Bob Graham
On January 26, Spanish Ambassador Javier Ruperez hosted a dinner in honor of Senator Graham at the award-winning new Spanish residence in Washington. In addition to members of the NED Board and other invited guests, Senate colleagues Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) were on hand to pay tribute to Graham.
While serving on NED’s Board, Graham played a role in overseeing the Latin America program, helping to set priorities for work in the region. And as a member of the U.S. Senate, Graham played a key role in explaining the Endowment’s work to his colleagues. In his tribute to Graham, NED President Carl Gershman thanked Graham for his tenacity in defending NED in the Senate, and commented that the senator “brought to the NED a passionate and life-long commitment to democracy, for which the NED will be forever grateful.”
In his acceptance remarks, Graham praised the endowment’s efforts and emphasized the importance of NED’s long-term approach to democracy promotion: “Democracy is not just about elections,” he said, “democracy requires work, effort and sacrifice to be achieved.”
Seymour Martin Lipset
December 6, 2004
On December 6, 2004, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the Canadian Embassy to the United States inaugurated an important new forum for discourse on democracy and its progress worldwide: the Seymour Martin Lipset Lecture on Democracy in the World.
The lecture is named for one of the great democratic scholars and public intellectuals of the twentieth century. Seymour Martin Lipset’s scholarship on such themes as the conditions for democracy, political parties, voting behavior, extremist movements, ideologies, and public opinion constitutes one of the most prolific, insightful, and widely read bodies of work on democracy ever produced by a single author.
Lipset has also been one of the most important comparative analysts of the two great democracies of North America, and a strong advocate for US-Canadian cooperation. The joint US-Canadian sponsorship of the Lipset Lecture will provide an opportunity for influential audiences in both countries to hear and discuss a major intellectual statement on democracy each year and will serve as a catalyst for further cooperation between Canada and the United States in the promotion of democracy and democratic ideas around the world. The lecture, which is also cosponsored with the Munk Centre for International Studies of the University of Toronto, will in future years be delivered in both the US and Canada and will be an intellectual platform for men and women who, like Lipset, have made important contributions to our thinking about key issues of democracy through their writings and other accomplishments. While future lecturers may be known primarily for their academic achievements, others, like President Cardoso, will have records of public service that equal their intellectual stature. The lecture will be published each year in NED’s Journal of Democracy.
Welcoming Remarks were provided by:
- Michael F. Kergin, Ambassador of Canada to the United States
- Lee Hamilton, Director, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
The Democracy Service Medal Tribute was delivered by:
- Carl Gershman, NED President
- Larry Diamond, Co-Director, International Forum for Democratic Studies
Contributors:
- National Endowment for Democracy
- University of Toronto, Munk Centre for International Studies at Trinity College
The NED would also like to thank the following donors:
- The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
- The Embassy of Canada
- The American Federation of Teachers
Additional Materials:
Scholarship and Statesmanship, Journal of Democracy, Volume 16, Number 2 April 2005
Matthew McHugh
On February 24, NED hosted a Capitol Hill reception to commemorate the achievements of former Congressman Matthew McHugh. During his nine years of service on the NED Board, McHugh served as the Board’s Secretary, oversaw the administrative and financial management of the NED, and worked with staff to review and report to the Board on multiregional projects.
The reception was attended by many current and former members of Congress and featured remarks by:
- Congressmen David Obey (D-WI) and Amo Houghton (R-NY)
- Homer E. Moyer, Jr., a founder of the Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative
- NED board member and former Representative, Ambassador Howard Wolpe (D-MI)
“It is not enough to say that Matt has been valued for his leadership, his wise judgment, and his dedication to the NED’s democratic mission,” Gershman remarked while presenting McHugh with the medal. “More than this, he has been respected by his Board colleagues and the NED staff for his character, an attribute so distinctive and exemplary that no one who knows Matt can fail to appreciate it.”
