President Pellegrini Awards State Honours to 18 Figures

       Bratislava, January 12 (TASR) - President Peter Pellegrini honoured 18 figures of social, cultural and sporting life, including nine posthumously, at a ceremony that took place at the Slovak Philharmonic building in Bratislava on Saturday evening (January 11).
        The head of state awarded the Order of Ludovit Stur, First Class in memoriam to anti-fascist fighter Margita Kockova for her extraordinary merits for democracy and its development, human rights and freedoms and their protection. Karol Peknik, a participant in the Slovak National Uprising (SNP), was also awarded the Order of Ludovit Stur, First Class in memoriam for his extraordinary services to the defence and security of the Slovak Republic.
        Ophthalmologist Zoltan Olah was awarded the the Order of Ludovit Stur, First Class for exceptional merits for the development of Slovakia in the field of science and technology, as well as for exceptional promotion of Slovakia's reputation abroad.
        The state decoration of the Order of Ludovit Stur, Second Class was conferred on the participants of the Slovak National Uprising Anna Bergerova and Karol Kuna, anti-fascist fighter Zivodar Tvarozek and anti-communist resistance fighter Peter Murdza. All four were awarded in memoriam.
        The Order of Ludovit Stur, Second Class was bestowed on physicist and geologist Livia Ludhova, mathematician Anatolij Dvurecenskij, and economist Juraj Sipko.
        The president awarded the Order of Ludovit Stur, Third Class to Vlasta Hudecova, a voice teacher, Miroslav Kozak, a mathematics and chemistry teacher, and Jana Pekarovicova, the director of the Summer School of Slovak Language and Culture Studia Academica Slovaca. The head of state awarded the Order of Ludovit Stur, Third Class im memoriam to mountaineer Jozef Psotka for his extraordinary merits for Slovakia's development in sport.
        Pellegrini awarded the Pribina Cross, First Class to actor Juraj Kukura, and posthumously to architect, monument-keeper, educator and archaeologist Alfred Piffl.
        The Pribina Cross, Second Class was given to historian Eva Kowalska, and in memoriam to ethnologist Jan Michalek.

The story of Slovakia is woven from the fates and stories of people like this year's award winners, pointed out President Peter Pellegrini in his address at the ceremony of awarding state honours on Saturday evening.
        "We don't have to find our value in admiring foreign leaders, countries or powers. Slovakia has its own achievements, its own heroes and a unique path of which it can be proud," he stressed.
        Pellegrini thanked the awardees for their work. "You are our role models and you show that each one of us can contribute to moving our country forward. You show us the way that not only you, but also the rest of us can move Slovakia forward with small steps, solutions or ideas. The story of Slovakia is ultimately woven from the fates and stories of people like you," he said.
        The head of state noted that not all of the awardees could attend the ceremony. "Those who can't be among us today are missing here, including those who shaped the heroic consciousness of the Slovak nation with their courageous actions during the Slovak National Uprising. They created respect for freedom and democracy even at the cost of threatening or losing their own lives," he emphasised.