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."
The IRC was founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, and made its first Freedom Award in 1957, to German politician Willy Brandt, who went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize. 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". The first joint recipients of the award were Lane Kirkland and his wife Irena who won the prize in 1981. Lane was honored for his "long devotion to the cause of refugees" while Irena was described as "very much a human rights activist". Chinese dissidents Li Shuxian and Fang Lizhi were jointly honored in 1991; 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.
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. 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. In 2012, John C. Whitehead received the prize for a second time, the only person to do so.
Recipients YearImageRecipient NationalityReferences 1957 1958 1959 1960 1965 1966 1967 1969 1970 1975 1976 1977 1978— 1979— [A] 1981 Irena Kirkland 1987 1987 1989 1989 1990 1991 and Li Shuxian 1991 1992 1993 [B] 1993— [C] 1994— [B] 1994 [C] 1995 [D] 1995 1995 1997— 1999 2001 2002— 2002 2003 2004 [B] 2005 Bill Clinton 2006 2007 Angelina Jolie 2008 2011 2012 2013 [B] 2014 The humanitarian aid worker Honoring the humanitarian aid worker , Rescue, 20142015 Strive Masiyiwa2016Spyros Galinos 2017 2018 2020 2021 2022 Syrian American Medical Society Foundation 2023 2024 2025 Lynsey Addario
Notes
A ^ Lord's award was made posthumously. B ^ Distinguished Humanitarian Award C ^ Distinguished Public Service Award D ^ Special Freedom Award Recipient, in absentia
References