Washington, DC – Lorne W. Craner, President of IRI, was presented with the Lithuanian Millennium Star medal in recognition of his efforts in promoting the values of democracy worldwide. Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas, himself a participant in IRI programming in the 1990s, presented the award to Craner and four others at a ceremony in Washington, DC.
The ceremony was attended by Lithuanian’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Petras Vaitiekunas and Ambassador to the United States and Mexico Audrius Bruzga.
Other awardees included Kenneth Wollack, President of IRI’s sister organization, the National Democratic Institute; Lee Edwards, a fellow at The Heritage Foundation; Zeyno Baran, Director of Eurasian Policy at the Hudson Institute; and Karl Altau, Managing Director at the Joint Baltic American National Committee, Inc.
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