OREANDA-NEWS. March 4, 2008. The Milton Friedman prize for advancing freedom and 500 000 dollars were awarded to a 23 year old Venezuela student Yon Goicoechea. As a result of Yon Goicoechea’s struggle Venezuela population refused to support the constitutional changes proposed by President Hugo Chavez, according to which the president’s authority would be broadened and restrictions for the presidential term (the two election terms) would be cancelled.

This decision was taken by the international committee composed of the following members: Kakha Bendukidze, Head of the Chancellery of the Government of Georgia; Edward H. Crane, President of the Cato Institute; Francisco Gil Dнaz, the former Minister of Finance of Mexico; Rose D. Friedman – Co-Founder, Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation for School Choice; Karen Horn – Director, Berlin Office, Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft (Germany); Charles G. Koch – Chairman and CEO, Koch Industries Inc; Andrew Mwenda – Research Fellow, Advocates Coalition for Development (Uganda); Mary Anastasia O’Grady – Member, Editorial Board, The Wall Street Journal; Fareed Zakaria – Editor, Newsweek International.

In former years members of the international jury were Margaret Thatcher, the Prime Minister of Great Britain; Vбclav Klaus, President of the Check Republic and Frederick W. Smith, Chairman and CEO, FedEx Corporation.

The Milton Friedman Prize for advancing Freedom and 500 000 USD, will be delivered to Yon Goicoechea in festive situation, on May 15, in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, in New York; Kakha Bendukidze will be participating in the ceremony.

This prize was established by the Nobel Prize Laureate Milton Friedman and his wife Rose Friedman; this award will be delivered every two years to a person, who made a special contribution to development of individual, political and economic freedoms. The Friedman Prize was awarded to British economist Peter Bauer (2002), the Peruvian economist Hernando De Soto (2004) and the former Minister of Estonia Mart Laar (2006).

According to member of the international committee Kakha Bendukidze, "Before now, the Milton Friedman Prize was delivered to those persons, who made a special contribution in promoting economic freedoms. The human rights and personal freedoms are not less interesting, yet true freedom can only be achieved in a democratic country. We selected Ion Goicoechea not only because of his fight against the authoritarian regime and against the abuse of human rights (because other candidates were the same way brave in combating for human rights) but also for the results that he managed to achieve. In effect of his fight Chavez proved unable to strengthen his dictatorship."