Since 2007 the American Academy in Berlin has bestowed the annual Henry A. Kissinger Prize upon a renowned American or European figure of international diplomacy in recognition of his or her outstanding services to the transatlantic relationship.

The award honors the achievements of Dr. Henry A. Kissinger -- author, Nobel Peace Prize recipient, and former National Security Advisor under President Nixon and Secretary of State under Presidents Nixon and Ford. A towering figure of international diplomacy and US foreign policy, Dr. Kissinger's initiatives for disarmament and detente in the post-war period helped to create an active dialogue among the world’s leading nations that ultimately resulted in the end of the Cold War and the reunification of Germany. One of the founders of the American Academy in Berlin, Dr. Kissinger now serves as one of its Co-Chairman. 

The first Henry A. Kissinger Prize was bestowed upon Dr. Helmut Schmidt, former Minister of Defense, Minister of Economics, Minister of Finance, and Chancellor of Germany from 1974 to 1982. Dr. Schmidt's long political career fostered closer understanding and cooperation between the United States and Germany, and as publisher and editor of the German weekly Die Zeit he pushed transatlantic dialogue into sometimes uneasy realms that sparked vigorous debate over shared Western concerns and interests. Throughout his activities Dr. Schmidt has exemplified the American Academy's ideals of transatlantic exchange and vigorous debate in the realms of politics, journalism, and the humanities that have deepened political and cultural understanding between the people of the United States and Germany.

President George H. W. Bush was the Prize's recipient in 2008. The former US President's commitment to partnership and dialogue with allies and former foes alike laid the foundation for two decades of peaceful and effective cooperation within Europe and across the Atlantic after the fall of the Berlin wall in November 1989. Co-architect of the world order that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union, Mr. Bush was honored for his lasting engagement for the ideals that underlie the great transatlantic partnership and form the foundation for the work of the American Academy in Berlin.

In 2009 the Henry A. Kissinger Prize was awarded to former German President Richard von Weizsäcker, whose character incomparably demonstrates the sense of partnership, openness, and shared values that has animated the postwar Atlantic community. A leader in business, government, and religious affairs, Weizsäcker's election as the sixth President of the Federal Republic of Germany, in May 1984, capped more than fifty years of personal engagement for the Western vision of a modern, pluralistic society and a deep partnership between Germany and the United States. His role as Governing Mayor of Berlin from 1981 to 1984 was essential to maintaining the viability of the city in one of its most difficult periods, and on May 8, 1985 he delivered one of the most important speeches of post-war Germany on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the end of World War II. Throughout his long career of political and diplomatic engagement, Weizäcker has unfailingly embodied the values that continue to animate the spirit of transatlanticism in our time.