November 22, 2005
The outgoing German Interior minister Otto Schily has received the Leo Baeck Medal in recognition of his efforts to counter rising anti-Semitism in Europe. The prize was presented by former US secretary of State Henry Kissinger at a ceremony on Monday night, Schily's last day in office. "I am very delighted to receive this award," Schily told the news agency AP, adding: "It is a great honor and a wonderful completion of my term in office." During his seven years as interior minister, Schily has repeatedly spoken out against anti-Semitism and endorsed initiatives supporting the re-emergence of Jewish life in Germany, sixty years after the Holocaust.
The Leo Baeck Institute for the study of German Jewry gives the medal to personalities who have contributed to the reconciliation of Germans and Jews. Architect Daniel Libeskind, former German President Johannes Rau and American historian Fritz Stern are among the previous recipients. Schily, 73, has served as Interior minister under chancellor Gerhard Schröder since 1998. On Tuesday, lawmakers will meet in Berlin to elect Angela Merkel, 51, as the new Chancellor. She will be Germany's first female leader and head a "grand coalition" government of the two major political forces in the country.
