The Princess of Asturias Awards (, ), known as the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 (, ), are a series of annual prizes awarded in Spain by the (previously the Prince of Asturias Foundation) to individuals, entities or organizations from around the world who make notable achievements in the sciences, humanities, and public affairs.
The awards are presented every October in a solemn ceremony at in Oviedo, the capital of the Principality of Asturias, and are presented by the heir to the Spanish throne, currently Leonor, Princess of Asturias. Each recipient present at the ceremony receives a diploma, a sculpture expressly created for the awards by Spanish sculptor Joan Miró and a pin with the emblem of the Foundation. There is also a monetary prize of €50,000 for each category; this amount is shared if the category has more than one recipient.
They were declared of "exceptional contribution to the cultural heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO in 2004.
Background
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The Prince of Asturias Awards were established on 24 September 1980, with the creation of the Prince of Asturias Foundation, in a ceremony presided by Felipe, Prince of Asturias, then heir to the throne of Spain, "to consolidate links between the Principality and the Prince of Asturias, and to contribute to, encourage and promote scientific, cultural and humanistic values that form part of mankind's universal heritage". The first awards ceremony was held on 31 October 1981. King Felipe continued to preside over the awards ceremony until the Princess of Asturias turned 18 (the age of majority for Spanish royal purposes) on 31 October 2023. Princess Leonor first attended the ceremony, handed out awards to winners and delivered her first speech as heiress during the 39th Princess of Asturias Awards Ceremony on 18 October 2019.
If a laureate does not attend to the ceremony to collect their award, they receive neither the sculpture nor the monetary prize, even if the absence is because of force majeure. Only a few laureates have not attended; among them are Bob Dylan, who refused to go to Oviedo in 2007 but asked for the sculpture unsuccessfully, writer Philip Roth in 2012 for medical reasons, and Pau and Marc Gasol in 2015, who were not allowed to attend by their NBA teams.
Categories and laureates
Prince or Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts
First awarded in 1981, this category is aimed at fostering the art of film-making, theatre, dance, music, photography, painting, sculpture, architecture or any other form of artistic expression.
thumb|180px|[[Bob Dylan]]
Prince or Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities
First awarded in 1981 for sciences and disciplines considered humanistic activities or any activity related to social communication in any of its forms.
180px|thumb|[[Annie Leibovitz]]
Prince or Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation
thumb|201x201px|The Award given to [[Claudio Magris in 2004, shown at the exhibition La Trieste di Magris at CCCB in Barcelona during 2011.]]
First awarded in 1981 it is aimed at recognizing individual or collective work, in cooperation with another or others, to develop and promote public health, universal education, the protection and defence of the environment, as well as the economic, cultural and social advancement of peoples.
Prince or Princess of Asturias Award for Literature
First awarded in 1981 it is aimed at recognizing literary creation in all genres.
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
! scope=col | Year
! scope=col class=unsortable| Image
! scope=col | Laureate
! scope=col style="width: 100pt;" | Country
! scope=col class=unsortable | Rationale
! scope=col class=unsortable | Ref
|-
! colspan="6" data-sort-value="zzz" | Prince of Asturias Award for Literature
|-
| 1981
|
! scope=row data-sort-value="Hierro, José" | José Hierro
|
| "the intense lyrical value of his work, which represents a historical testimony and, at the same time, an ethical attitude, both of which are worthy of public acknowledgement."
|
|-
| rowspan=2 |1982
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Delibes, Miguel" | Miguel Delibes
| rowspan=2 |
| rowspan=2 |"the work of each of them, so different from each other and yet, so profoundly expressive about contemporary Spanish reality, observed in very significant spaces, with singular love and fidelity. In both cases their capacity of invention and description has been displayed in a masterful control of the Spanish language, which guarantees their survival in the history of Spanish literature."
| rowspan=2 |
|-
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Torrente Ballester, Gonzalo" | Gonzalo Torrente Ballester
|-
| 1983
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Rulfo, Juan" | Juan Rulfo
|
| "the great aesthetic quality, depth of invention, aptness and expressive novelty, as well as his decisive influence on subsequent narrative in his country and the outstanding place he occupies in the world of Spanish literature as a whole."
