CCD Honors Sándor Demján For Supporting Democracy
February 2nd, 2012

On February 2, former United States Ambassador to Hungary Mark Palmer and the Council for a Community of Democracies hosted a luncheon at the Metropolitan Club of Washington, DC to honor Hungarian philanthropist Sándor Demján for his contributions to supporting democracy. Mr. Demján is the Chairman of the Hungarian-based TriGránit Development Corporation and also serves on the CCD’s Board of Directors as a Senior Advisor.

Most notably, Mr. Demján’s support has allowed for the creation of The Mark Palmer Prize, which recognizes diplomats that have contributed to advancing democracy around the world. The Prize was first awarded at the Sixth Ministerial of the Community of Democracies in Vilnius, Lithuania on July 1, 2011.

Ambassador Palmer and Mr. Demján were joined by the Hungarian Ambassador to the United States György Szapáry, former United States Ambassador to Hungary April Foley, former Governor of New York George Pataki, President of the Hungarian American Coalition Maximilian Teleki, Ferenc Bartha and Tamás Lovassy of the TriGránit Development Corporation, Executive Director of the Charles and Lisa Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences Susan Hutchison, CCD President Robert LaGamma and CCD Board Member Daniel Puls.

Mr. Demján has won numerous professional awards and accolades from the Hungarian government for his work in the development field and for his entrepreneurship. Mr. Demján’s awards include The State of Hungary Award (1980), Man of the Year in Hungary (1986), The Most Influential Businessman of the Decade (2000), Entrepreneur of The Year (2005) from Ernst and Young, and the Order of Saint Duke Alexander Nevsky (2008).

Sándor Demján (center) was presented with a plaque for his contributions to supporting democracy.
The Metropolitan Club of Washington, DC
February 2, 2012

To return to The Mark Palmer Prize main page, please click here.