President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic received the Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Award at a ceremony in Washington on Saturday and on that occasion she said she was honoured by this award which she dedicated to her family and her country.

In late August, the Fulbright non-profit association stated that it would award the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award to the Croatian president for her global contributions as a leader, diplomat and public servant.

“With this award, the Fulbright Association honours President Grabar-Kitarovic for her remarkable contributions as a leader, diplomat and public servant,” Fulbright said in a press release then.

I can’t say you how much this award means to me, the Croatian head of state said at the ceremony in Washington.

In her speech, Grabar-Kitarovic said that she had been a girl born on “the wrong side of the Iron Curtain” who used to dream about other places in which people enjoyed the freedom of choice and could freely express their opinion.

She said that she was proud of having been a Fulbright scholarship recipient. From 2002 to 2003, she was a Fulbright scholar on pre-doctoral research in international relations and security policy at the George Washington University.

She said that during her education in Washington she had also learnt not to be prejudiced and to be open to new ideas.

This award inspires me to build a future-looking approach, she added.

“What we need now more than ever is the true leadership and vision,” said Grabar-Kitarovic.

She also informed participants in the ceremony about the Three Seas Initiative and underscored the importance of the empowerment of women.

“Don’t look at women only as victims… they are a source of strength and change,” said Grabar-Kitarovic who this year became the Chair of the Council of Women World Leaders, a network of 75 current and former Presidents and Prime Ministers.

Apart from the Croatian president, the other two 2019 Lifetime Achievement awardees were Melissa Block, an American radio host and journalist, and James S. Polshek, an American architect.

The Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Award honours Fulbright alumni whose distinguished careers and civic and cultural contributions have sought to expand the boundaries of human wisdom, empathy, and perception. Recipients of the Award show exemplary commitments to creative leadership and liberal education. The Achievement Award was first presented in 2000, the association says on its website.