The Freederiksz Medal was set up in 1997 as an award for outstanding contributions in the fields of physics, chemistry and applications of liquid crystals. The first laureates in 1997 were Professor Viktor Tsvetkov (Russia) and Professor George Gray (UK). The awards for 1998 were announced at a ceremony on November 25 1998 during a session of the Liquid Crystal Society ‘Commonwealth’ held at the Institute of Crystallography, Moscow. The Freederiksz Medal for outstanding contributions in the field of the chemistry of liquid crystals was awarded to Professor Valery Shibaev (Russia), while the Freederiksz Medal for outstanding contributions in the field of the physics of liquid crystals was awarded to Professor Alfred Saupe (Germany). The award was presented at the meeting to Professor Shibaev, but unfortunately, Professor Saupe was unable to be present at the award ceremony. Brief accounts of the contributions of the 1998 Freedericksz Medal laureates are given below.