On July 5, the Italian government decorated Ivan Vejvoda, executive director of the Balkan Trust for Democracy, with the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity, second rank (Comendatore) at the Italian Embassy in Belgrade. Vejvoda was recognized for enhancing Italian-Serbian bilateral relations, his contribution to the democratization and Euroatlantic integration processes in Serbia and the Balkans, and for his role as foreign policy adviser to former Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic and as executive director of the Balkan Trust for Democracy.
The honor was awarded by a decree of Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, upon recommendation of the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Massimo d’Alema.
The Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity was instituted in 1947 to recognize the achievements of those Italians and foreigners who had played a distinguished role in the reconstruction of Italy after World War II. It is now bestowed upon Italians and foreign nationals who have given a meaningful contribution to the cultural prestige of Italy.
Ivan Vejvoda is executive director of the Balkan Trust for Democracy, a project of the German Marshall Fund dedicated to strengthening democratic institutions in Southeastern Europe. Mr. Vejvoda came to GMF in 2003 following his distinguished service in the Serbian government as senior advisor on foreign policy and European integration to prime ministers Zoran Djindjic and Zoran Zivkovic. Prior to that, he served as executive director of the Belgrade-based Fund for an Open Society from 1998 to 2002. Mr. Vejvoda was a key figure in the democratic opposition movement in Yugoslavia through the 1990s, and is widely published on the subjects of democratic transition, totalitarianism, and post-war reconstruction in the Balkans.
The German Marshall Fund of the United States is a nonpartisan American public policy and grant-making institution dedicated to promoting greater cooperation and understanding between the United States and Europe. GMF does this by supporting individuals and institutions working on transatlantic issues, by convening leaders to discuss the most pressing transatlantic themes, and by examining ways in which transatlantic cooperation can address a variety of global policy challenges. In addition, GMF supports a number of initiatives to strengthen democracies. Founded in 1972 through a gift from Germany as a permanent memorial to Marshall Plan assistance, GMF maintains a strong presence on both sides of the Atlantic. In addition to its headquarters in Washington DC, GMF has seven offices in Europe: Berlin, Bratislava, Paris, Brussels, Belgrade, Ankara, and Bucharest.
