Baden-Baden, Germany ? A German official called former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani “the mayor of the world” Saturday, presenting him with his second European honor this week.

Giuliani dedicated the German Media Prize figurine to the heroism of New Yorkers.

The ex-mayor wore a flag lapel pin and a red, white and blue tie as Interior Minister Otto Schily presented the prize for Giuliani’s energy and courage in leading the city after the Sept. 11 terror attack demolished the World Trade Center.

“I realize it’s not really for me it’s for the people of New York City,” said Giuliani. “Their initial heroism helped create a lot of resilience and the very, very strong response from America and the rest of the world.”

“In order to build a world in which something like the (destruction of the) World Trade Center doesn’t happen again, we have to spread in all the ways we can political freedom, economic freedom … and religious tolerance,” he told an audience of more than 400 people in the ritzy spa town of Baden-Baden. The group included visiting American students from high schools near the trade center.

“I think we’re capable of doing it if we focus on it,” he added. “New York City probably teaches you that every day.”

The German Media Prize a no-cash award is given annually by leading editors at German newspapers, magazines and television stations to a major public figure.

Giuliani, 57, served eight years as mayor before handing over to Michael Bloomberg Dec. 31. He already has been named Time magazine’s Person of the Year and widely heralded for his steadfast response to a grief-torn city.

Wednesday, he was made an honorary knight by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.

The jury cited Giuliani’s “energy, courage and tireless sympathy that made him the leading personality of New York and America.” Karlheinz Koegel, who founded the German prize in 1992, said Giuliani embodied “forgotten values of courage.”

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, whose government Giuliani thanked for its support after Sept. 11, also sent congratulations.