Flame of Peace

The Flame of Peace (Flamme des Friedens) (not be confused with the 2nd European Games torch relay "Flame of Peace") is an award granted by the Austrian non-profit organization Vereins zur Förderung des Friedens (Association for the Promotion of Peace), which promotes world peace. Its symbol is a flame carving in wood and mounted on a stone base. The organization presents awards to prominent people, peace activists, and organizations in recognition of their activity in promoting peace.

Organization and leadership
Archduchess Herta Margarete, then known as Herta Margaret Öfferl, and her deputy Archduke Sandor of Austria, now her husband, founded the organization in January 2007. She had already been working for several years on the promotion of peace initiatives. She serves as its president.

The organization is non-profit, non-partisan and religiously unaligned. It is dedicated to promoting and rewarding endeavors to promote peace. It has given awards to individuals and organizations since 2008. Recipients have included politicians, diplomats, media representatives and peace activists.

The board of the Association consists the Habsburg-Lothringens and her children. The Habsburg-Lothringens use the titles of Archdukes of Austria and Prince of Tuscany, styled as Imperial Highness. though Sandor Habsburg, son of Dominic von Habsburg, is only listed as Count of Habsburg in the Almanach de Gotha Edition of 2000.

The symbol of the prize is a wood carving of a flame mounted on a stone base.

Criticism
In 2009 the award was given to Ali Abdullah Saleh during his attack against Houthi rebels and in 2016 to Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, prime minister of Bahrain. The British journalist Brian Whitaker calling the organisation's award a "dodgy peace prize".