviation of Kazakhstan, Doctor of Technical Sciences, headed the National Space Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2007-16),
Between 2017 and 2023, the Deputy of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan made a significant contribution to the development of aviation and cosmonautics and contributed to the deepening of constructive international co-operation.
9. Sergey Sergeevich Razov, 1953 r.p., Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Honoured Worker of the Diplomatic Service of the Russian Federation; Russia.
10. Sergei Vadimovich Stepashin, born in 1952, is a statesman, politician and public figure. He is the former chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation; he currently heads the Russian Book Union and is chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society.
The Star