This post was written by Hatchet reporter Kristen Barnes.

The Graduate School of Political Management honored Ireland’s prime minister Enda Kenny on campus Monday for leading a country trying to rebound from the financial crisis.

Kenny – the Taoiseach, Ireland’s most powerful head of state – nabbed the college’s first “Making Democracy Work” award, and told a standing room-only crowd in 1957 E St. that international leaders must work collaboratively to help heal the world economy.

“Many people across the [European Union] are asking their political leaders for assistance,” Kenny said. “We cannot and must not accept the damage inflicted on the young mind with the issue of unemployment.”

Kenny has acted confidently in his two years leading Ireland, rejecting the need for a second bailout last year after excessive borrowing and a housing bubble crippled the Irish economy during the financial crisis.

He attributed the country’s improved economic growth in recent years to a larger skilled labor force and Irish community spirit.

“There is more that unites us than divides us,” he said.

But he also stressed the country’s dependence on the U.S. Kenny, who marched in the St. Patrick’s Day parade Sunday in New York City, is also meeting with U.S. leaders this week.

“We are more interdependent and interconnected than ever before,” Kenny said.

The award adds to GSPM’s international outreach. The school, which teaches applied politics to D.C. political and public relations professionals, has looked to expand abroad under director Mark Kennedy, a former Republican congressman who is in his second year leading the school.