Four Freedoms Award
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Franklin_Roosevelt_-_Presidential_portrait.jpg/220px-Franklin_Roosevelt_-_Presidential_portrait.jpg)
The Four Freedoms Award is an annual award presented to "those men and women whose achievements have demonstrated a commitment to those principles which US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaimed in his historic speech to United States Congress on January 6, 1941, as essential to democracy: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, freedom from fear". The annual award is handed out in alternate years in New York City by the Roosevelt Institute to Americans and in Middelburg, Netherlands, by the Roosevelt Stichting to non-Americans.
History[]
The awards were first presented in 1982 on the centennial of President Roosevelt's birth as well as the bicentennial of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Netherlands. The awards were founded to celebrate the Four Freedoms espoused by President Roosevelt in his speech:
- Freedom of speech
- Freedom of worship
- Freedom from want
- Freedom from fear
For each of the four freedoms an award was instituted, as well as a special Freedom medal. In 1990, 1995, 2003 and 2004 there were also special awards.
In odd years the awards are presented to American citizens or institutions by the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute in New York City, though in the past the American awards were given in Hyde Park, New York. In even years the award ceremony is held in Middelburg and honours non-Americans. The choice of Middelburg was motivated by the suspected descendance of the family Roosevelt from Oud-Vossemeer in the municipality Tholen.
Laureates[]
Freedom Medal[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Four_Freedoms_Award.jpg/135px-Four_Freedoms_Award.jpg)
Year | Middelburg | Photo | Year | Hyde Park | Photo |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1982 | H.R.H. Princess Juliana of the Netherlands | ![]() |
1983 | W. Averell Harriman | |
1984 | Harold Macmillan | 1985 | Claude Pepper | ||
1986 | Alessandro Pertini | 1987 | Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr | ||
1988 | Helmut Schmidt | 1989 | William J. Brennan, Jr. | ||
1990 | Václav Havel and Jacques Delors | 1991 | Thurgood Marshall | ||
1992 | Javier Pérez de Cuéllar | 1993 | Cyrus Vance | ||
1994 | Dalai Lama | 1995 | President Jimmy Carter | ||
1996 | Juan Carlos of Spain | 1997 | Katharine Meyer Graham | ||
1998 | Mary Robinson | 1999 | Edward M. Kennedy | ![]() | |
2000 | Martti Ahtisaari | 2001 | W.W. II veterans as represented by
| ||
2002 | Nelson Mandela | ![]() |
2003 | George J. Mitchell | |
2004 | Kofi Annan | 2005 | Bill Clinton | ||
2006 | Mohamed ElBaradei | 2007 | Carl Levin and Richard Lugar | ||
2008 | Richard von Weizsäcker | 2009 | Hillary Clinton | ![]() | |
2010 | European Court of Human Rights | 2011 | Russ Feingold | ||
2012 | Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva | 2013 | Wendell Berry | ||
2014 | Red Cross | 2015 | Ruth Bader Ginsburg | ![]() | |
2016 | Angela Merkel | ![]() |
2017 | Harry Belafonte | |
2018 | Christiana Figueres as representative of the Paris Climate Agreement | 2019 | Lonnie Bunch | ||
2020 | United Nations | 2021 |
Freedom of Speech[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Max_van_der_Stoel%2C_ex-minister_ontvangt_de_Freedom_of_Speech_Award_uit_handen_va%2C_Bestanddeelnr_932-3654.jpg/220px-Max_van_der_Stoel%2C_ex-minister_ontvangt_de_Freedom_of_Speech_Award_uit_handen_va%2C_Bestanddeelnr_932-3654.jpg)
The first is freedom of speech and expression — everywhere in the world.
— Roosevelt, January 6, 1941
Year | Middelburg | Year | Hyde Park |
---|---|---|---|
1982 | Max van der Stoel | 1983 | Joseph L. Rauh, Jr. |
1984 | Amnesty International | 1985 | Kenneth B. Clark |
1986 | El País | 1987 | Herbert Block |
1988 | Ellen Johnson Sirleaf | 1989 | Walter Cronkite |
1990 | No Award | 1991 | James Reston |
1992 | Mstislav Rostropovich | 1993 | Arthur Miller |
1994 | Marion Dönhoff | 1995 | Mary McGrory |
1996 | John Hume | 1997 | Sidney R. Yates |
1998 | CNN | 1999 | John Lewis |
2000 | Bronisław Geremek | 2001 | The New York Times and the Ochs/Sulzberger Family |
2002 | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty | 2003 | Studs Terkel |
2004 | Lennart Meri | 2005 | Tom Brokaw |
2006 | Carlos Fuentes | 2007 | Bill Moyers |
2008 | Lakhdar Brahimi | 2009 | Anthony Romero |
2010 | Novaya Gazeta | 2011 | Michael J. Copps |
2012 | Al Jazeera | 2013 | Paul Krugman |
2014 | Maryam Durani | 2015 | Arthur Mitchell |
2016 | Mazen Darwish | 2017 | Dan Rather |
2018 | Erol Önderoğlu | 2019 | The Boston Globe |
2020 | Maria Ressa | 2021 |
![]() M. vd Stoel 1982 |
![]() J. Lewis 1999 |
Freedom of Worship[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/%22Freedom_of_Worship%22_-_NARA_-_513537.jpg/220px-%22Freedom_of_Worship%22_-_NARA_-_513537.jpg)
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way — everywhere in the world.
