* Leading global think tank will honor Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Christopher G. Cavoli, and Academy Award-winning actress and producer Michelle Yeoh The Atlantic Council announced today the recipients of the 2024 Atlantic Council Distinguished Leadership Awards, referred to by media as “the Washington Oscars.” Among the honorees are a European head of state, a US cabinet official, NATO’s supreme allied commander Europe, and an Academy Award-winning actress. They will be recognized at a star-studded dinner at the Waldorf Astoria on May 8 in Washington, DC. Each year, the Distinguished Leadership Awards convenes a high-level international audience of more than six hundred policy, business, military, artistic, and civil-society leaders to celebrate individuals—including policy leaders, business executives, military brass, and artistic and humanitarian champions—who best represent the pillars of the global relationship. This year the Atlantic Council will honor Romanian President Klaus Werner Iohannis with the Distinguished International Leadership Award for his remarkable career, exemplary leadership of Romania, and his transatlantic and European leadership role. Stephen J. Hadley, chairman of the Atlantic Council’s International Advisory Board and former US national security advisor, will introduce President Iohannis and present the award. The Atlantic Council will also salute U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo with the Distinguished International Leadership Award. She will be recognized for her remarkable public service as the fortieth U.S. Secretary of Commerce and the seventy-fifth, and first female, governor of Rhode Island, as well as for her private sector accomplishments. The award will be presented by John F.W. Rogers, chairman of the Atlantic Council. General Christopher G. Cavoli, supreme allied commander Europe (SACEUR) and commander of US European Command, will receive the Distinguished Military Leadership Award in recognition of his more than thirty-five-year career in the US Army, serving in a wide variety of positions in the United States, Europe, and Asia. General Cavoli’s award will be presented by General (US Army, Ret.) John P. Abizaid, former commander of United States Central Command, also marking NATO’s seventy-fifth anniversary. Michelle Yeoh, Academy Award-winning actress and producer, will be honored with the Distinguished Artistic Leadership Award. The Atlantic Council will celebrate Yeoh’s award-winning talent and historic accomplishment as the first Asian person to win the award for Best Actress at the Academy Awards. The Distinguished Artistic Leadership Award will recognize her artistic accomplishments and her commitment to advocacy as a United Nations Development Programme goodwill ambassador and as a member of the International Olympic Committee. Cynthia Erivo—Grammy, Emmy, Tony-winning and Oscar-nominated actress, singer, songwriter, and producer—will present the award to Yeoh. “The recipients of the 2024 Distinguished Leadership Awards are remarkable and remarkably diverse representatives of global leaders who, through their lifetime of commitment and contributions, have contributed to a better world,” said Frederick Kempe, president and CEO of the Atlantic Council. “By honoring them, we hope to inspire others to step up at a moment when the world so urgently needs distinguished leaders.” The Distinguished Leadership Awards is among the most important gatherings of international decision makers in Washington each year, recognized for its style, substance, prominent international guest list, and recognition of some of the world’s most influential changemakers. Past recipients include US presidents George W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and then-Vice President Joe Biden; European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen; current and former International Monetary Fund managing directors Kristalina Georgieva and Christine Lagarde; World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg; and illustrious artists including Dua Lipa, Lionel Richie, Bono, Gloria Estefan, and Renée Fleming.
Representatives of the ruling Social Democratic Party, PSD, gathered for a congress in Bucharest on Friday, November 7, to elect new leadership and to amend the party’s Statute. The only candidate for party leader is Sorin Grindeanu, who held the interim position after Marcel Ciolacu's resignation in May. In his speech at the congress, Sorin […]
The e-commerce sector recorded strong early results on Black Friday 2025, according to real-time data released on Friday, November 7, by PayU GPO Romania from its dedicated Media Center. By 14:10, the payment processor reported successful transactions totaling RON 514 million (roughly EUR 101 million). PayU said shoppers had made roughly 889,000 purchases, with around […]
Contakt Express Logistik, one of Romania’s leading retailers of mobile phone and tablet accessories, with a network of over 235 stores, is set to launch the initial public offering (IPO) between November 12 and December 3, 2025. The company offers a wide range of products, including cases, screen protectors, chargers, and gadgets, both in physical […]
Romania attracts fewer international tourists today than it did during the communist era, making it the only country in Europe in this situation, the National Association of Travel Agencies (ANAT) warned, as reported by news agency Agerpres. According to the organization, Romania received more than 3.4...
InterCapital ETF, the first international ETF provider in Romania, will launch two new exchange-traded funds on the Bucharest Stock Exchange starting November 11, 2025. The new instruments are the InterCapital CROBEX10 TR UCITS ETF, which offers exposure to the Croatian blue-chip equity market by tracking the performance of the CROBEX10tr index, and the InterCapital EUR […]
The Competition Councils of Romania, Bulgaria, and the Republic of Moldova have granted the necessary authorizations and approvals for the completion of the transaction through which Maspex Romania takes over the majority shareholding of Purcari Wineries. The Maspex Group, which has been present in Romania for nearly 30 years, became the majority shareholder of one […]
