Čaputová has been named the European Personality of the Year

The European Leadership Awards recognise leaders who contribute to shaping Europe.

Zuzana Čaputová became the fifth Slovak president. (Source: Michal Svítok, TASR)

Slovak President-elect Zuzana Čaputová has been named the European Personality of the Year.

The European Leadership Awards, granted on May 6, 2019 in Brussels, honour leaders across Europe for their exceptional achievements in politics, business, and innovation, the Euronews website reported.

The ceremony is organised jointly by the Euronews website and the European Business Summit (EBS).

“I am humbled and honoured by this award,” wrote Čaputová on Twitter.

This award will serve as encouragement for her work as the Slovak president, after she takes the oath in mid-June, she added.

Who else was awarded?

Apart from Čaputová, Swedish political activist Greta Thunberg and UNICEF ambassador Lilian Thuram from France were nominated for their achievements in the European Personality category.

The ceremony took place for the second time, awarding winners in five categories, including the European leader, European entrepreneur, European innovator, and European corporate social initiative.

The 2019 European Leadership Awards winners and nominees: EUROPEAN PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR Zuzana Čaputová, lawyer, activist and president-elect of Slovakia (WINNER) Greta Thunberg, Swedish activist fighting global warming and climate change Lilian Thuram, French UNICEF fighting racism EUROPEAN LEADER OF THE YEAR Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission (WINNER) Michel Barnier, French politician and the chief negotiator for the European Union Cecilia Malmström, Swedish politician serving as European Commissioner for Trade from 2014 EUROPEAN ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR Vincent Zimmer and Markus Kressler, who came up with the idea for Kiron, enabling access to higher education for refugees (WINNER) Fredrik Carling, CEO of Hövding, the Swedish firm behind the world's first airbag for cyclists Oliver Dlouhý, founder of travel-booking site Kiwi.com, based in the Czech Republic EUROPEAN CORPORATE SOCIAL INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR Saori Dubourg - Member of the Board of Executive Directors at BASF SE since May 12, 2017 (WINNER) Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, French businessman who has been at the helm of seven different companies and occupies the position of Chairman of ENGIE SA Martin Villig, co-founder of Taxify, the fastest growing European ride-hailing platform EUROPEAN INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR Yvan Bourgnon (The Sea Cleaners), Swiss navigator (WINNER) Friso Stoffer and Daniel Weststeijn (Storro), Dutch team of security specialists Richard White (Simmer & Strip Technology), Vice-President for Procurement & Sustainability at AB InBev Europe Source: Euronews.com

7. May 2019 at 22:16 | Compiled by Spectator staff