OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 25, 2008—On September 16, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, actor and director Andy Garcia, and entrepreneur William K. Bowes, Jr. will be honored at the Independent Institute’s A Gala for Liberty. Held at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco, the Institute will present each honoree with the Alexis de Tocqueville Award.
The Dalai Lama, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus, former First Lady of Egypt Jehan Al Sadat, Czech President Vaclav Klaus, and Goldman Sachs International Vice Chairman Brian Griffiths are supporting the Institute’s gala as Honorary Co-Chairs.
As Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, world-renowned Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu brought a peaceful settlement to the end of Apartheid in South Africa. Archbishop Tutu is being honored for his work throughout the world in championing democracy, freedom, human rights, and peace. Presenting his award will be George B. N. Ayittey, Distinguished Economist in Residence at American University and President of the Free Africa Foundation.
Havana-born Andy Garcia is an Academy Award-nominated, actor, director, and producer. His thirty-eight films include The Lost City (2005), For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story (2000), The Godfather: Part III (1990), Ocean’s Eleven (2001), and The Untouchables (1987). Mr. Garcia has been a leader in overcoming the plight of the Cuban people under communism and is being honored for championing civil and economic liberties in Latin America. Presenting his award will be Alvaro Vargas Llosa, Director of the Independent Institute’s Center on Global Prosperity and author of Liberty for Latin America.
A venture capitalist in the Bay Area for nearly fifty years, William K. Bowes, Jr. is the founder of the pioneering U.S. Venture Partners and was also the founding shareholder and first Chairman and Treasurer of Amgen. Mr. Bowes is being honored for his work in business entrepreneurship and science and for utilizing market-based innovations to enhance the welfare of people in the United States and worldwide. Presenting his award will be Michael J. Boskin, Tully M. Friedman Professor of Economics at Stanford University and former Chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers.
The evening fundraiser will be black tie optional, commencing at 6:30 pm with a reception on the Yerba Buena Terrace and followed by the dinner program at 7:30 pm in the Gallery Ballroom. The event will feature an internationally themed menu with cuisine developed to highlight influences from South Africa, Cuba, and California. The John Santos Sextet, a Latin Jazz group based in San Francisco and renowned for its integration of African and Cuban elements, will provide live music.
Past recipients of the Alexis de Tocqueville Award include historian Robert Conquest, Nobel Laureate economist James Buchanan, Chairman Emeritus of Motorola, Inc. Robert W. Galvin, and global investment pioneer Sir John Marks Templeton, founder of more than thirty investment funds and the Templeton Prize.
For additional information or to RSVP, please visit http://independent.org/events/detail.asp?eventID=139 or call Director of Development JuliAnna Jelinek at 510-632-1366 x 153.
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