Kevin Kallaugher, The Sun political cartoonist known to readers as KAL, received the prestigious Thomas Nast Award last night for the best cartoons on foreign affairs from the Overseas Press Club of America.

The award, named for the famed late-19th-century political cartoonist for Harper's Weekly and presented at a black-tie dinner at New York City's Grand Hyatt Hotel, included a $1,000 prize and a hand-drawn certificate.

Kallaugher's winning entry was composed of 10 cartoons, including drawings on U.S.-Iraqi relations; the Wye River peace accord reached last year between Israeli and Palestinian authorities on Maryland's Eastern Shore; and Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin.

It also included a cartoon portraying Yugoslavian leader Slobodan Milosevic as an octopus. Published in June, months before the conflict with NATO forces began, it shows figures representing Europe and the United States nailing down one of the eight arms in Bosnia while another tentacle puts a death grip on a resident of Kosovo. "So much for Milosevic's losing his grip on power," the Uncle Sam figure says.

"I feel part of my responsibility as a cartoonist is to help raise the American public's awareness of the world," said Kallaugher, 44, who joined The Sun in 1988 and also draws for the Economist, a weekly publication in England.

Sonya K. Fry, executive director of the Overseas Press Club, said the category is "one of the largest" among the 19 in print and broadcast journalism in which awards are given.

Pub Date: 4/23/99