SEAT's President awarded the Creu de Sant Jordi
In Recognition of Contributions Made as Head of Spanish Company





Dr. Andreas Schleef, President of SEAT, has been presented with the Creu de Sant Jordi by the President of the Catalan Generalitat, Pasqual Maragall; this distinction is the highest civil award given by the Catalan government, and is bestowed for the recipient's outstanding work as head of the most emblematic brand of the automobile industry in Catalonia. The award also coincides with the end of Dr. Schleef's mandate as President of SEAT, a post he will step down from on 30th September.
 
The Catalan government's Creu de Sant Jordi has been awarded since 1981 to persons and entities in different spheres having made significant contributions to the development of Catalonia. Given that Dr. Schleef is a foreign national, and that in the long history of the award this high distinction has been bestowed on very few non-Catalans, the granting of it is all the more significant.
 
At yesterday's award ceremony in Barcelona's Opera House, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Dr. Schleef expressed his satisfaction at the award. "It is a matter of great pride to be the recipient of this distinction awarded by the Generalitat of Catalonia, a community to which SEAT, the company I have headed for the past four years, feels closely and loyally committed, just like any ordinary citizen," he stated, while at the same time he thanked the Catalan government for its support throughout his term of office, both at a personal level and at the business level for the company.
 
Dr. Andreas Schleef has spent most of his professional career in Audi AG, which he joined in 1973. Currently he is also member of Audi's Executive Committee, a post he alternates with that of President of SEAT. His track record in the world of business has been punctuated by contributions to the world of academia at some universities - in 1997 he was declared Doctor Honoris Causa by the Czech Technical University, being awarded the same distinction in 2003 by the Romanian University of Oradea.
 
This Creu de Sant Jordi is the latest in a long line of similar awards which SEAT's President has received throughout his prolific career - last July he was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany; in 1993 he had already been given the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in recognition of his multi-faceted contributions to the field of economics and local politics.