events

November 9, 2009, Washington DC

The NADAV Foundation selected Ambassador Eizenstat as the first recipient of its annual Peoplehood Award in recognition of his exceptional service and ongoing commitment to the Jewish People.

Ambassador Eizenstat played a pivotal role in securing belated justice for victims of the Holocaust and other victims of Nazi tyranny. As Special Representative of the President and Secretary of State on Holocaust-Era Issues during the Clinton administration, Eizenstat negotiated major agreements with the Swiss, Germans, and Austrians regarding restitution of property, payment of slave and forced laborers, recovery of looted art and bank accounts, and payment of insurance policies.

Ambassador Eizenstat has served in three US administrations, holding key senior positions including: chief White House domestic policy adviser to President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981); U.S. Ambassador to the European Union; Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade; Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs; and Deputy Secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton Administration (1993-2001).

Eizenstat has been awarded several honorary doctorates. He has received high civilian honors from the governments of Israel (Courage and Conscience Award), France (Legion of Honor), Germany, Austria, and Belgium, as well as from Secretary of State Warren Christopher, Secretary of State Madeline Albright, and Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence Summers.

Ambassador Eizenstat is a partner in the law firm Covington & Burling LLP, where he heads the firm’s international practice. Among his many voluntary positions, Eizenstat was recently appointed Chairman of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute’s Board of Directors and Professional Guiding Council and served as Chairman of the International Board of Governors of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.