# Flame of Peace

The Flame of Peace (Flamme des Friedens) (not be confused with the 2nd European Games torch relay "Flame of Peace") is an award granted by the Austrian non-profit organization Vereins zur Förderung des Friedens (Association for the Promotion of Peace), which promotes world peace. Its symbol is a flame carving in wood and mounted on a stone base. The organization presents awards to prominent people, peace activists, and organizations in recognition of their activity in promoting peace.

## Organization and leadership

Archduchess Herta Margarete, then known as Herta Margaret Öfferl, and her deputy Archduke Sandor of Austria, now her husband, founded the organization in January 2007. She had already been working for several years on the promotion of peace initiatives. She serves as its president.
The organization is non-profit, non-partisan and religiously unaligned. It is dedicated to promoting and rewarding endeavors to promote peace. It has given awards to individuals and organizations since 2008. Recipients have included politicians, diplomats, media representatives and peace activists.
The board of the Association consists the Habsburg-Lothringens and her children. The Habsburg-Lothringens use the titles of Archdukes of Austria and Prince of Tuscany, styled as Imperial Highness. though Sandor Habsburg, son of Dominic von Habsburg, is only listed as Count of Habsburg in the Almanach de Gotha Edition of 2000.
The symbol of the prize is a wood carving of a flame mounted on a stone base.

### Criticism

In 2009 the award was given to Ali Abdullah Saleh during his attack against Houthi rebels and in 2016 to Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, prime minister of Bahrain. The British journalist Brian Whitaker calling the organisation's award a "dodgy peace prize".

## Sample monuments

| Year | Location | Description |
| 2009 | Vienna, Austria | In March 2009 Flamme des Friedens president Herta Margaret Öfferl unveiled a monument of the Flame of Peace in the foyer of the Schloss Wilhelminenberg in Vienna. The event was attended by Christian Berlakovits (Austrian Ambassador to Italy), Vesna Borozan (Ambassador of the Republic of Macedonia), Prince Bernard (Consulate of Cameroon), Silvia Davidoiu (Ambassador of Romania), Ahmed Alwan al-Alwani Mulhi (Ambassador of Yemen) and Ashot Hovakimian (Ambassador of Armenia). |
| 2009 | Sana'a, Yemen | In September 2009 Herta Margaret Öfferl presented the award to Marshal Ali Abdullah Saleh, President of the Republic of Yemen, and unveiled a peace memorial in Yemen. |
| 2012 | Mitterdorf, Austria | On 14 March 2012 Oleksandr Ledyda, governor of Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast, visited Mitterdorf in Styria, where a Flame of Peace monument was unveiled. The Ukrainian ambassador Bereznyi Andryi and commercial attaché Gennadyi Boldyr also attended the ceremony. |
| 2012 | Ernstbrunn, Austria | On 26 May 2012 the association unveiled a peace monument in front of the Thomasl volunteer fire station in Ernstbrunn, Lower Austria. |
| 2018 | Gera, Germany | 2018 Herta and Sandor Habsburg unveiled a peace monument in Gera in the presence of Heinrich Reuss, later arrested on charges of plotting a far-right coup d'état against the German government with a “terrorist organization” by violence and military means. |

## Sample awards

| Year | Location | Recipient | Description |
| 2008 | Rome, Italy | Christian B.M. Berlakovits | In October 2008 Herta Öfferl, President of Flamme des Friedens, presented the Flame of Peace to Dr. Christian B.M. Berlakovits, the Austrian Ambassador in Rome. |
| 2009 | Vienna, Austria | Goldenes Kreuz hospital | In November 2009 Herta Margret Öfferl presented the Flame of Freedom award to the Goldenes Kreuz private hospital in Vienna on its 90th anniversary, in recognition of its humanitarian efforts. |
| 2010 | Mistelbach, Austria | Christian Werner | Military Bishop Christian Werner and a soldier at the Bolfras Barracks in Mistelbach were recipients. |
| 2013 | Monaco | International School | In 2013 Herta Margarete Habsburg Lothringen awarded the Young Flame of Peace Award to the International School of Monaco for their participation in the United Nations Art for Peace 2012 project. |
| 2013 | Bergdietikon, Austria | Jaroslaw Starzyk | According to the Polish Embassy in Bern, Switzerland, Archduchess Margarete Herta Habsburg-Lothringen gave the "Flame of Peace" award to Ambassador Jaroslaw Starzyk on 31 August 2013 at the Bachlechner Art Gallery in Bergdietikon. The gallery published photographs of the event. |
| 2014 | Frauensee, Austria | Wolfgang Laubinger | Wolfgang Laubinger, the founder and director of camps of the Evangelical Church of Gütersloh was one of the recipients of the Bronze Medal of Merit from the organization. |
| 2015 | Venice, Italy | Regional Council of Veneto | On 24 March 2015 the Flame of Peace Award was given to the Regional Council of Veneto at a concert held in memory of World War I attended by over 1,000 people. Attendees included Italian Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti, the vice president of the Veneto Region, Marino Zorzi and the President of the Regional Council of Veneto, Clodovaldo Ruffato, who accepted the award. |