Pasteur and The United States

On April 19th in New York City at its annual gala, the Pasteur Foundation presented former President William J. Clinton with the 2005 Pasteur Foundation Award "for his exemplary global leadership in addressing HIV infection and the world AIDS epidemic." The award consisted of a political caricature (click on first photo for detail) which depicts President Grover Cleveland as Louis Pasteur inoculating the government against corruption.

His Excellency Jean-David Levitte, the Ambassador of France, read a message from President Jacques Chirac congratulating Bill Clinton and stating that "very few people have the means to influence the course of events. It takes a combination of effectiveness and compassion, humility and commitment." Over the course of his remarkable speech, President Clinton congratulated the Institut Pasteur for its dedication to research on infectious diseases and encouraged the audience of 450 people to continue their involvement in and support of this mission. Continued President Clinton admiring his Pasteur Foundation Award on April 19, 2005. Please click on photo for enlargement and description of print.


Ambassador Jean-David Levitte (left) presenting a congratulatory letter from President Chirac while Philippe Kourilsky of the Institut Pasteur applauds		Ambassador Levitte greeting President Clinton


Last year's honorees Judy Sulzberger and Anne Cox Chambers with 2005 Pasteur Foundation honoree William J. Clinton		Gala Chairmen (left to right) : Agnès Hibon, Elizabeth Fondaras and Antonia Milonas


In his acceptance speech, President Clinton spoke about the urgency of addressing the AIDS crisis in the developing world.		Château Angélus proprietor Hubert de Boüard, Guillaume Touton, David Milligan and Michael Aaron

Thanks to generous donations from Château Angélus, La Fleur de Boüard and the Maison Trimbach, the evening featured a tasting of fine wines animated by Hubert de Boüard de Laforest. Professor Bert Hansen tied the evening's theme to Louis Pasteur's work on fermentation and pasteurization of wine. To demonstrate the far-reaching effect of this work in its day, Dr. Hansen read a period account from a New York newspaper that reported: "Among the vintners of California, Pasteur is now 'as popular as the President of the United States.'" Continued Guest speaker Bert Hansen and Marie-Hélène Marchand (Institut Pasteur)


Elizabeth Fondaras (red) and her guests. Standing (left to right): Ezra Zilkha, Mary Young, Joseph Goffman, Mary Jaharis, Antonia Fondaras, Michael Jaharis and Lewis Cullman. Seated: Bessie de Cuevas, French Consul General François Delattre and John Young.		Agnès and Georges Hibon


Annika Allard, Kristina Wildenstein and Danièle Ellis		Sanofi Pasteur guests


President Clinton and Katharine Rayner		Barbara and Joe Pieroni


Cathie and Callum Barton (center) and their guests		Sotheby's auctioneer extraordinaire Jamie Ritchie


Auction donor Peter Meltzer and Heather Hatch		Weil, Gotshal & Manges guests


Novartis Corporation guests		Ariane, Armelle and Arnaud de Vienne