|
|-
| 1984
|
! scope=row data-sort-value="García Baena, Pablo" | Pablo García Baena
|
| "for his perseverance in cultivating an independent aesthetic attitude, and for his influence upon new tendencies in Spanish poetry."
|
|-
| 1985
|
! scope=row data-sort-value="González Muñiz, Ángel" | Ángel González
|
| "because poetry, through his work, survives the scepticism of an epoch with paradoxical tenderness."
|
|-
| rowspan=2 |1986
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Vargas Llosa, Mario" | Mario Vargas Llosa
|
| "his extraordinary gifts as a story-teller, the wealth and variety of his work, filled with the spirit of creative freedom and his mastery of the language."
| rowspan=2 |
|-
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Lapesa, Rafael" | Rafael Lapesa
|
| "his rigorous, constant and profound work in clarifying the history of the Spanish language, as well as his fruitful teaching work in Spain and America."
|-
| 1987
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Cela, Camilo José" | Camilo José Cela
|
| "for the high literary quality of his abundant and universally known work and for his singular importance in Spanish letters this century, which he has influenced considerably, reason which making him undoubtedly deserving of this award."
|
|-
| rowspan=2 |1988
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Martín Gaite, Carmen" | Carmen Martín Gaite
| rowspan=2 |
| "for her extensive career and recognized merits in the field of contemporary Spanish narrative, within which both she and her work have built a bridge between mid-century realism and the intimacy of the contemporary novel, while paying special attention to the problems of Spanish women of all times."
| rowspan=2 |
|-
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Valente, José Ángel" | José Ángel Valente
| "because his poetry, continually evolving from its initial existential beat to subsequent phenomenological inquiry, is a deep interrogation into the meaning of the world, captured in dense, symbolic language of disturbing beauty, which has made him into one of the finest contemporary Spanish lyricists."
|-
| 1989
|
! scope=row data-sort-value="Gullón, Ricardo" | Ricardo Gullón
|
| "during a whole life which has been passionately dedicated to the study of Spanish letters, has managed to make his research work transcend the limits of criticism to become a revelation of the mystery of artistic invention in mankind, a highly personal and genuine literary creation, though which, with exemplary mastery, he has known how to make modern Spanish literature known in numerous universities in the United States."
|
|-
| 1990
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Uslar Pietri, Arturo" | Arturo Uslar Pietri
|
| "creator of the modern historical novel in Spanish America, whose incessant and fruitful literary activity has greatly contributed to enlivening our common tongue, illuminating the imagination of the New World and enriching the cultural community of the Americas."
|
|-
| 1991
|
! scope=row data-sort-value="Puerto Rico" | The people of Puerto Rico
|
| "to the people of Puerto Rico, whose representative authorities, with exemplary decisiveness, have declared Spanish to be the only official language of their country."
|
|-
| 1992
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Morales Nieva, Francisco" | Francisco Morales Nieva
|
| "his continual work in renewing the finest Spanish theatrical tradition, his creative power with words and the inventiveness of his scenic spaces."
|
|-
| 1993
|
! scope=row data-sort-value="Rodríguez, Claudio" | Claudio Rodríguez
|
| "for shedding light upon everyday reality and remaining true to it in his symbolic depth, for his importance in the 50s group of poets and in terms of current young Spanish poetry."
|
|-
| 1994
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Fuentes, Carlos" | Carlos Fuentes
|
| "for his defence, in his writings, of freedom of imagination and the dignity of thought; for the contribution made by his work to culture and to universal solidarity and progress for the peoples of the world."
|
|-
| 1995
|
! scope=row data-sort-value="Bousoño, Carlos" | Carlos Bousoño
|
| "an example of creative development characterised by profound existentialist concerns [...] on criticism in the theory of poetic expression, the study of symbolism and the meaning of literary epochs [...] a bridge between different generations of writers. From a position of fine sensitivity, he has always encouraged the youngest Spanish poetry. His books have had a considerable impact in the university world of recent decades."
