March 15 – President Áder hands over state awards

President Janos Áder handed over Kossuth and Széchenyi state awards and the Hungarian Order of Merit in Parliament on the occasion of the March 15 national holiday commemorating the 1848-49 revolution and freedom fight.

“Today is about commemoration, pride and gratitude,” Áder said, referring to “patriotism, talent, perseverance, diligence, and the fulfillment of freedom”.

The outgoing president said that around the time of the newly elected Parliament in April, Lajos Kossuth had argued that Hungarians wanted freedom and peace but must undertake the dangerous risks and sacrifices to fight for these ideals. This undertaking was an “inexhaustible source” of strength to press on, he added.

By the autumn, he added,

Hungarians had to take up weapons to defend freedom and attempt to uphold the country’s constitution and laws.

After eighteen years of political unrest, the work to ensure prosperity, develop the economy and enact civil transformation, which had been interrupted by the war of independence, could continue by forging a compromise, Áder said. After 1867, Hungary could once again decide its own destiny. The compromise created the conditions for peaceful creative work, he added.