August 22, 2022
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be presented with the 2022 Liberty Medal this fall, the National Constitution Center announced on Monday.
Zelenskyy will be honored with the medal during a ceremony in Philadelphia to recognize his leadership in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The award comes with a $100,000 prize which Zelenskyy will donate to the new Ukrainian Veteran Fund.
“President Zelenskyy has bravely led the Ukrainian people in their defense of freedom against Russian tyranny, and his courage has inspired people around the world to defend liberal democracy and the rule of law,” Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, said in a release.
Zelenskyy has received international recognition since February, including the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award and the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. He also has been given awards from Latvia, Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. He has served as Ukraine's president since May 2019.
The ceremony will be held at the National Constitution Center in October and also will be live-streamed on the center's website.
The Liberty Medal was established by the Philadelphia Foundation in 1988 and has been administered by the Constitution Center since 2006. Past recipients include George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, John Lewis, John McCain and Colin Powell.
The National Constitution Center broke ground on Sept. 17, 2000 on the 213th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. It opened on July 4, 2003. It features an interactive museum and also provides civic education through programs and online resources.
