Freedom Award

Last updated
Freedom Award
Awarded for"extraordinary contributions to the cause of refugees and human freedom" [1]
CountryUnited States
Presented by International Rescue Committee
First awarded1957
Last awarded2013
Website IRC Freedom Award

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) bestows its Freedom Award for extraordinary contributions to the cause of refugees and human freedom. According to the IRC, "The Freedom Award reveals the remarkable ability of an individual to shape history and change for the better a world moving toward freedom for all." [1]

Contents

The IRC was founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, [2] and made its first Freedom Award in 1957, to German politician Willy Brandt, who went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize. [3] The following year, the award was presented to Winston Churchill, British prime minister during the Second World War, for his "dedicated and devoted service to the cause of human liberty". [4] The first joint recipients of the award were Lane Kirkland and his wife Irena who won the prize in 1981. [5] Lane was honored for his "long devotion to the cause of refugees" while Irena was described as "very much a human rights activist". [5] Chinese dissidents Li Shuxian and Fang Lizhi were jointly honored in 1991; [1] [6] two American Presidents, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton took the prize as a pair in 2005, and film actress Angelina Jolie and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees High Commissioner António Guterres received the award together in 2007. [7]

Since the first award presentation in 1957, the IRC has made it to 46 recipients, 24 of which were American; the majority of awards have been to politicians. The 1995 presentation was made in absentia to Burmese pro-democracy campaigner and leader of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party, Aung San Suu Kyi. [8] [9] The 2011 award ceremony was held in New York City, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in November, where the presentation was made to the Brokaw family. [10] In 2012, John C. Whitehead received the prize for a second time, the only person to do so. [1]

Recipients

YearImageRecipientNationalityReferences
1957 Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F057884-0009, Willy Brandt.jpg Willy Brandt Flag of Germany.svg  German [5]
1958 Sir Winston S Churchill.jpg Winston Churchill Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  British [4]
1959 William Donovan.jpg William Joseph Donovan Flag of the United States.svg  American [1]
1960 Lt com r e byrd.jpg Richard Evelyn Byrd Flag of the United States.svg  American [1]
1965 George Meany.jpg George Meany Flag of the United States.svg  American [11]
1966 David Dubinsky.jpg David Dubinsky Flag of the United States.svg  American [1]
1967 DavidSarnoff 1922.jpg David Sarnoff Flag of the United States.svg  American [12]
1969 GEN Lucius D. Clay portrait (cropped).jpg Lucius D. Clay Flag of the United States.svg  American [1]
1970 Jacob Javits.jpg Jacob K. Javits Flag of the United States.svg  American [12]
1975 Kreisky-Koechler-Vienna-1980 Crop.jpg Bruno Kreisky Flag of Austria.svg  Austrian [13]
1976— Leo Cherne Flag of the United States.svg  American [1]
1977 Hubert Humphrey crop.jpg Hubert Humphrey Flag of the United States.svg  American [11]
1978— Joseph Buttinger Flag of Austria.svg  Austrian [1]
1979— Mary Pillsbury Lord [A] Flag of the United States.svg  American [1]
1981 Lkirkland.jpg Lane Kirkland
Irena Kirkland 		Flag of the United States.svg  American
Flag of the United States.svg  American 		[5]
1987 Elie Wiesel 2009.jpg Elie Wiesel Flag of Romania.svg  Romanian [11]
1987— John C. Whitehead Flag of the United States.svg  American [14]
1989 Sadruddin Aga Khan (1991) by Erling Mandelmann.jpg Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan Flag of France.svg  French
Flag of Iran.svg  Iranian
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Swiss 		[1]
1989 Lech Walesa - 2009.jpg Lech Wałęsa Flag of Poland.svg  Polish [11]
1990 Violeta Chamorro Flag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaraguan [1]
1991— Fang Lizhi
Li Shuxian 		Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Chinese
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Chinese 		[1]
1991 Javier Perez de Cuellar (1982).jpg Javier Pérez de Cuéllar Flag of Peru.svg  Peruvian [15]
1992 CyrusVanceSoS.jpg Cyrus Vance Flag of the United States.svg  American [12]
1993 George Soros - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 2010.jpg George Soros [B] Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungarian [7]
1993— Dwayne Andreas [C] Flag of the United States.svg  American [1]
1994— Theodore J. Forstmann [B] Flag of the United States.svg  American [16]
1994— Felix Rohatyn [C] Flag of Austria.svg  Austrian [16]
1995 Aung San Suu Kyi 17 November 2011.jpg Aung San Suu Kyi [D] Flag of Myanmar (1974-2010).svg  Burmese [9]
1995 Sadako Ogata.jpg Sadako Ogata Flag of Japan.svg  Japanese [9]
1995 Holbrooke-Amtsfoto 1-293x400.jpg Richard Holbrooke Flag of the United States.svg  American [1]
1997— Robert P. De Vecchi Flag of the United States.svg  American [12]
1999 Albrightmadeleine.jpg Madeleine Albright Flag of the United States.svg  American [12]
2001 John McCain official portrait 2009.jpg John McCain Flag of the United States.svg  American [17]
2002— Reynold Levy Flag of the United States.svg  American [18]
2002 Hamid Karzai in February 2009.jpg Hamid Karzai Flag of the Taliban.svg  Afghan [19]
2003 Vaclav Havel.jpg Václav Havel Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech [9]
2004 Darfur-Rally 019.jpg Roméo Dallaire [B] Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canadian [20]
2005 George H. W. Bush presidential portrait (cropped 2).jpg
Bill Clinton.jpg 		George H.W. Bush
Bill Clinton 		Flag of the United States.svg  American
Flag of the United States.svg  American 		[21]
2006 Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf detail 071024-D-9880W-027.jpg Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Flag of Liberia.svg  Liberian [22]
2007 Antonio Guterres.jpg
Angelina Jolie at Davos crop.jpg 		António Guterres
Angelina Jolie 		Flag of Portugal.svg  Portuguese
Flag of the United States.svg  American 		[9]
2008 Kofi Annan.jpg Kofi Annan Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghanaian [23]
2011 Tom Brokaw by David Shankbone.jpg Brokaw family Flag of the United States.svg  American [10]
2012— John C. Whitehead Flag of the United States.svg  American [24]
2013 George Soros - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 2010.jpg George Soros [B] Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungarian [7] [25]
2014The humanitarian aid worker [26]
2015 Shimon Peres Flag of Israel.svg  Israeli
2016 Spyros Galinos Flag of Greece.svg  Greek [27]
2017 Leopoldo Lopez 1.JPG Leopoldo López Flag of Venezuela.svg  Venezuelan [28] [29]

