MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazilian president awarded Prince of Asturias prize

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was named Wednesday as this year's winner of the Prince of Asturias Prize for International Cooperation, the latest individual to be honored by the Hispanic world's equivalent of the Nobels.

The Prince of Asturias awards are named for Spanish Crown Prince Felipe de Borbon and given in recognition of a lifetime of excellence in literature, the social sciences, scientific research, the arts, sports and three other disciplines.

Last year the international cooperation award went to the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research.

Previous winners include the International Space Station and politicians such as Helmut Kohl, Mario Soares, Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat.

Another Brazilian president, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, is a previous winner.

The prizes each carry a cash grant of $47,000 and are handed out in October by the prince at a ceremony in the northern Spanish city of Oviedo, capital of the principality of Asturias.

Source EFE