|
|-
| 1996
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Umbral, Francisco" | Francisco Umbral
|
| "a lively and controversial example of complete dedication to literature. His writing is perpetual and has favoured, in many of his narrative fiction books, the subjects of personal and historic memory. A prominent essayist, a brilliant literary journalist who has turned the daily column into a permanent lesson on verbal art [...] excellence of style [...] capable of lyrical flight and of the most forceful satire, which has renewed our literary language."
|
|-
| 1997
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Mutis, Álvaro" | Álvaro Mutis
|
| "for the originality and intellectual commitment of his poetic and narrative work [...] His literary creation, unanimously recognized as one of the Spanish-speaking world's highest achievements, links the tenets of Magic Realism with the concerns of modern man."
|
|-
| 1998
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Ayala, Francisco" | Francisco Ayala
|
| "one of the most accomplished intellectual figures of our contemporary literature [...] sociologist, professor in many American universities, memoirist, writer of articles, [...] master in the use of our language. All of his work is characterised by its lucidity, open-mindedness, and delving into the human condition, never afraid of reaching what is at bottom."
|
|-
| 1999
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Grass, Günter" | Günter Grass
|
| "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, critical humanism and moral commitment in our times. 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."
|
|-
| 2000
|
! scope=row data-sort-value="Monterroso, Augusto" | Augusto Monterroso
|
| "His narrative works and essays create a literary universe of extraordinary ethical and aesthetic depth, highlighted by a Cervantine, melancholic sense of humour. His narrative work has changed the short story, and has bestowed upon it a literary intensity and an opening-up towards unprecedented story lines."
|
|-
| 2001
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Lessing, Doris" | Doris Lessing
|
| "The Jury thus recognises not only one of the unquestionably major figures of world literature, whose work is the fruit of a lifetime's dedication to the narrative, but also a passionate fighter for freedom who has spared no effort in her commitment to Third World causes, both in her literature and in the personal experience that her eventful life has provided her."
|
|-
| 2002
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Miller, Arthur" | Arthur Miller
|
| "an undeniable master of contemporary drama who has projected modern day society's fears, conflicts and aspirations through the medium of the theatre, demonstrating his noteworthy independence of spirit and critical sense, and reworking the ever-present lessons in humanism of the best in stage production."
|
|-
| rowspan=2 |2003
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Mernissi, Fatema" | Fatema Mernissi
|
| rowspan=2 |"Both authoresses share having produced literary works in different genres that are of outstanding quality from an aesthetic point of view, and which confront the essential issues of our times with profound depth of vision; they provide complementary perspectives in a dialogue between cultures."
| rowspan=2 |
|-
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Sontag, Susan" | Susan Sontag
|
|-
| 2004
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Magris, Claudio" | Claudio Magris
|
| "the finest humanistic tradition and the pluralism of early twenty-first century European literature in his work - a multifaceted Europe without frontiers, supportive of others and open to dialogue between cultures. Magris employs a powerful narrative voice in his books to highlight certain niches that constitute a land of freedom within which a yearning takes form: European unity within its historical diversity."
|
|-
| 2005
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Piñón, Nélida" | Nélida Piñón
|
| "author of a stimulating body of literary works artistically founded upon reality and recall, as well as upon fantasy and reverie. Furthermore, diverse literary traditions that constitute a unique theory of the mingling of peoples and cultures all merge in her writing."
|
|-
| 2006
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Auster, Paul" | Paul Auster
|
| "for the transformation in literature that he has wrought by blending the best of American and European traditions, for the innovation he has brought to narrative style in the cinema, and for integrating a number of devices used by the cinema into literature. Auster has managed to appeal to young readers by exploring new perspectives of reality and by providing an aesthetically pleasing, invaluable account of the problems faced by the individual and by social groups in our times."
|
|-
| 2007
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Oz, Amos" | Amos Oz
|
| "a narrator, essayist and journalist that has contributed towards fashioning the Hebrew language into a brilliant instrument for literary art and for the truthful disclosure of the most dire and universal realities of our time, focussing especially on advocating peace amongst peoples and condemning all forms of fanaticism."
|
|-
| 2008
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Atwood, Margaret" | Margaret Atwood
|
| "for her outstanding literary work that has explored different genres with acuteness and irony, and because she cleverly assumes the classic tradition, defends women's dignity and denounces social unfairness."
