A prize foundation fund in the name of Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi was established in Geneva in 1989, and Nelson Mandela was selected the first recipient of the fund's Gaddafi International Human Rights Prize. Some newspaper accounts have identified Ziegler as one of the panel members who administered the fund in 1989. He has denied launching the award, however, and has said that he was merely "consulted." Although Libya funded the award, its winners were to be chosen by the Swiss foundation, and Ziegler said that "ironclad guarantees" had been established to ensure that "Tripoli's influence would not be felt."