Presidential Medal of Freedom

Presidential Medal of Freedom
Awarded by the President of the United States
Type	Medal
Awarded for	"An especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."[1]
Status	Active
Statistics
Established	1963
First awarded	1963
Distinct recipients	unknown; an average of fewer than 11 per year since 1993[2]
Precedence
Next (lower)	Presidential Citizens Medal
Ribbon bar of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with the comparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States. It recognizes those individuals who have made "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."^[3] The award is not limited to U.S. citizens and, while it is a civilian award, it can also be awarded to military personnel and worn on the uniform.

It was established in 1963 and replaced the earlier Medal of Freedom that was established by President Harry S. Truman in 1945.

History of the award

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is similar in name to the Medal of Freedom established by President Harry S. Truman in 1945 to honor civilian service during World War II,^[4] but much closer in meaning and precedence to the Medal for Merit: the Presidential Medal of Freedom is currently the supreme civilian decoration in precedence, whereas the Medal of Freedom was inferior in precedence to the Medal for Merit; the Medal of Freedom was awarded by any of three Cabinet secretaries, whereas the Medal for Merit was (and the PMOF is) awarded by the president. Another measure of the difference between these two similarly named but very distinct awards is their per-capita frequency of award: from 1946 to 1961 the average annual incidence of award of the Medal of Freedom was approximately 1 per every 86,500 adult U.S. citizens; from 1996 to 2011 the average annual incidence of award of the Presidential Medal of Freedom was approximately 1 per every 20,500,000 adult U.S. citizens (so on an annualized per capita basis, about 240 Medals of Freedom have been awarded per one Presidential Medal of Freedom).^[2][5]

President Kennedy established the current decoration in 1963 through Executive Order 11085, with unique and distinctive insignia (it was the first civilian neck decoration and, in the grade of Awarded With Distinction, is the only U.S. sash and star decoration), vastly expanded purpose, and far higher prestige^[1] (some have likened the PMOF to a U.S. equivalent of a knighthood). The Executive Order calls for the medal to be awarded annually on or around July 4, and at other convenient times as chosen by the president,^[6] but it has not been awarded every year (e.g., 2010, 2001). Recipients are selected by the president, either on his own initiative or based on recommendations. The order establishing the medal also expanded the size and the responsibilities of the Distinguished Civilian Service Awards Board so it could serve as a major source of such recommendations.

The medal may be awarded to an individual more than once (John Kenneth Galbraith and Colin Powell each have received two awards; Ellsworth Bunker received both of his awards With Distinction), and may also be awarded posthumously (for example, Cesar Chavez, Paul "Bear" Bryant, Roberto Clemente, Jack Kemp, John F. Kennedy, Thurgood Marshall, and Lyndon Johnson).

Insignia

Medal and accoutrements including undress ribbon, miniature, and lapel badge.

Graphical representation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction.

The badge of the Presidential Medal of Freedom is in the form of a golden star with white enamel, with a red enamel pentagon behind it; the central disc bears thirteen gold stars on a blue enamel background (taken from the Great Seal of the United States) within a golden ring. Golden American Bald Eagles with spread wings stand between the points of the star. It is worn around the neck on a blue ribbon with white edge stripes.

A special grade of the medal, known as the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction,^[7] has a larger execution of the same medal design worn as a star on the left chest along with a sash over the right shoulder, with its rosette (blue with white edge, bearing the central disc of the medal at its center) resting on the left hip. When the medal With Distinction is awarded, the star may be presented depending from a neck ribbon and can be identified by its larger size than the standard medal (compare size of medals in pictures below; President Reagan's was awarded With Distinction).

Both medals may also be worn in miniature form on a ribbon on the left chest, with a silver American Bald Eagle with spread wings on the ribbon (or a golden American Bald Eagle for a medal awarded "With Distinction"). In addition, the medal is accompanied by a ribbon bar for wear on military service uniform, a miniature medal pendant for wear on a mess dress, and a lapel badge for wear on civilian clothes (all shown in the accompanying photograph of the full presentation set).

Recipients

See also: List of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients

Gallery

• 

  President Ronald Reagan presenting Mother Teresa with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a White House ceremony in 1985

• 

  Former United Kingdom Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George H. W. Bush in 1991

• 

  George H. W. Bush awarding former President Ronald Reagan the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction in January 1993

• 

  Former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush on January 13, 2009

• 

  Former Prime Minister of Australia John Howard receiving the Medal from George W. Bush on January 13, 2009, during the same ceremony as Tony Blair

• 

  Gordon B. Hinckley receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from George W. Bush in 2004

• 

  Chita Rivera with president Barack Obama prior to receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom August 2009

• 

  President Barack Obama talks with Stephen Hawking in the Blue Room of the White House before a ceremony presenting him and 15 others the Presidential Medal of Freedom on August 12, 2009.

See also

• Awards and decorations of the United States government
• Awards and decorations of the United States military
• Bharat Ratna (India)
• Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Pakistan)
• George Cross (United Kingdom)
• Federal Cross of Merit (Germany)
• Légion d'honneur (France)
• List of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients
• Order of Australia
• Order of the British Empire (United Kingdom)
• Order of Canada
• Presidential Citizens Medal

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Executive Order 11085, signed February 22, 1963; Federal Register 28 FR 1759, February 26, 1963
2. ^ ^{a b} Senate.gov
3. ^ Executive Order 9586, signed July 6, 1945; Federal Register 10 FR 8523, July 10, 1945
4. ^ Executive Order 9586, signed July 6, 1945; Federal Register 10 FR 8523, July 10, 1945
5. ^ Census.gov
6. ^ Presidential Medal of Freedom Award
7. ^ Torreon, Barbara Salazar (31 Mar 2004). A Guide to Major Congressional and Presidential Awards. RS20884. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service - Library of Congress (United States Government). pp. 4. http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/crs/rs20884.pdf. Retrieved 2011-02-09. "There are two degrees of the Medal, the higher being the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction." 

External links

• "Presidential Medal of Freedom", an article (undated) from jfklibrary.org, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum's official website. Accessed August 22, 2009.
• Text of the order re-establishing the medal^{[dead link]}
• "Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients", a list of recipients from May 5, 1993, through August 19, 2009, from senate.gov, the U.S. Senate's official website. Accessed August 22, 2009.
• "President Bush Honors Medal of Freedom Recipients", a news release from the White House Press Secretary, December 15, 2006, containing a transcript of President George W. Bush's opening remarks at the December 15, 2006, presentation (with link to individual citations). Hosted on georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov, a section of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration's official website. Accessed August 22, 2009.
• "Medal of Freedom Ceremony" (August 12, 2009), a news release, August 12, 2009, from the White House Press Secretary at whitehouse.gov, the White House's official website. Accessed August 22, 2009.