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The Mackinac Center’s first president received one of the highest honors awarded to foreigners by the Republic of Poland in November.
Lawrence W. Reed, who led the Mackinac Center from shortly after its founding in 1987 until 2008, was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit from Polish President Andrzej Duda.
The award came “in recognition of outstanding contributions in supporting democratic changes in Poland,” Duda said at a solemn ceremony in Warsaw attended by government, civil and religious dignitaries. Others who received awards at the ceremony included renowned artists, Cold War dissidents and philanthropists.
“I must share this honor with the millions of brave Polish men and women I admire, whose courage inspired me during my first visit to this great country 37 years ago this month,” Reed said in an address after the ceremony. “The history of the late 1980s shows conclusively that Polish courage played a major, indispensable role in the liberation of Eastern Europe.”
Reed’s first visit to Poland occurred in 1986, when the country was still under communist rule. He recounted how during that visit he was harassed and detained by government officials who confiscated his belongings and later expelled him from the country. But Reed maintained his contacts with the anti-communist underground in Poland and returned to the country after the Iron Curtain fell in 1989.
Reed’s successor, Mackinac Center President Joseph G. Lehman, attended the Warsaw event and praised Reed’s support for international freedom.
“Larry Reed played a pivotal role in bringing global awareness to the harsh realities Polish citizens were facing under the oppression of communism,” said Lehman. “His stories and experiences have prompted real change and continue to inspire the next generation of freedom fighters. There are few who have done more to assist the fight for liberty, not only in Poland, but around the globe. I am proud to call him my friend and colleague.”
