(AP) —German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been named as this year’s recipient of a prestigious international award, with organizers lauding her “great moral leadership” in Germany and pivotal role in tackling the crises buffeting Europe.
The Dutch-based Roosevelt Foundation says Merkel will receive the International Four Freedoms Medal at a ceremony in April.
In a statement announcing the award Wednesday, the foundation praised Merkel for her role in the European financial and migrant crises, for leading efforts to bring peace to conflict-torn Ukraine and for showing “great moral leadership as chancellor of all Germans regardless of faith and ethnicity.”
Previous winners of the award include U.S. Presidents Harry S. Truman and John F. Kennedy, South African leader Nelson Mandela and former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
On the other hand, Reuters reported that the offices of German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the German Federal Chancellery in downtown Berlin were sealed off Wednesday after a suspicious package was found there. The building and the area were cordoned off.
Thorsten Peters, a spokesman for federal police confirmed, according to the Daily Mail, that the officials were “investigating a suspicious package” that was found during a routine security check.
The building, which houses Merkel’s office, is one of the largest government headquarters in the world. The chancellor reportedly lives in a private apartment in another location.
The Reuters report added that ministers at the building resumed their work as usual after the area was cordoned off while waiting for specialists to inspect the package.
“The experts found nothing suspicious,” a spokesman for Germany’s Federal Police said.