Fernando Henrique Cardoso Accepts Kluge Prize in Washington DC

Last Friday, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington awarded the 2012 John W. Kluge prize for lifetime achievement in the study of humanity to Fernando Henrique Cardoso, a leading scholar and practitioner of political economy for many years, and who also served two terms as the president of Brazil (1995–2003) and is a member of the editorial board of Americas Quarterly.

In his acceptance speech at a ceremony in the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building, Cardoso said he felt “honored and humbled” and even “a bit nervous” to receive the award. He called it “a true privilege” to be the first Brazilian—and first Latin American—to receive the award, which is administered by the Kluge Center in the Library of Congress to recognize and celebrate lifetime achievement in areas of study that advance understanding of the human experience.

Cardoso is the first prize recipient whose work spans the fields of sociology, political science and economics.