Budapest, 17 July 2014
Your Royal Highness, Dear Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The relationship between His Royal Highness and myself makes it possible for me to convey my personal greetings on the occasion of his receiving this award. The life of His Royal Highness is extremely remarkable and is acknowledged everywhere. A businessman primarily gauges success according to his business achievements, but Hungary has not awarded him this accolade because of his business success. This is not a business award. This is an award which we present to people whom we look up to, and not because they have a lot of money, but because their actions have earned our appreciation. We respect those people who are capable of looking beyond the borders of their own business and beyond their own business profits. We respect those business people who apply their wealth and talent for the good of their fellow human beings, who apply their wealth to help the poor, who do business while caring about the future, and who do not forget about those who live around them.
Your Royal Highness,
The State of Hungary is presenting you with this award in acknowledgement of the activities with which you transcend the boundaries of traditional business. This is what Western European culture calls social responsibility. Before we became a part of this Western European culture, we simply said that we bestow this award on good people. Although an award is naturally important to the individual who receives it, we rarely speak about the fact that it is also important to the party that awards it. I would like to assure you of the fact that Hungary is proud to have the opportunity to present you with this award.
We wish you much strength, good health and God’s blessing for your future life and continued work.