The adherence of 106 democratic countries to the Warsaw Declaration created a new standard for diplomacy. The Palmer Prize seeks to honor those diplomats who are actively engaged in the realization of those standards. The award is intended for diplomats who display valor under difficult circumstances and take risks or are especially inventive in their sustained efforts to assist civil society to advance democracy in their countries of assignment. Our models for the award are drawn from the experiences highlighted in A Diplomat’s Handbook for Democracy Development Support, a work inspired by Ambassador Mark Palmer and by his exceptional service to the cause of democracy as United States Ambassador to Hungary during that country’s transition to democracy.

The Mark Palmer Prize was made possible by support from Hungarian philanthropist Sándor Demján, who was honored by CCD on February 2, 2012 in Washington, DC.

To learn about the criteria for the Palmer Prize, please click here.

To read about the creation of the Palmer Prize lithograph and artwork, please click here.

2013 Palmer Prize Recipients:

Christopher Stevens, posthumously (United States)

Suren Badral (Mongolia)

Stefan Eriksson (Sweden)

To read the press release about the 2013 Palmer Prize recipients, please click here.

2011 Palmer Prize Recipients:

Mariusz Handzlik, posthumously (Poland)

James D. McGee (United States)

Jaroslav Olša, Jr. (Czech Republic)

Žygimantas Pavilionis (Lithuania)

Ernesto Pinto-Bazurco Rittler (Peru)

Ben Rowswell (Canada)

Caecilia Wijgers (The Netherlands)

2011 Palmer Prize Recipients at the Sixth Ministerial of the Community of Democracies
Vilnius, Lithuania
July 1, 2011

Pictured (Clockwise from top left): Jaroslav Olša, Jr., James D. McGee, Ernesto Pinto-Bazurco Rittler, Caecilia Wijgers, CCD President Robert LaGamma, and Ben Rowswell

Click here to read about the inaugural 2011 Palmer Prize recipients.

To see photographs from the 2011 Palmer Prize Ceremony, please click here.