October 5, 2009

Charles Gati of SAIS receives high Hungarian state decoration

On Sept. 21, Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai presented Charles Gati, senior adjunct professor of Russian and Eurasian studies at SAIS, with one of the highest state decorations of the Republic of Hungary. The surprise ceremony took place in New York after Bajnai lectured on Hungarian economic and political developments.

The award, given on the occasion of Gati’s 75th birthday, is the Commander’s Cross with the Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary. Five years earlier, Gati received the award without the star.

In his presentation, the prime minister cited Gati’s “objective and subtle” scholarly work on the politics of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe as well as the former Soviet Union.

Gati came to the United States from his native Hungary when he was 22. Since the fall of communism in that country in 1989, three of his books and many of his articles have been published in Hungarian.