- Robert Mugabe announced as winner of China’s Confucius Prize
- Mugabe beat off other prize candidates Bill Gates and Park Geun-Hye
- Past winners of the Confucius prize include Russian president Vladimir Putin and ex-Cuban dictator Fidel Castro
By Tom Wyke
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has been awarded the Confucius Prize and his leadership praised in ‘overcoming hardship.’
The 91-year-old picked up the prize after beating off competition from other candidates, including Microsoft founder and renowned philanthropist Bill Gates and South Korea’s president Park Geun-hye.
Mugabe has presided over the country for 35 years despite lengthy periods of economic and political turmoil. The Confucius prize latest winner follows in the footsteps of previous winners Vladimir Putin and Fidel Castro.
A statement from the prize committee declared that Mugabe had helped to improve the welfare of his people, despite the continual use of intimidation and detainment.
‘Ever since Robert Mugabe was sworn in as the president of Zimbabwe in the 1980s, he has worked hard to bring political and economic order to the country and to improve the welfare of the Zimbabwean people by overcoming hardship,’ the statement said.
Despite Mugabe’s reputation of brutality and economic mismanagement of Zimbabwe, Qiao Damo, the committee’s chairman supported the decision to award Mugabe with the prize.
‘Every country’s economy has its highs and lows. Though its economy is lagging behind, [Zimbabwe is] a very stable country [and] stability is precious in the African continent, he said.
Qiao Damo even suggested that Mugabe’s rule was crucial for preventing Zimbabwe from descending into chaos.
‘If Zimbabwe did not have Mugabe as its president, the country would be facing great difficulty – even public security might be in danger,’ he told The Guardian.
The Chinese prize was set up in reaction to the Nobel peace prize committee’s decision to award imprisoned dissident Liu Xiaobo in 2010. Daily Mail
