The Princess of Asturias Foundation

Grass was jointly conferred the Award in 1999 “whose literary work in the fields of creative and essay writing, and life-long civic-mindedness and humanism make him an outstanding figure in literature”

©FPA

Günter Grass, 1999 Prince of Asturias Award for Literature, has died.

The Jury unanimously decided to confer the Prince of Asturias Prize for Literature jointly on Günter Grass. “His writing, of great aesthetic quality, pays passionate service to the values of freedom, and the defence of the weak, and gives decisive backing to the fundamental aspects of modern democratic systems. Günter Grass, a citizen of Europe, is an internationally acclaimed author, who considers art and morality to be inseparable”, as stated in the Minutes of the Jury.

The Jury was chaired by Mr. Víctor García de la Concha and made up of Mr. Andrés Amorós, Mr. Luis María Anson, Mr. Pedro Casals, Mr. Antonio Colinas, Mr. Juan Cruz, Mr. José Luis García Martín, Mr. Valentín García Yebra, Mr. Fernando González Delgado, Mr. Jon Juaristi, Ms. Ana María Matute, Ms. Marina Mayoral, Ms. Soledad Puértolas, Mr. Fernando Rodríguez Lafuente, Mr. Fernando Sánchez Dragó, Mr. Darío Villanueva and with Mr. José María Martínez Cachero (as acting secretary).

The Awards Ceremony, which took place on 22nd October, was presided over by HM King Felipe VI, then Prince of Asturias. Besides the address by His Majesty, the speeches at the ceremony were given by Günter Grass, John Glenn and the then president of the Foundation, José Ramón Álvarez Rendueles.

The following is a list of the other Laureates that year:

PRINCE OF ASTURIAS AWARD FOR THE ARTS

Santiago Calatrava

PRINCE OF ASTURIAS AWARD FOR LITERATURE

Günter Grass

PRINCE OF ASTURIAS AWARD FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES

Raymond Carr

PRINCE OF ASTURIAS AWARD FOR COMMUNICATION AND HUMANITIES

Instituto Caro y Cuervo

PRINCE OF ASTURIAS AWARD FOR TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

Ricardo Miledi
Enrique Moreno

PRINCE OF ASTURIAS AWARD FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION