List of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a partial list of recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, listed chronologically within the aspect of life in which each recipient is or was renowned.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is awarded by the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President for award of the Medal or any person selected by the President upon his own initiative".[1] Before 1970, honorees were either selected by the president or recommended to them by the Distinguished Civilian Service Awards Board.[2]

History

Typically the medal is bestowed upon the recipient by the sitting president who has chosen them. However, the first recipients selected by president John F. Kennedy before his assassination were formally awarded by his successor in office, Lyndon B. Johnson.[3]

President Barack Obama awarded 118 medals, the most of any president, followed by President Bill Clinton with 89 medal recipients.[4] Three people—Ellsworth Bunker, Colin Powell, and Ben Carson—are two-time recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Colin Powell received his second award with distinction,[5] while Ellsworth Bunker was given both of his awards with distinction.

Eight presidents have themselves received the medal either posthumously, post-presidency, or prior to being elected:

In 2015, President Barack Obama stated that there was no precedent to revoke a Presidential Medal of Freedom, regarding the award given to stand-up comedian and actor Bill Cosby.[6] After being awarded the medal, Cosby was convicted of multiple counts of sexual assault, though the convictions were later overturned.[7]

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is related to, but distinct from, the Medal of Freedom, an earlier award issued between 1945 and 1963 to honor US civilian contributions to World War II.

In 2022 at the age of 25, athlete and activist Simone Biles became the youngest person to receive the award.[8]

Declinations of the award

Bill Belichick, coach of the New England Patriots, was offered the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Donald Trump, and initially accepted it, but changed his mind and turned down the medal after the January 6 United States Capitol attack.[9]

Country musician Dolly Parton turned down the medal twice from Donald Trump. Parton said she turned it down the first time because her husband was ill, and the second time because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[10]

Awarded with Distinction

The Presidential Medal of Freedom (with Distinction)

As of 2025, 28 individuals (Ellsworth Bunker twice, which is a total of 29 WDs) have been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (with Distinction):[11]

John F. Kennedy – 8
  1. James B. Conant
  2. Robert A. Lovett
  3. Luis Muñoz Marín
  4. John J. McCloy
  5. Jean Monnet
  6. Ralph Bunche
  7. Felix Frankfurter
  8. Ellsworth Bunker – (first WD)
Lyndon B. Johnson – 6
  1. Edward R. Murrow
  2. Dean Acheson
  3. Carl Vinson
  4. Ellsworth Bunker – (second WD)
  5. Clark Clifford
  6. Dean Rusk
Richard Nixon – 4
  1. Buzz Aldrin
  2. Neil Armstrong
  3. Michael Collins
  4. W. Averell Harriman
Gerald Ford – 4
  1. Martha Graham
  2. Arthur Rubinstein
  3. David K. E. Bruce
  4. Donald Rumsfeld
Jimmy Carter – 0
  0 – (none)
Ronald Reagan – 1
  1. Caspar Weinberger
George H. W. Bush – 1
  1. Ronald Reagan
Bill Clinton – 1
  1. Colin Powell
George W. Bush – 1
  1. Pope John Paul II
Barack Obama – 1
  1. Joe Biden
Donald Trump – 0
  0 – (none)
Joe Biden – 1
  1. Pope Francis

List

  • † – Awarded posthumously
  • WD – Awarded "with Distinction"

Selected by John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy selected 31 recipients to be awarded in 1963. After his assassination they were officially awarded by Lyndon B. Johnson.

More information Recipient, Year ...
Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
Marian Anderson 1963 Classical Contralto & First African-American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera [12]
Ralph Bunche WD Political Scientist, Mediator in Israel & First person of African descent to receive a Nobel Prize [3][11]
Ellsworth Bunker WD U.S. Ambassador to Argentina, Italy and India [3][11]
Pablo Casals Cellist [13]
Genevieve Caulfield Founder of the Bangkok School for the Blind in Thailand
James B. Conant WD Chemist, 23rd president of Harvard University & 1st U.S. ambassador to West Germany [11]
John Franklin Enders Biomedical Scientist & Developer of the Measles Vaccine
Felix Frankfurter WD Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States [3][11]
Karl Holton Head of the Los Angeles County Probation Department & Director of the California Youth Authority [14]
Robert J. H. Kiphuth Head Coach for Men's Swimming at Yale University
Edwin H. Land Co-founder of the Polaroid Corporation & Inventor of the Polaroid Instant Camera
Herbert H. Lehman [a] United States senator from New York & 45th governor of New York
Robert A. Lovett WD 4th United States secretary of defense [11]
J. Clifford MacDonald Philanthropist & President of the Arc of the United States
John J. McCloy WD United States assistant secretary of war & U.S. high commissioner for occupied germany [11]
George Meany 1st president of AFL-CIO [3]
Alexander Meiklejohn Philosopher & President of Amherst College
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Architect [3]
Jean Monnet WD Entrepreneur & Founding Father of the European Union [11]
Luis Muñoz Marín WD 1st elected governor of Puerto Rico [11]
Clarence B. Randall Chairman of the board of Inland Steel Company & Presidential Advisor [16]
Rudolf Serkin Pianist
Edward Steichen Photographer
George W. Taylor Professor of industrial relations at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania
Alan Tower Waterman 1st director of the National Science Foundation
Mark S. Watson Editor and Correspondent for The Baltimore Sun [14]
Annie Dodge Wauneka Member of the Navajo Nation Council [17]
E. B. White Writer
Thornton Wilder 3x Pulitzer Prize Winning Playwright & Novelist
Edmund Wilson Writer & Literary Critic
Andrew Wyeth Realist and Regionalist Painter & Visual Artist
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Awarded by Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson awarded 58 medals between 1963 and 1969, excluding 31 which were selected by John F. Kennedy.

More information Recipient, Year ...
Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
John XXIII 1963 † Pope [14]
John F. Kennedy † 35th president of the United States [18]
Dean Acheson 1964 WD 51st United States secretary of state [11]
Detlev Bronk 6th president of Johns Hopkins University, 16th president of the National Academy of Sciences & 3rd president of Rockefeller University
Aaron Copland Classical composer
Willem de Kooning Abstract expressionist artist [19]
Walt Disney Co-founder and President of the Walt Disney Company [20]
J. Frank Dobie Folklorist
Lena Frances Edwards Physician & medical advisor to the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs
T. S. Eliot Modernist poet
Lynn Fontanne Actress [20]
John W. Gardner 6th United States secretary of health, education, and welfare
Theodore Hesburgh Ordained Priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross & 15th President of University of Notre Dame
Clarence Johnson Aeronautical and Systems Engineer & Contributing Designer to the Lockheed U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird
Frederick Kappel 9th President of Western Electric & Chairman of AT&T
Helen Keller Disability Rights Advocate, Human Rights Activist & Member of the American Foundation for the Blind
John L. Lewis 9th President of the United Mine Workers & 1st President of the Congress of Industrial Organizations
Walter Lippmann Founding Editor of New Republic & Political Commentator
Alfred Lunt Actor & Director [20]
Ralph McGill Editor of the Atlanta Constitution & Anti-Segregationist
Samuel Eliot Morison Maritime Historian
Lewis Mumford Historian, Sociologist & Philosopher of Technology
Edward R. Murrow WD Broadcast Journalist & WWII War Correspondent [11]
Reinhold Niebuhr Reformed Theologian, Ethicist & Professor at Union Theological Seminary
Leontyne Price Soprano & First African-American Soprano to Achieve International Acclaim
A. Philip Randolph Founder and President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
Carl Sandburg 3x Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet
John Steinbeck Nobel Prize Winning Writer
Helen B. Taussig Cardiologist, Founder of Pediatric Cardiology & Co-developer of the Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunt Surgical Procedure
Carl Vinson WD Member of the U.S. House of Representatives & Father of the Two-Ocean Navy [11]
Thomas Watson Jr. President of the International Business Machines Corporation
Paul Dudley White Presidential Physician to Dwight D. Eisenhower & Co-founder of the American Heart Association
Ellsworth Bunker 1967 WD U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States and South Vietnam [11]
Robert Komer 3rd Deputy National Security Advisor & U.S. Ambassador to Turkey
Eugene M. Locke U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan & South Vietnam
Robert McNamara 1968 8th United States Secretary of Defense
James E. Webb 2nd Administrator of NASA [21]
Eugene R. Black Sr. 1969 3rd President of the World Bank Group
McGeorge Bundy 5th United States National Security Advisor
Clark Clifford WD 9th United States Secretary of Defense & Chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board [11]
Michael DeBakey Chairman of the Department of Surgery, President, and Chancellor of Baylor College of Medicine at the Texas Medical Center
David Dubinsky President of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union
Ralph Ellison Writer & Literary Critic
Henry Ford II President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of the Ford Motor Company
Bob Hope Comedian & Vaudevillian [22]
Edgar Kaiser Member of the Committee on Urban Housing & General Manager of the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation
Mary Lasker Philanthropist & Founder of the Lasker Foundation
John Macy President of the United States Civil Service Commission
Gregory Peck Actor & Humanitarian
Laurance Rockefeller Conservationist & Philanthropist
Dean Rusk WD 54th United States Secretary of State [11]
Walt Whitman Rostow 6th United States National Security Advisor
Merriman Smith White House Correspondent for United Press International & Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist [23]
Cyrus Vance 7th United States Secretary of the Army & 11th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
William S. White Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist for the United Feature Syndicate
Roy Wilkins Executive Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People [23]
Whitney Young Civil Rights Leader & Member of the National Urban League
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Awarded by Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon awarded 28 medals between 1969 and 1974.

More information Recipient, Year ...
Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
Buzz Aldrin 1969 WD Astronaut, Pilot & Apollo 11 Crew Member [11]
Neil Armstrong WD Astronaut, Aeronautical Engineer & Apollo 11 Crew Member [24][11]
Michael Collins WD Astronaut, Pilot & Apollo 11 Crew Member [24][11]
Duke Ellington Jazz Pianist & Composer
W. Averell Harriman WD 48th Governor of New York & 11th United States Secretary of Commerce [11]
Earl Charles Behrens 1970 Political Editor for the San Francisco Chronicle [25]
Edward T. Folliard Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist for The Washington Post
Fred Haise Astronaut, Pilot & Apollo 13 Crew Member [26]
William Henry Journalist & Daily Columnist for the Los Angeles Times [25]
Arthur Krock 3x Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist for The New York Times [25]
David Lawrence Founder of U.S. News & World Report [25]
G. Gould Lincoln Political Reporter for The Washington Evening Star [25]
Jim Lovell Astronaut, Pilot & Apollo 13 Crew Member [26]
Mission Operations Team [27]
Raymond Moley Political Economist, Presidential Advisor to Franklin D. Roosevelt & Columnist for Newsweek & National Review [25]
Eugene Ormandy Violinist, Conductor & Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra
Adela Rogers St. Johns Journalist for Photoplay Magazine [25]
Jack Swigert Astronaut, Pilot & Apollo 13 Crew Member [26]
Manlio Brosio 1971 4th Secretary General of NATO
Samuel Goldwyn Film Producer & Founder of Goldwyn Pictures & Samuel Goldwyn Productions
William J. Hopkins Executive Clerk of the White House
John Paul Vann 1972 † Lieutenant Colonel of the United States Army & Member of the United States Agency for International Development
Lila Acheson Wallace Philanthropist & Co-founder of Reader's Digest
DeWitt Wallace Co-founder of Reader's Digest
John Ford 1973 Film Director, Naval Officer & Head of the Photography Unit of the Office of Strategic Services
William P. Rogers 63rd United States Attorney General & 55th United States Secretary of State
Paul G. Hoffman 1974 1st Administrator of the Economic Cooperation Administration & 1st Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme
Melvin Laird 10th United States Secretary of Defense & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Charles Lowman Orthopedic Surgeon & Founder of California's First Orthopedic Hospital [28]
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Awarded by Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford awarded 28 medals between 1974 and 1977.

More information Recipient, Year ...
Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
David K. E. Bruce 1976 WD U.S. Ambassador to France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the People's Republic of China & NATO [11]
Martha Graham WD Modern Dancer, Choreographer & Inventor of the Graham Technique [29][11]
Jesse Owens Olympic Track and Field Athlete [30]
Arthur Rubinstein WD Classical Pianist [31][11]
Iorwith Wilbur Abel 1977 3rd President of the United Steelworkers
John Bardeen 2x Nobel Prize Winning Physicist & Engineer
Irving Berlin Composer & Songwriter [31]
Norman Borlaug Nobel Prize Winning Agronomist & Leader of the Green Revolution
Omar Bradley Senior Officer of the United States Army & 1st Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff [31]
Arleigh Burke Admiral of the United States Navy & Chief of Naval Operations
Alexander Calder † Mobiles Sculptor [32]
Bruce Catton Pulitzer Prize Winning Popular Historian of the American Civil War
Joe DiMaggio Professional Baseball Player [31]
Ariel Durant Pulitzer Prize Winning Researcher & Writer
Will Durant Pulitzer Prize Winning Historian & Philosopher [32]
Arthur Fiedler Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops Orchestra [31]
Henry Friendly Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Lady Bird Johnson First Lady of the United States [33]
Henry Kissinger WD 56th United States Secretary of State & 7th United States National Security Advisor [34]
Archibald MacLeish Modernist Poet, 9th Librarian of Congress & 1st Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs [32]
James A. Michener Pulitzer Prize Winning Writer & Philanthropist [32]
Georgia O'Keeffe Modernist Artist & Painter [35]
Nelson Rockefeller 41st Vice President of the United States & 49th Governor of New York [32]
Norman Rockwell Painter & Illustrator [32]
Donald Rumsfeld WD 13th and 21st United States Secretary of Defense & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives [11]
Catherine Filene Shouse Philanthropist, Member of the Women's Division of the U.S. Employment Service of the Department of Labor & First Woman appointed to the Democratic National Committee
Lowell Thomas Writer, Broadcaster & Leading Investor of Capital Cities Television Corporation [32]
James Watson Nobel Prize Winning Molecular Biologist & Geneticist who Co-developed the Double Helix Structure Theory for the DNA Molecule
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Awarded by Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter awarded 34 medals between 1977 and 1981.

More information Recipient, Year ...
Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
Martin Luther King Jr. 1977 † Baptist Minister, Prominent Leader in the Civil Rights Movement & 1st President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Jonas Salk Virologist & Developer of the Polio Vaccine
Arthur Goldberg 1978 9th United States Secretary of Labor, 6th U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations & Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Margaret Mead 1979 † Cultural Anthropologist & President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science [36]
Ansel Adams 1980 Landscape Photographer & Environmentalist [37]
Horace M. Albright 2nd Director of the National Park Service & Conservationist [38]
Rachel Carson † Marine Biologist, Conservationist & Leader in the Global Environmental Movement [37]
Lucia Chase Ballet Director, Dancer & Co-founder of the American Ballet Theatre [37]
Hubert Humphrey † 38th Vice President of the United States & United States Senator from Minnesota [37]
Iakovos Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America & Civil Rights Activist [37]
Lyndon B. Johnson † 36th President of the United States [37]
Clarence Mitchell Jr. Civil Rights Activist & Chief Lobbyist and National Director for NAACP [37]
Roger Tory Peterson Naturalist, Ornithologist & One of the Founding Inspiration of the Environmental Movement [37]
Hyman G. Rickover Admiral in the U.S. Navy & Director of the U.S. Naval Reactors Office [37]
Beverly Sills Operatic Soprano [37]
Robert Penn Warren Poet, Literary Critic, Co-founder of New Criticism & Charter Member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers [37]
John Wayne † Actor [37]
Eudora Welty Pulitzer Prize Winning Novelist & Short Story Writer [37]
Tennessee Williams Playwright & Screenwriter [37]
Roger Nash Baldwin 1981 Co-founder and 1st Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union [39]
Harold Brown 14th United States Secretary of Defense
Zbigniew Brzezinski 9th United States National Security Advisor [39]
Warren Christopher 5th United States Deputy Secretary of State & 9th United States Deputy Attorney General
Walter Cronkite Broadcast Journalist & Anchorman for CBS Evening News [39]
Kirk Douglas Actor & Philanthropist [39]
Margaret McNamara Founder of Reading Is Fundamental [39]
Karl Menninger Psychiatrist & Co-founder of the Menninger Foundation and Menninger Clinic
Edmund Muskie 58th United States Secretary of State & United States Senator from Maine
Esther Peterson 2nd Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs & 4th Director of the United States Women's Bureau [39]
Gerard C. Smith Chief U.S. Delegate to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks & 1st U.S. Chairman of the Trilateral Commission [39]
Robert S. Strauss 6th United States Trade Representative & United States Special Envoy for the Middle East [39]
Elbert Tuttle Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit [39]
Earl Warren † 14th Chief Justice of the United States [39]
Andrew Young Executive Director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives [39]
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Awarded by Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan awarded 86 medals between 1981 and 1989.

More information Recipient, Year ...
Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
Eubie Blake 1981 Jazz Pianist & Composer [40]
Ella Grasso † 83rd Governor of Connecticut & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Bryce Harlow Counselor to the President
Walter Judd Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Morris I. Leibman Civilian Aide-At-Large to the United States Army & Partner at Sidley Austin
Tex Thornton Founder of Litton Industries
Philip Habib 1982 9th Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs & 9th U.S. Ambassador to Korea
Kate Smith Singer & Actor
George Balanchine 1983 Ballet Choreographer & Co-founder of the New York City Ballet [41]
Clare Boothe Luce U.S. Ambassador to Italy & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives [31]
Bear Bryant † College Football Player & Head Coach of the University of Alabama Football Team
James Burnham Political Theorist, Philosopher, Chair of the Philosophy Department at New York University & Leader of the American Conservative Movement [31]
James E. Cheek President of Howard University
Buckminster Fuller Architect, Systems Theorist, Inventor, Philosopher & Futurist [42]
Billy Graham Evangelist, Ordained Southern Baptist Minister & President of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
Eric Hoffer Moral and Social Philosopher
Jacob Javits United States Senator from New York & 58th Attorney General of New York [31]
Dumas Malone Pulitzer Prize Winning Historian & Biographer
Mabel Mercer Cabaret Singer
Simon Ramo Engineer considered to be the Father of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
Howard Baker 1984 United States Senator from Tennessee [43]
Pierre Baruzy French boxing champion, industrialist, and WWII resistance member who saved Allied airmen.
James Cagney Actor, Dancer & 6th President of the Screen Actors Guild [43]
Whittaker Chambers † Journalist for Time Magazine, Senior Editor at National Review & Key Witness against the Ware Group during the Hiss Case for Perjury [44][45]
Leo Cherne Head of the International Rescue Committee & Chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board [31]
Terence Cooke † Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church & Archbishop of New York
Denton Cooley Heart and Cardiothoracic Surgeon & Founder and Surgeon-In-Chief of The Texas Heart Institute who performed the first Artificial Heart Implantation [43]
Tennessee Ernie Ford Country and Western Singer [43]
Héctor García Physician, World War II Veteran, Civil Rights Advocate & Founder of the American GI Forum [43]
Andrew Goodpaster United States Army General, Supreme Allied Commander Europe & Commander in Chief of the United States European Command [46]
Henry M. Jackson † United States Senator from Washington & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Lincoln Kirstein Writer, Impresario, Philanthropist & Co-founder of the New York City Ballet [43]
Louis L'Amour Novelist & Short Story Writer [43]
Joseph Luns 5th Secretary General of NATO & Minister of Foreign Affairs
Norman Vincent Peale Protestant Clergyman, Pastor of Marble Collegiate Church, New York & Author who popularized the concept of Positive Thinking [43]
Jackie Robinson † Professional Baseball Player & Civil Rights Advocate [43]
Carlos P. Romulo President of the United Nations General Assembly & Co-founder of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines
Anwar el-Sadat † 3rd President of Egypt [47]
Eunice Kennedy Shriver Philanthropist & Founder of the Special Olympics [43]
Count Basie 1985 † Jazz Pianist, Composer & Bandleader of the Count Basie Orchestra
Albert Coady Wedemeyer United States Army Commander, General & Member of the War Planning Board which formulated plans for the Invasion of Normandy during World War II
Jacques Cousteau French Naval Officer, Oceanographer & Co-Inventor of the Aqua-Lung
Jerome H. Holland † President of Delaware State College, 9th President of Hampton University & U.S. Ambassador to Sweden
Sidney Hook Philosopher of the Pragmatist School [31]
Jeane Kirkpatrick 16th U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
George Low † 14th President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute & 4th Deputy Administrator of NASA
Paul Nitze 12th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense & 58th United States Secretary of the Navy
Frank Reynolds † Television Journalist for CBS and ABC News
Frank Sinatra Singer & Actor
James Stewart Actor & Brigadier General
Mother Teresa Catholic Nun, Humanitarian & Founder of the Missionaries of Charity
Albert Wohlstetter Political Scientist influential to the U.S. Nuclear Strategy during the Cold War
Roberta Wohlstetter Historian of American Military Intelligence
Chuck Yeager United States Air Force Officer, Flying Ace & Record-Setting Test Pilot who was the First Confirmed Pilot in History to Exceed the Speed of Sound during Flight
Walter Annenberg 1986 Businessman, Philanthropist, Owner of Triangle Publications & U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom
Earl Blaik American football Player & Head Coach at Dartmouth College and the United States Military Academy
Barry Goldwater United States Senator from Arizona & United States Air Force Officer
Helen Hayes Actress
Vladimir Horowitz Classical Pianist & Composer
Matthew Ridgway United States Army Senior Officer, Supreme Allied Commander of Europe & 19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army
Vermont C. Royster Editor of The Wall Street Journal
Albert Sabin Medical Researcher, President of the Weizmann Institute of Science & Developer of the Oral Polio Vaccine
Anne Armstrong 1987 First Female Counselor to the President, U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom & Chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board
Justin Whitlock Dart Sr. † President of Dart Industries & Executive Director of Store Industries for Walgreens
Irving Kaufman Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit & District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Danny Kaye † Actor, Comedian & Singer
Lyman Lemnitzer United States Army General, 4th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff & Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO
John A. McCone 6th Director of Central Intelligence
Frederick Patterson President of Tuskegee University & Founder of the United Negro College Fund
Nathan Perlmutter 4th Director of the Anti-Defamation League
Mstislav Rostropovich Cellist, Conductor & Human Rights Advocate
William B. Walsh Founder of Project HOPE (USA)
Caspar Weinberger WD 15th United States Secretary of Defense & 10th United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare [11]
Meredith Willson † Flutist, Bandleader, Composer, Conductor & Playwright
Pearl Bailey 1988 Broadway Actress & Singer
Malcolm Baldrige Jr. † 25th United States Secretary of Commerce
Irving Brown Trade Unionist & Leader of the American Federation of Labor and the AFL-CIO
Warren E. Burger 15th Chief Justice of the United States
Peter Carington 6th Secretary General of NATO & Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Edward DeBartolo Businessman & Real-Estate Developer
Milton Friedman Economist & Statistician
Jean MacArthur Philanthropist
J. Willard Marriott † Entrepreneur & Founder of the Marriott Corporation
David Packard Co-founder, President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Hewlett-Packard, 13th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense & President of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Roger L. Stevens Founding Chairman of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts
Mike Mansfield 1989 United States Senator from Montana
George Shultz 60th United States Secretary of State
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Awarded by George H. W. Bush

George H. W. Bush awarded 38 medals between 1989 and 1993.

More information Recipient, Year ...
Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
Lucille Ball 1989 † Actress, Comedian & Producer
C. Douglas Dillon 57th United States Secretary of the Treasury & the U.S. Ambassador to France
Jimmy Doolittle Military General & Commander of the Doolittle Raid
George F. Kennan 1st Director of Policy Planning & the U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union & Yugoslavia
Claude Pepper Member of the U.S. House of Representatives & United States Senator from Florida
Margaret Chase Smith United States Senator from Maine
Lech Wałęsa Chairman of the Solidarity
James Baker 1991 10th and 16th White House Chief of Staff
William F. Buckley Jr. Founder of the National Review Magazine
Dick Cheney 17th United States Secretary of Defense, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives & future 46th Vice president of the United States [48]
Luis A. Ferré Governor of Puerto Rico
Betty Ford First Lady of the United States [49]
Hanna Holborn Gray 9th President of the University of Chicago
Friedrich Hayek Economist & Legal Theorist
Tip O'Neill 47th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar Secretary General of the United Nations
Colin Powell 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. Commander of the United States Central Command
Brent Scowcroft 8th and 16th United States National Security Advisor
Leon Sullivan Baptist Minister & Civil Rights and Social Activist
Margaret Thatcher Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Russell E. Train 2nd Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Vernon A. Walters 10th Deputy Director of Central Intelligence & the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, West Germany and Germany
William Webster 14th Director of Central Intelligence & the 3rd Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Ted Williams Professional Baseball Player
David Brinkley 1992 Newscaster for NBC and ABC
Johnny Carson Television Host
Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Singer
Audrey Hepburn Actress & Humanitarian
Richard Petty Seven Time Champion of the NASCAR Cup Series, Seven Time Winner of the Daytona 500
Harry W. Shlaudeman U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Brazil and Nicaragua
Isaac Stern Violinist
John W. Vessey 10th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Sam Walton Founder of Walmart and Sam's Club
Elie Wiesel Political Activist, Writer & Holocaust Survivor
I. M. Pei Architect [50]
Ronald Reagan 1993 WD 40th President of the United States & Governor of California [51][11]
Strom Thurmond United States Senator from South Carolina
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Awarded by Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton awarded 89 medals between 1993 and 2001.

More information Recipient, Year ...
Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
Arthur Ashe 1993 † Professional Tennis Player
William J. Brennan Jr. Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Marjory Stoneman Douglas Journalist, Woman's Suffrage Advocate & Conservationist
J. William Fulbright United States Senator from Arkansas
Thurgood Marshall † Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States & the Supreme Court's First African-American Justice
Colin Powell WD 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff [5][11]
Joseph L. Rauh Jr. † Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Lawyer
Martha Raye Comic Actress & Singer [52]
John Minor Wisdom Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Herbert L. Block 1994 Editorial Cartoonist
Cesar Chavez † Labor Leader, Civil Rights Activist & Co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association
Arthur Sherwood Flemming 3rd United States Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare
James P. Grant Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund
Dorothy Height Civil Rights and Women's Rights Activist & President of the National Council of Negro Women
Barbara Jordan Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Lane Kirkland Labour Union Leader & President of AFL-CIO
Robert H. Michel Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Sargent Shriver 1st Director of the Peace Corps & Founder of the Job Corps, Head Start, VISTA and Upward Bound
Peggy Charren 1995 Founder of Action for Children's Television [52]
William T. Coleman Jr. 4th United States Secretary of Transportation
John Hope Franklin President of Phi Beta Kappa, the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association and the Southern Historical Association
Joan Ganz Cooney Founder of Sesame Workshop [52]
A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Frank Minis Johnson Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
C. Everett Koop 13th Surgeon General of the United States
Gaylord Nelson United States Senator from Wisconsin
Walter Reuther † 4th President of the United Automobile Workers
James Rouse Founder of The Rouse Company
Willie Velasquez † Founder of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project
Lew Wasserman President of MCA Inc. [52]
Joseph Bernardin 1996 Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church & Archbishop of Cincinnati & Chicago
James Brady 17th White House Press Secretary
Millard Fuller Co-founder and President for Habitat For Humanity International
David A. Hamburg President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York
John H. Johnson Founder of the Johnson Publishing Company
Eugene Lang Founder of REFAC Technology Development Corporation
Jan Nowak-Jeziorański Polish Journalist & Writer
Antonia Pantoja Founder of ASPIRA & Boricua College
Rosa Parks Civil Rights Activist
Ginetta Sagan Human Rights Activist
Mo Udall Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Bob Dole 1997 United States Senator from Kansas
William J. Perry 19th United States Secretary of Defense
John Shalikashvili 13th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff & the Supreme Allied Commander Europe
Arnold Aronson 1998 Founder of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Brooke Astor Philanthropist & Chairwoman of the Vincent Astor Foundation
Robert Coles Child Psychiatrist & Professor at Harvard University
Justin Dart Jr. Co-founder of the American Association of People with Disabilities
James Farmer 1st National Director of the Congress of Racial Equality
Dante Fascell Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Zachary Fisher Philanthropist
Frances Hesselbein CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA
Fred Korematsu Civil Rights Activist
Sol Linowitz Diplomat & Lawyer
Wilma Mankiller Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation [53]
Margaret Murie Conservationist
Mario G. Obledo Civil Rights Leader & 41st President of LULAC
Elliot Richardson 69th United States Attorney General
David Rockefeller CEO of Chase Manhattan Corporation
Albert Shanker † President of the United Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers
Elmo Zumwalt 19th Chief of Naval Operations
Lloyd Bentsen 1999 United States Senator from Texas & 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury
Edgar Bronfman Sr. President of the World Jewish Congress
Jimmy Carter 39th President of the United States & Humanitarian [52]
Rosalynn Carter First Lady of the United States & Humanitarian [52]
Evelyn Dubrow Labour Lobbyist for the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
Isolina Ferré Roman Catholic Religious Sister & Humanitarian [52]
Gerald Ford 38th President of the United States [52]
Oliver Hill Civil Rights Attorney
Max Kampelman Counselor of the United States Department of State
Helmut Kohl Chancellor of Germany
George J. Mitchell United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland & United States Senator from Maine
Edgar Wayburn Environmentalist & President of the Sierra Club
James E. Burke 2000 CEO of Johnson & Johnson
John Chafee † United States Senator from Rhode Island
Wesley Clark Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO
William J. Crowe 11th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff & the 29th U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom
Marian Wright Edelman Founder and President of the Children's Defense Fund [54]
John Kenneth Galbraith 7th U.S. Ambassador to India
George G. Higgins Catholic Priest & Labor Activist
Jesse Jackson Political Activist & United States Shadow Senator from the District of Columbia
Mildred Jeffrey Political and Social Activist
Mathilde Krim Founding Chairman of amfAR, the American Foundation for AIDS Research
George McGovern United States Senator from South Dakota
Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Senator from New York
Cruz Reynoso Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California
Aung San Suu Kyi General Secretary of the National League for Democracy
Gardner C. Taylor Baptist Preacher [52]
Simon Wiesenthal Holocaust Survivor & Nazi Hunter
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Awarded by George W. Bush

George W. Bush awarded 82 medals between 2001 and 2009.

More information Recipient, Year ...
Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
Hank Aaron 2002 Professional Baseball Player
Bill Cosby Stand-Up Comedian & Actor [52]
Plácido Domingo Opera Singer & Conductor
Peter Drucker Management Consultant & Educator
Katharine Graham † President of The Washington Post
Donald Henderson Epidemiologist & Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
Irving Kristol Journalist & Godfather of Neoconservativism
Nelson Mandela Anti-Apartheid Activist & President of South Africa
Gordon Moore Co-founder and Chairman of Intel Corporation [55]
Nancy Reagan First Lady of the United States [52]
Fred Rogers Television Host & Presbyterian Minister [52]
A. M. Rosenthal Journalist & Executive Editor of The New York Times
Robert Bartley 2003 Editor of the Editorial Page of The Wall Street Journal
Jacques Barzun Historian
Julia Child Cooking Teacher & Television Personality
Roberto Clemente † Professional Baseball Player
Van Cliburn Pianist
Václav Havel President of Czechoslovakia & the Czech Republic
Charlton Heston Actor & Political Activist [52]
George Robertson 10th Secretary General of NATO & Secretary of State for Defence
Edward Teller Theoretical Physicist
Dave Thomas † Founder and CEO of Wendy's
Byron White † Professional Football Player & Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States [56]
James Q. Wilson Political Scientist
John Wooden Basketball Coach
Paul Bremer 2004 Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority of Iraq
Edward Brooke United States Senator from Massachusetts
Doris Day Actress, Singer & Activist [52]
Tommy Franks Commander of the United States Central Command
Vartan Gregorian 12th President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York
Gilbert Melville Grosvenor President and Chairman of the National Geographic Society
Gordon B. Hinckley 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [52]
John Paul II WD Pope [52][11]
Estée Lauder Co-founder of the Estée Lauder Companies
Rita Moreno Actress, Dancer & Singer [52]
Arnold Palmer Professional Golfer
Arnall Patz Medical Doctor & Research Professor at Johns Hopkins University
Norman Podhoretz Magazine Editor & Writer for Commentary Magazine
George Tenet 18th Director of Central Intelligence
Muhammad Ali 2005 Professional Boxer & Human Rights Activist
Walter Wriston Chairman and CEO of Citicorp
Carol Burnett Actress & Comedian [52]
Vint Cerf Co-Developer of the Transmission Control Protocol and the Internet Protocol [57]
Robert Conquest Historian & Poet
Aretha Franklin Singer-Songwriter & Pianist
Alan Greenspan 13th Chair of the Federal Reserve
Andy Griffith Actor & Comedian [52]
Paul Harvey Radio Broadcaster for ABC News Radio [52]
Bob Kahn Co-Developer of the Transmission Control Protocol and the Internet Protocol [58]
Sonny Montgomery Member of the U.S. House of Representatives & Major General of the Mississippi National Guard
Richard Myers 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Jack Nicklaus Professional Golfer
Frank Robinson Professional Baseball Player
Paul Rusesabagina Rwandan politician & Manager of the Hôtel des Mille Collines in Kigali during the Rwandan Genocide protecting 1,268 Hutu and Tutsi refugees
Ruth Johnson Colvin 2006 Founder of ProLiteracy Worldwide [59]
Norman Francis President of Xavier University of Louisiana [59]
Paul Johnson Journalist [59]
B.B. King Blues Singer-Songwriter [59]
Joshua Lederberg Molecular Biologist [59]
David McCullough Popular Historian [59]
Norman Mineta 14th United States Secretary of Transportation & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives [59]
Buck O'Neil † Professional Baseball Player [59]
William Safire Political Columnist for The New York Times [59]
Natan Sharansky Israeli Politician & Human Rights Activist [59]
Gary Becker 2007 Economist
Óscar Elías Biscet Human Rights and Democratic Freedoms Advocate in Cuba
Francis Collins 2nd Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute
Benjamin Hooks Executive Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Henry Hyde Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Brian Lamb Founder, Executive Chairman and CEO of C-SPAN [52]
Harper Lee Novelist & Civil Rights Activist
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf 24th President of Liberia
Ben Carson 2008 Neurosurgeon & Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center [60]
Anthony Fauci 5th Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases [60]
Tom Lantos Member of the U.S. House of Representatives [60]
Peter Pace 16th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff [60]
Donna Shalala 18th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services [60]
Laurence Silberman Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [60]
Tony Blair 2009 Prime Minister of the United Kingdom [61]
Ryan Crocker United States Ambassador to Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan & Iraq [62]
John Howard 25th Prime Minister of Australia
Álvaro Uribe 31st President of Colombia
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Awarded by Barack Obama

Barack Obama awarded 118 medals between 2009 and 2017.

More information Recipient, Year ...
Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
Nancy Brinker 2009 Founder of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation [63]
Joe Medicine Crow War Chief of the Crow Nation [64]
Pedro José Greer Physician & Founding Dean for the Roseman University Health Sciences College of Medicine [64]
Stephen Hawking Theoretical Physicist [64]
Jack Kemp † Former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development [64]
Ted Kennedy United States Senator from Massachusetts [64]
Billie Jean King Professional Tennis Player and gender equality advocate [64]
Joseph Lowery Co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference [64]
Harvey Milk † Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors & Gay Rights Activist [64]
Sandra Day O'Connor Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court & the Supreme Court's First Female Justice [65]
Sidney Poitier Actor & First African-American & Bahamian to Win an Academy Award [52]
Chita Rivera Actress, Singer & Dancer [64]
Mary Robinson 7th President of Ireland [64]
Janet Rowley Geneticist & First Scientist to Identify a Chromosomal Translocation as the Cause of Leukemia and other Cancers. [64]
Desmond Tutu Anglican Bishop, Theologian & Human Rights Activist [64]
Muhammad Yunus Founder of Grameen Bank
John H. Adams 2011 Founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council [66]
Maya Angelou Poet & Civil Rights Activist [66]
Warren Buffett Philanthropist & CEO of Berkshire Hathaway [66]
George H. W. Bush 41st President of the United States [66]
Robert Gates 22nd United States Secretary of Defense [67]
Jasper Johns Abstract Expressionist Painter & Printmaker [66]
John Lewis Civil Rights Activist & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives [66]
Tom Little † Optometrist & Leader of an International Assistance Mission killed during the 2010 Badakhshan Massacre [66]
Yo-Yo Ma Cellist & United Nations Messenger of Peace [66]
Sylvia Mendez Civil Rights Activist [66]
Angela Merkel Chancellor of Germany [66]
Stan Musial Professional Baseball Player [66]
Bill Russell Professional Basketball Player [66]
Jean Kennedy Smith United States Ambassador to Ireland [66]
John J. Sweeney President of AFL-CIO & Labor Leader [66]
Gerda Weissmann Klein Author, Human Rights Activist & Holocaust Educator [66]
Madeleine Albright 2012 64th United States Secretary of State [68]
Bob Dylan Singer-Songwriter [68]
William Foege 10th Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [68]
John Glenn Astronaut and United States Senator from Ohio [68]
Juliette Gordon Low † Founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA [68]
Gordon Hirabayashi † Sociologist, Civil Rights Activist & Plaintiff in Hirabayashi v. United States [68]
Dolores Huerta Labor Leader & Co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association [68]
Jan Karski † Resistance-Fighter during WWII & Diplomat [68]
Toni Morrison Novelist & Civil Rights Activist [68]
Shimon Peres 9th President of Israel [68]
John Paul Stevens Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States [68]
Pat Summitt Women's College Basketball Head Coach [68]
Patricia Wald Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [68]
Ernie Banks 2013 Professional Baseball Player [69]
Ben Bradlee Executive Editor of The Washington Post [70]
Bill Clinton 42nd President of the United States [70]
John Doar Lawyer & Lead Special Counsel for the U.S. House Judiciary Committee's Impeachment Inquiry Staff during the Impeachment Process Against Richard Nixon [70]
Daniel Inouye † United States Senator from Hawaii [70]
Daniel Kahneman Psychologist & Economist [70]
Richard Lugar United States Senator from Indiana [70]
Loretta Lynn Singer-Songwriter [70]
Mario J. Molina Chemist who discovered the Antarctic Ozone Hole [70]
Sally Ride † Astronaut & Physicist [71]
Bayard Rustin † Human Rights Activist [70]
Arturo Sandoval Jazz Trumpeter, Pianist & Composer [70]
Dean Smith Men's College Basketball Head Coach [70]
Gloria Steinem Journalist & Social Political Activist [70]
C. T. Vivian Minister & Civil Rights Activist [70]
Oprah Winfrey Talk Show Host, Actress & Philanthropist [70]
Alvin Ailey 2014 † Dancer & Founder of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater [72]
Isabel Allende Author [72]
Tom Brokaw Network Television Journalist [72]
James Chaney † Civil Rights Activist [72]
John Dingell Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Mildred Dresselhaus Nanotechnologist & Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Andrew Goodman † Civil Rights Activist [72]
Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Activist & Founder of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights [72]
Abner Mikva Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Patsy Mink † Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Edward Roybal † Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Michael Schwerner † Civil Rights Activist [72]
Suzan Shown Harjo President of the National Council of American Indians [72]
Charlie Sifford Professional Golfer & the First African-American to play on the PGA Tour [72]
Robert Solow Economist & Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [73]
Meryl Streep Actress [72]
Marlo Thomas Actress, Producer & Social Activist [72]
Stevie Wonder Singer-Songwriter [72]
Steven Spielberg 2015 Director, Producer & Screenwriter [74]
Emilio Estefan Musician & Producer [74]
Gloria Estefan Singer & Actress [74]
Itzhak Perlman Violinist & Conductor [74]
Stephen Sondheim Composer & Lyricist of Musical Theater [74]
Barbra Streisand Singer & Actress [74]
James Taylor Singer-Songwriter [74]
Minoru Yasui † Lawyer & Plaintiff in Yasui v. United States [74]
Billy Frank Jr. † Environmental Leader & Treaty Rights Activist [74]
Shirley Chisholm † Member of the U.S. House of Representatives & First African-American Woman Elected to Congress [74]
Lee H. Hamilton Member of the U.S. House of Representatives [74]
Barbara Mikulski United States Senator from Maryland [74]
William Ruckelshaus 1st & 5th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency [74]
Katherine Johnson Mathematician whose calculations helped with the First successful U.S. Crewed Spaceflight [74]
Yogi Berra † Professional Baseball Player [74]
Bonnie Carroll Founder and President of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors [74]
Willie Mays Professional Baseball Player [74]
Frank Gehry 2016 Architect [75]
Richard Garwin Physicist & Author of the First Hydrogen Bomb Design [75]
Maya Lin Designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. [75]
Robert Redford Actor & Filmmaker [75]
Robert De Niro Actor & Producer [75]
Tom Hanks Actor [75]
Cicely Tyson Actress [75]
Diana Ross Singer & Actress [75]
Bruce Springsteen Singer-Songwriter [76]
Grace Hopper † Computer Scientist & Developer of the FLOW-MATIC programming language [75]
Margaret Hamilton Director of the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory [75]
Eduardo J. Padrón President of Miami Dade College [75]
Newton N. Minow Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission [75]
Lorne Michaels Comedian & Film and Television Producer [75]
Ellen DeGeneres Comedian, Television Host & Gay Rights Activist [75]
Bill Gates Philanthropist & Co-founder of Microsoft [75]
Melinda French Gates Philanthropist & Co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation [75]
Elouise P. Cobell † Tribal Elder, Activist & Lead Plaintiff in Cobell v. Salazar [75]
Vin Scully Sportscaster [75]
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Professional Basketball Player [75]
Michael Jordan Professional Basketball Player [75]
Joe Biden 2017 WD 46th President of the United States, 47th Vice President of the United States, United States Senator from Delaware [77][78][11]
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Awarded by Donald Trump (first term)

During his first term, Donald Trump awarded 24 medals between 2017 and 2021.

More information Recipient, Year ...
Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
Miriam Adelson 2018 Physician and philanthropist [79]
Orrin Hatch United States Senator from Utah [79]
Alan Page Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court and football player [79]
Elvis Presley † Singer and actor known as the "King of Rock and Roll" [79]
Babe Ruth † Professional baseball player [79]
Antonin Scalia † Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States [79]
Roger Staubach Professional football player [79]
Bob Cousy 2019 Professional basketball player [80]
Arthur Laffer Economist, best known for the Laffer curve [81]
Edwin Meese 75th United States Attorney General [82]
Roger Penske Professional auto racing team owner, driver, and businessman [83]
Mariano Rivera Professional baseball player [84]
Jerry West Basketball executive and Olympic professional basketball player [85]
Tiger Woods Professional golfer [86]
Dan Gable 2020 Olympic wrestler [87]
Lou Holtz University football coach [88]
Jack Keane Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army [89]
Rush Limbaugh [b] Political commentator [91]
Jim Ryun Member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Olympic athlete [92]
Babe Didrikson Zaharias 2021 † Olympic athlete [93]
Devin Nunes Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California [94]
Jim Jordan Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio [95]
Gary Player Professional golfer [93]
Annika Sörenstam Professional golfer [93]
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Awarded by Joe Biden

Joe Biden awarded 57 medals between 2022 and 2025.

More information Recipient, Year ...
Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
Simone Biles 2022 Olympic gymnast [96]
Simone Campbell Roman Catholic religious sister & Member of the Sisters of Social Service [96]
Julieta García President of Texas Southmost College [96]
Gabrielle Giffords Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona & gun control activist [96]
Fred Gray Civil rights attorney & state legislator [96]
Steve Jobs † Entrepreneur & co-founder and CEO of Apple [96]
Alexander Karloutsos Protopresbyter in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America [96]
Khizr Khan Member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom & activist [96]
Sandra Lindsay Critical Care Nurse & First American to receive the COVID-19 Vaccine [96]
John McCain † United States Senator from Arizona & Purple Heart recipient [96]
Diane Nash Civil rights activist & Co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee [96]
Megan Rapinoe Olympic professional soccer player & human rights activist [96]
Alan Simpson United States Senator from Wyoming [96]
Richard Trumka † Organized labor leader [96]
Wilma Vaught Brigadier General, U.S. Air Force [96]
Raul Yzaguirre U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic & President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza [96]
Michael Bloomberg 2024 Entrepreneur, philanthropist and Mayor of New York City [97]
Greg Boyle Jesuit Catholic priest & Founder and director of the rehabilitation program Homeboy Industries [97]
Jim Clyburn Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina [97]
Elizabeth Dole United States Senator from North Carolina, Transportation Secretary, and Labor Secretary [97]
Phil Donahue Former daytime talk show host [97]
Medgar Evers † Famous Civil rights activist who was murdered at age 37 in 1963 [97]
Al Gore 45th Vice President of the United States and environmentalist [97]
Clarence B. Jones Civil rights activist [97]
John Kerry U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, U.S. Secretary of State and United States Senator from Massachusetts. [97]
Frank Lautenberg † United States Senator from New Jersey [97]
Katie Ledecky Olympic swimmer [97]
Opal Lee Educator and activist who pushed to make Juneteenth a national holiday [97]
Ellen Ochoa Astronaut [97]
Nancy Pelosi 52nd and first female Speaker of the United States House of Representatives [97]
Jane Rigby Astrophysicist [97]
Teresa Romero President of the United Farm Workers union [97]
Judy Shepard Co-founder of the Matthew Shepard Foundation [97]
Jim Thorpe † First Native American to win an Olympic gold medal [97]
Michelle Yeoh Actress and activist who also became the first person of Asian descent to win an Academy Award for Best Actress [97]
Jens Stoltenberg 13th Secretary General of NATO & 34th Prime Minister of Norway [98]
Cecile Richards Activist and President of Planned Parenthood [97][99]
José Andrés 2025 Spanish-American chef, founder of World Central Kitchen [100]
Bono Frontman of U2 and activist against AIDS and poverty [100]
Ash Carter † 25th Secretary of Defense [100]
Hillary Clinton Former First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State [100]
Michael J. Fox Actor and advocate for Parkinson's disease research [100]
Tim Gill Computer programmer and LGBTQ activist [100]
Jane Goodall Ethologist and conservationist [100]
Fannie Lou Hamer † Civil rights activist [100]
Magic Johnson Professional basketball player [100]
Robert F. Kennedy † Attorney General [100]
Ralph Lauren Fashion designer [100]
Lionel Messi [c] Professional soccer player [100]
Bill Nye Science communicator and TV presenter [100]
George W. Romney † 43rd Governor of Michigan and 3rd Secretary of Housing and Urban Development [100]
David M. Rubenstein Co-founder of The Carlyle Group [100]
George Soros Investor and philanthropist [100]
George Stevens Jr. Founder of the American Film Institute [100]
Denzel Washington [d] Actor, producer & director [100]
Anna Wintour Chief editor at Vogue [100]
Pope Francis WD Pope of the Catholic Church from 2013 to 2025 [103][11]
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Awarded by Donald Trump (second term)

During his second term, Donald Trump has awarded one medal and has announced three.

More information Recipient, Year ...
Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
Charlie Kirk 2025 † American conservative political activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA, assassinated in 2025 [104]
Rudy Giuliani 2026 Announced in 2025, not yet awarded. 107th Mayor of New York City, Former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, former legal representative of Donald Trump [105]
Ben Carson Announced in 2025, not yet awarded. Neurosurgeon, author, 17th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. [106]
Connor Hellebuyck Announced, not yet awarded. National Hockey League goaltender for the Winnipeg Jets, 2026 Winter Olympics gold medalist [107]
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Notes

  1. [a]
    Lehman died the day before the ceremony.[15]
  2. [b]
    Awarded during 2020 State of the Union Address.[90]
  3. [c]
    Messi was unable to attend the ceremony due to prior commitments.[101]
  4. [d]
    Washington was supposed to receive the award in 2022 but had to skip the ceremony after testing positive for COVID-19.[102]

See also

Bibliography

  • Wetterau, Bruce (1996). The Presidential Medal of Freedom: Winners and Their Achievements. Congressional Quarterly. p. 513. ISBN 978-1-56802-128-7. – contains a list of awardees from 1963 to approximately 1995

References

External links

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