The Atatürk International Peace Prize () is an award delivered since 1986 to award people and organizations who have made memorable contributions to world peace in accordance with Kemal Atatürk's quotation, "Peace at Home, Peace in the World". It was created during the presidency of coup leader Kenan Evren, by the Atatürk Association for Culture, Language and History. The award is given to candidates nominated by members of non-governmental organizations, the Senate of Turkish universities and also the secretaries general of the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The president of Turkey as well as the speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey can also present candidates. After the prize was not awarded for 13 years after 2000, in 2013 it was decided to award it only every five years. An award was to be given in 2015, but was no ceremony is documented. The next award was planned to be given in 2020, but again was not awarded after all. In 2025, Atatürk Association for Culture, Language and History declared the resumption of the award.
Laureates +Laureates of the Atatürk International Peace PrizeYearLaureatePositionComments 1986Joseph LunsSecretary General of NATO1987Richard von WeizsäckerPresident of Germany1989Takahito MikasaJapanese prince and academicAt the award ceremony, he stated that world peace can only be achieved after poverty is eliminated.1990Kenan EvrenPresident of TurkeyThe fact that Kenan Evren was awarded with the prize is seen by some as the reason for why Nelson Mandela has not accepted the prize.1992Nelson MandelaPresident of South AfricaNelson Mandela created an uproar in Turkish society when he did not accept the prize. Following this decision, the newspaper Hürriyet published an issue with the headline "Ugly African" (). Mandela changed his mind and accepted the award in 1999.Turkish newspapers criticise of ANC leader Nelson Mandela for refusing to accept Turkey's peace award1995Turkish Red CrescentTurkish NGO1996UNICEFChildren emergency fund of the United Nations1997Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovinapeacekeeping force of NATOFor their achievements in maintaining peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina.1999Heydar AliyevPresident of AzerbaijanSeveral of his policies were inspired by Atatürk. 2000Rauf DenktaşPresident of the Turkish Republic of Cyprus2025António GuterresSecretary-General of the United Nations
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