The Fulbright Alum of the Year Award in Sweden for 2022 goes to Andreas Hatzigeorgiou, who received his Master's of Public Policy in 2008 from the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy.
Hatzigeorgiou is currently the CEO of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. Throughout his career, he has worked to create opportunities linking academia, politics, culture, and the business world.
"I am humbled and honored to receive this award," said Hatzigeorgiou. "Today, it is more important than ever that we show leadership and work in partnership to address society’s greatest challenges, whether it be related to climate change or global insecurity. We must face these obstacles head-on in the coming decades, and programs like Fulbright become increasingly important as a catalyst for learning and collaboration."
The selection committee wrote: "His well-recognized work at the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce reaches far beyond the Stockholm region and seeks to bring the world to Sweden, and Sweden to the world. He brings a holistic approach to the exchange of ideas and best practices within areas that might appear separate but are truly connected."
The Fulbright scholarship is the world's most prestigious international program for international academic exchange. The Fulbright Program was founded in 1946 on the initiative of Senator J. William Fulbright, with the clear mission to “to bring a little more knowledge, a little more reason, and a little more compassion into world affairs and thereby increase the chance that nations will learn at last to live in peace and friendship” (Senator J. William Fulbright).
The Swedish Fulbright Alumni Association awards bi-annually the Fulbright Alum of the Year Award to a Fulbright alumnus/a who over the years has increased mutual understanding between peoples, or contributed to the exchange of ideas, creating solutions to shared international challenges. Previous award recipients include Nobel laureate Dr. Bengt Samuelson, statesman Dr. Hans Blix, and former prime minister Ingvar Carlsson.