|
|-
| 2009
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Kadare, Ismail" | Ismail Kadare
|
| "for the beauty and profound commitment of his literary works. Using everyday language which is nonetheless full of lyricism, Ismaíl Kadaré narrates the tragedy of his land, an incessant battleground. Giving life to old myths through new words, he expresses all the grief and dramatic load of conscience. His commitment is rooted in the great literary tradition of the Hellenic world, which he projects onto the contemporary stage as an open condemnation of any form of totalitarianism and in defence of reason."
|
|-
| 2010
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Maalouf, Amin" | Amin Maalouf
|
| "who, through historical fiction and theoretical reflection, has managed to lucidly address the complexity of the human condition. Using intense, suggestive language, Maalouf places us in the grand Mediterranean mosaic of languages, cultures and religions to construct a symbolic space for meeting and understanding. Contrary to desperation, resignation or victimism, his work traces a path of its own towards tolerance and reconciliation, a bridge that extends deeply into the shared roots of peoples and cultures."
|
|-
| 2011
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Cohen, Leonard" | Leonard Cohen
|
| "for a body of literary work that has influenced three generations of people worldwide through his creation of emotional imagery in which poetry and music are fused in an oeuvre of immutable merit. The passing of time, sentimental relationships, the mystical traditions of the East and the West and life sung as an unending ballad make up a body of work associated with certain moments of decisive change at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century."
|
|-
| 2012
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Roth, Philip" | Philip Roth
|
| "The narrative work of Philip Roth forms part of the great American novel, in the tradition of Dos Passos, Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, Bellow and Malamud. Characters, events and plots form a complex view of contemporary reality torn between reason and feeling, such as the sign of the times and the sense of unease about the present. His literary quality is displayed in his fluid, incisive writing."
|
|-
| 2013
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Muñoz Molina, Antonio" | Antonio Muñoz Molina
|
| "for the depth and brilliance with which he has narrated relevant fragments of his country's history, crucial episodes of the contemporary world and meaningful aspects of his personal experience. A body of work which admirably reveals his condition as an intellectual with a commitment to his time."
|
|-
| 2014
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Banville, John" | John Banville
|
| "for his intelligent, insightful and original work as a novelist, and on his alter ego, Benjamin Black, author of disturbing, critical crime novels. John Banville's prose opens up dazzling lyrical landscapes through cultural references in which he breathes new life into classical myths and beauty goes hand in hand with irony. At the same time, he displays an intense analysis of complex human beings that ensnare us in their descent into the darkness of baseness or in their existential fellowship. Each of his works attracts and delights for his skill in developing the plot and his mastery of registers and expressive nuances, as well as for his reflections on the secrets of the human heart."
|
|-
! colspan="6" data-sort-value="zzz" | Princess of Asturias Award for Literature
|-
| 2015
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Padura Fuentes, Leonardo" | Leonardo Padura
|
| "a decidedly contemporary author rooted in tradition; an investigator of both what is considered cultured and what is considered popular; an independent intellectual, with a firm ethical temperament. In Leonardo Padura's vast body of work, which covers all genres of prose, one recourse that characterizes his literary resolve stands out: an interest in listening to people's voices and the lost stories of others. Via his fiction, Padura reveals the challenges and limits involved in the search for truth. An impeccable exploration of history and the ways of recounting it. His work is a magnificent adventure of dialogue and freedom."
|
|-
| 2016
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Ford, Richard" | Richard Ford
|
| "His work forms part of the great tradition of the 20th-century American novel. [...] his characters, plots and story lines are defined by an ironic, minimalist sense of epic. The careful attention to detail in his descriptions and his sombre, dense gaze at the daily lives of anonymous, invisible people meld with the desolation and emotions emanating from his stories. All this makes Ford a profoundly contemporary narrator, as well as the great chronicler of the mosaic of interwoven tales that is American society."
