The Charlemagne Prize Society is opening a new chapter in its history: After more than three decades as a formative personality of the Charlemagne Prize, Dr. Jürgen Linden hands over the chairmanship of the board of directors to Armin Laschet, Member of the German Bundestag and former Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia. Together with the Deputy Chairmen Dr. Angela Maas and Christoph Schmallenbach, Laschet will continue to strengthen the European idea in the spirit of the Charlemagne Prize Society.

Handover of baton in the Charlemagne Prize Board of Directors

The Society for the Conferring of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen is facing a significant change at the top of its Board of Directors. Dr. Jürgen Linden, who has chaired the Board of Directors since 2010 and has been a member since 1989, is stepping down at his own request. He will be succeeded by Armin Laschet, Member of the German Bundestag and former Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia, who was a member of the Board of Directors from 1999 to 2020 and has been a member again since 2022. The election took place on the afternoon of December 5 at the Board of Directors meeting in Aachen.

Dr. Jürgen Linden bids farewell after decades of commitment

Dr. Jürgen Linden has played a key role in shaping the International Charlemagne Prize and has worked tirelessly to promote European values and international understanding. As Lord Mayor of the City of Aachen (1989 to 2009) and since 2010 as Chairman of the Board of Directors, he has decisively advanced the work of the Charlemagne Prize Society and made the prize even more visible internationally with major awards to Václav Havel (1991), Bill Clinton (2000), Pope John Paul II (2004) and Volodymyr Selenskyj (2023) as well as the great 75th anniversary in 2025 with the award to Ursula von der Leyen. After more than three decades of commitment to the European idea, Dr. Linden is now retiring from active chairmanship. However, he will remain associated with the Charlemagne Prize Society in an advisory capacity.

New management team emphasizes continuity and innovation

With the election of Armin Laschet, a prominent personality and a committed European will take over the chairmanship. Laschet, who as former Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia and currently as Chairman of the Bundestag's Foreign Affairs Committee has always stood up for European unity and cooperation, will continue the work of the Charlemagne Prize Society in the spirit of the previous tradition. He was a member of the Board of Directors from 2000 to 2020 and since 2022.

The deputy chairmen support Laschet in his new role:

• Dr. Angela Maas, journalist and moderator, who has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2021 and is distinguished by her expertise in European reporting.
• Christoph Schmallenbach, former CEO of Generali Switzerland and member of the Board of Directors since 2015, brings business expertise and many years of experience in strategic management. 

About the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen

The International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen, which was awarded for the first time in 1950, is the oldest and best-known prize awarded to personalities or institutions that have rendered outstanding services to Europe and European unification. For more than 75 years, the prize and its laureates - from the founding fathers of Europe to the hopeful visionaries and key figures of integration to those who played a key role in East-West rapprochement, the builders of democratic institutions and the crisis managers of our time - have reflected the history and integration of post-war Europe. Previous winners include personalities such as Robert Schuman, Jean Monnet, Jacques Delors, Simone Veil, Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron, António Guterres, Volodymyr Selenskyj and, in 2025, Ursula von der Leyen. The award ceremony takes place every year on Ascension Day in Aachen's Coronation Hall. Benefiting from a generous donation from the private DSA-Schäfer-Schulz Foundation, the Charlemagne Prize has been awarding annual project prize money of one million euros for charitable and pro-European projects in consultation with the prize winner since 2025.