- L ... it does indeed! But Harper is now second only to Agenla Merkel of Germany as the longest serving leader in the G7 and is exceptionally well respected by the other G7 leaders, even BO, for his steady, focused and successful economic, fiscal and diplomatic leadership.
- And not only by his G7 colleagues. Here is a related announcement that you naturally won't have read here among all the posts from the rabid lefties with too much anti-Harper bile and idle time on their hands:
Stephen Harper wins ‘world statesman’ award for being a champion of democracy, freedom and human rights
Mark Kennedy, Postmedia News | Sep 11, 2012 12:06 PM ET | Last Updated: Sep 11, 2012 2:39 PM ET
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper is being hailed as “World Statesman of the Year” by an American organization that previously feted Jean Chretie, British prime minister Gordon Brown and and Korean president Lee Myung-bak.
The award, for his work as “a champion of democracy, freedom and human rights”, comes from an organization called the Appeal of Conscience Foundation,
The organization paying tribute to Harper was founded in 1965 by Rabbi Arthur Schneier. Its website says the Foundation has worked on behalf of religious freedom and human rights throughout the world.
Its board includes former U.S. president Bill Clinton and former U.S. secretaries of state Madeleine Albright, James Baker, retired general Colin Powell and George Schultz.
“This interfaith coalition of business and religious leaders promotes peace, tolerance and ethnic conflict resolution,” says the website. “The Foundation believes that freedom, democracy and human rights are the fundamental values that give nations of the world their best hope for peace, security and shared prosperity.”
The event at New York’s famous Waldorf Astoria hotel takes place the same week that the United Nations’ 67th general assembly convenes for high-level debate, but Harper will not be making a speech at the world body.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird will instead represent Canada at the UN general assembly.
Among the foundation’s previous “world statesman of the year” recipients were Chretien in 2002, Australian prime minister John Howard in 2005, France’s Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008 and Lee Myung-bak in 2011.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Czech Vaclav Havel, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher have also been recognized over the years by the foundation — although not all have showed up in New York to receive their awards.