|
|-
| 2017
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Zagajewski, Adam" | Adam Zagajewski
|
| "In addition to his reflections on creation and his intense work of memorialization, Zagajewski's poetry validates the ethical sense of literature and in a single, yet diverse voice in his native Polish accent unites Western tradition, all the while reflecting on the sorrows of exile. Careful attention to lyrical imagery, the intimate experience of time and the conviction that a certain brilliance feeds the flame of artistic creation form the inspiration for one of the most exciting poetic experiences of this Europe, heir to Rilke, Miłosz and Antonio Machado."
|
|-
| 2018
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Vargas, Fred" | Fred Vargas
|
| "the originality of her plots, the irony with which she describes the characters, the depth of her cultural insights and her overflowing imagination, which opens up unprecedented literary horizons to readers. Her writing combines intrigue, action and reflection at a pace that recalls the characteristic musicality of fine French prose. In each of her novels, history emerges as a metaphor of an unsettling present. The vicissitudes of time and the exposure of evil are combined in a solid literary architecture, set against a disquieting backdrop that, for the reader's enjoyment, is always solved as a logical challenge."
|
|-
| 2019
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Hustvedt, Siri" | Siri Hustvedt
|
| "Her work is one of the most ambitious on today's literary scene. Employing a feminist perspective, she addresses a variety of the facets that sketch a convulsive, disconcerting present. Furthermore, she does so using fiction and the essay, as an intellectual concerned with the fundamental issues of contemporary ethics. Translated into more than thirty languages, her work contributes to interdisciplinary dialogue between the humanities and the sciences."
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|-
| 2020
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Carson, Anne" | Anne Carson
|
| "In the different areas of her writing, Anne Carson has attained levels of intensity and intellectual standing that place her among the most outstanding of present-day writers. From the study of the Greco-Latin world, she has built a body of innovative poetics in which the vitality of great classical thought acts as a map to invite the reader to elucidate the complexities of the current moment in time. Her oeuvre maintains a commitment to emotion and thought, with the study of tradition and the renewed presence of the Humanities as a way to achieve an enhanced awareness of our time."
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|-
| 2021
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Carrère, Emmanuel" | Emmanuel Carrère
|
| "Emmanuel Carrère has constructed a highly personal oeuvre that generates a new space for expression which erases the boundaries between reality and fiction. His books contribute to the unmasking of the human condition while relentlessly dissecting reality. Carrère draws an incisive portrait of contemporary society and has exerted a notable influence on the literature of our time, in addition to showing a strong commitment to writing as a vocation inseparable from life itself."
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|-
| 2022
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Mayorga, Juan" | Juan Mayorga
|
| "for the tremendous quality, critical insight and intellectual commitment of his oeuvre: action, emotion, poetry and thought. Since his beginnings as a playwright, Mayorga has proposed a formidable renovation of theatre, endowing it with a moral and philosophical concern that challenges our society by conceiving his work as a theatre for the future and for the essential dignity of human beings."
|
|-
| 2023
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Murakami, Haruki" | Haruki Murakami
|
| "for the uniqueness of his literature, its universal scope and ability to reconcile Japanese tradition and the legacy of Western culture in an ambitious and innovative narrative, which has managed to express some of the great themes and conflicts of our time: loneliness, existential uncertainty, terrorism and dehumanization in big cities, as well as the care of one's body and his own reflections on the creative process."
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|-
| 2024
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Blandiana, Ana" | Ana Blandiana
|
| "Ana Blandiana is heir to the most brilliant European traditions, as well as a radically unique creator. Combining transparency and complexity, her writing raises fundamental questions about the existence of human beings, both alone and within society, in the face of nature and of history. Through her indomitable poetry, she has shown an extraordinary capacity for defying censorship."
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|-
| 2025
| 75px
! scope=row data-sort-value="Mendoza, Eduardo" | Eduardo Mendoza
|
| "for his decisive contribution to Spanish literature over the past half-century, comprising a compendium of novels that fuse a desire for innovation with the ability to reach a broad-ranging audience and enjoy widespread international acclaim."
|
|}
Prince or Princess of Asturias Award for Social Sciences
First awarded in 1981 it is aimed at recognizing creative and/or research work in the field of history, law, linguistics, teaching, political science, psychology, sociology, ethics, philosophy, geography, economics, demography or anthropology, as well as in the disciplines corresponding to each of these fields.
180px|thumb|[[Martha Nussbaum]]