The award, which the Vittorino Colombo Foundation has been giving for the past 10 years, is named after a former president of the Italian Senate and prominent Catholic politician. It is given for contributions to democracy and the spreading of authentic values of a policy focusing on solidarity and cooperation among peoples.
Sanader was unanimously chosen for this year's recipient, a statement said, adding that he was a man of peace and a man of Europe, a man who opened Croatia's doors towards Europe, who launched economic reforms and contributed to democratic processes and solidarity.
Previous recipients of the award include former Czech President Vaclav Havel, former Holy See State Secretary Cardinal Angelo Sodano, former UN Secretary-General Butros-Butros Gali, and former Polish PM Jerzy Busek.
Last night Sanader gave a talk on Croatia on the road to Euro-Atlantic integration for some 200 eminent business people and politicians from the Milan area.
He spoke of Croatia's road to the European Union, democratic, economic and social standards as values Croatia already had and which he said were common values in united Europe and other Euro-Atlantic structures, such as NATO.
The Croatian premier also answered numerous questions from business people regarding the economic situation and possibilities of investing in Croatia, for which there is a lot of interest among Italians, Macek said.