Notes

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 "IRC Freedom Award". International Rescue Committee. Archived from the original on 2010-10-25. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  2. ↑ "IRC at a glance". International Rescue Committee. Archived from the original on 2012-09-08. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  3. ↑ "The Nobel Peace Prize 1971". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 2008-10-24. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  4. 1 2 "Give Churchill Freedom Award". Gettysburg Times . 1958-05-30. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Krebs, Albin (1981-04-07). "Notes on people; Kirklands to Get Awards". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2019-04-25. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  6. ↑ "Statements by Chinese Dissidents and Beijing". The New York Times . 1990-06-26. Archived from the original on 2018-11-24. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  7. 1 2 3 "High Commissioner and Angelina Jolie to receive IRC Freedom Award". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 2007-11-06. Archived from the original on 2012-10-12. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  8. ↑ "Profile: Aung San Suu Kyi". BBC News. 2009-08-11. Archived from the original on 2009-05-14. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "UN refugee agency, Angelina Jolie receive Freedom Award". United Nations. 2007-11-08. Archived from the original on 2008-06-17. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  10. 1 2 "2011 Freedom Award: Honoring the Brokaw Family". International Rescue Committee. 2011-11-10. Archived from the original on 2013-07-20. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Walesa says West to blame if Poland fails". Times-News . 1989-11-17. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2023-11-24. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 "Madeleine Albright receives International Rescue Committee's Freedom Award". International Rescue Committee. 1999-11-10. Archived from the original on 2010-08-02. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  13. ↑ "Austria's Kreisky Will Get Freedom Award". The Daytona Beach News-Journal . 1975-04-10. p. 35. Archived from the original on 2023-11-24. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  14. ↑ "Press Release – SG/SM/7625". United Nations. 2000-11-15. Archived from the original on 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  15. ↑ "Social Events". The New York Times . 1991-11-03. Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  16. 1 2 "Benefits". The New York Times . 1994-11-20. Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  17. ↑ "Remarks of Senator John McCain – The International Rescue Committee's 2001 Freedom Award Dinner". U.S. Senator John McCain – Arizona. 2001-11-14. Archived from the original on 2016-08-27. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  18. ↑ "2008 UPS Lecture on Nonprofit Leadership, Governance and Economic Stewardship". Georgia State University. Archived from the original on 2010-06-30. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  19. ↑ "His Excellency President Hamed Karzai". The Embassy of Afghanistan – Tokyo. Archived from the original on 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  20. ↑ "Samantha Power – IRC Freedom Award Dinner – November 10, 2004" (PDF). Harvard University. Archived from the original (pdf) on June 30, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  21. ↑ "IRC Honors Former Presidents Bush and Clinton for Tsunami, Katrina Relief Efforts". International Rescue Committee. 2005-11-10. Archived from the original on 2010-10-27. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
  22. ↑ "Biographical Brief of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf". Government of the Republic of Liberia – Executive Mansion. Archived from the original on 2010-04-23. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  23. ↑ Lunn, Stephen; Harris, Bret (2008-12-09). "Give 'til it hurts". The Australian . Retrieved 2010-05-19.
  24. ↑ Anderson, Monika (2012-11-08). "Kissinger, Bloomberg Honor IRC at Freedom Award Dinner". Wall Street Journal . Archived from the original on 2019-02-27. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
  25. ↑ International Rescue Committee. "Freedom Award: Honoring George Soros". Rescue.org. International Rescue Committee. Archived from the original on 2015-02-03. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  26. ↑ Honoring the humanitarian aid worker Archived 2015-09-06 at the Wayback Machine , Rescue, 2014
  27. ↑ "International Rescue Committee honors Mayor Spyros Galinos of Lesbos and the Mack family at annual Rescue Dinner benefit". Archived from the original on 27 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  28. ↑ "Governor Scott Joins Venezuelan Expats In Doral; Says Maduro, 'Thugs' Have To Go". Archived from the original on 2017-05-09. Retrieved 2017-05-08.
  29. ↑ "Freedom Award: Leopoldo López fue homenajeado con el Freedom Award en Miami". Archived from the original on 2017-05-11. Retrieved 2017-05-08.

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