— Roosevelt, January 6, 1941
Year | Middelburg | Year | Hyde Park |
---|---|---|---|
1982 | Willem A. Visser 't Hooft | 1983 | Coretta Scott King |
1984 | Werner Leich and Christiann F. Beyers Naudé | 1985 | Elie Wiesel |
1986 | Bernardus Alfrink | 1987 | Leon Sullivan |
1988 | Teddy Kollek | 1989 | Raphael Lemkin (posthumously) and Hyman Bookbinder |
1990 | László Tőkés | 1991 | Paul Moore, Jr. |
1992 | Terry Waite | 1993 | Theodore M. Hesburgh, CSC |
1994 | Gerhart M Riegner | 1995 | Andrew Young |
1996 | Lord Runcie | 1997 | William H. Gray |
1998 | Desmond Tutu | 1999 | Corinne C. Boggs |
2000 | Cicely Saunders | 2001 | Johnnie Carr |
2002 | Nasr Abu Zayd | 2003 | Robert F. Drinan |
2004 | Sari Nusseibeh | 2005 | Cornel West |
2006 | Taizé Community | 2007 | Peter J. Gomes |
2008 | Karen Armstrong | 2009 | Eboo Patel |
2010 | Asma Jahangir | 2011 | Rev. Barry W. Lynn |
2012 | Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople | 2013 | Simone Campbell |
2014 | Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan | 2015 | Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II |
2016 | Dieudonné Nzapalainga, and | 2017 | Rev. Dr. and Dr. |
2018 | Paride Taban | 2019 | Krista Tippett |
2020 | Religions for Peace International | 2021 |
![]() C. King 1983 |
![]() E. Wiesel 1985 |
![]() Bartholomew I 2012 |
Freedom from Want[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/%22Freedom_From_Want%22_-_NARA_-_513539.jpg/220px-%22Freedom_From_Want%22_-_NARA_-_513539.jpg)
The third is freedom from want — which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants — everywhere in the world.
— Roosevelt, January 6, 1941
Year | Middelburg | Year | Hyde Park |
---|---|---|---|
1982 | H. Johannes Witteveen | 1983 | Robert S. McNamara |
1984 | Liv Ullmann | 1985 | John Kenneth Galbraith |
1986 | F. Bradford Morse | 1987 | Mary Lasker |
1988 | Halfdan T. Mahler | 1989 | Dorothy I. Height |
1990 | Emile van Lennep | 1991 | Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward |
1992 | Jan Tinbergen | 1993 | Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Sargent Shriver |
1994 | Sadako Ogata | 1995 | Lane Kirkland |
1996 | Médecins Sans Frontières | 1997 | Mark O. Hatfield |
1998 | Stéphane Hessel | 1999 | George S. McGovern |
2000 | M. S. Swaminathan | 2001 | March of Dimes |
2002 | Gro Harlem Brundtland | 2003 | Dolores Huerta |
2004 | Marguerite Barankitse | 2005 | Marsha J. Evans |
2006 | Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Bank | 2007 | Barbara Ehrenreich |
2008 | Jan Egeland | 2009 | Vicki Escarra |
2010 | Maurice Strong | 2011 | Jacqueline Novogratz |
2012 | Ela Bhatt | 2013 | Coalition of Immokalee Workers |
2014 | Hawa Abdi Diblaawe | 2015 | Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade |
2016 | Dr. Denis Mukwege | 2017 | Ai-jen Poo |
2018 | Emmanuel de Merode | 2019 | Franklin A. Thomas |
2020 | 2021 |
![]() R. McNamara 1983 |
![]() |
![]() M. Yunus 2006 |
![]() |
Freedom from Fear[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/%22Freedom_from_Fear%22_-_NARA_-_513538.jpg/220px-%22Freedom_from_Fear%22_-_NARA_-_513538.jpg)
The fourth is freedom from fear — which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor — anywhere in the world.
— Roosevelt, January 6, 1941
Year | Middelburg | Year | Hyde Park |
---|---|---|---|
1982 | J. Herman van Roijen | 1983 | Jacob K. Javits |
1984 | Brian Urquhart | 1985 | Isidor Rabi |
1986 | Olof Palme (posthumously) | 1987 | George Kennan |
1988 | Armand Hammer | 1989 | J. William Fulbright |
1990 | Simon Wiesenthal | 1991 | Mike Mansfield |
1992 | Lord Carrington | 1993 | George Ball |
1994 | Zdravko Grebo | 1995 | Elliot Richardson |
1996 | Shimon Peres | 1997 | Daniel K. Inouye |
1998 | Craig Kielburger | 1999 | Robert O. Muller |
2000 | Louise Arbour | 2001 | W.W. II veterans as represented by
|
2002 | Ernesto Zedillo | 2003 | Robert C. Byrd |
2004 | Max Kohnstamm | 2005 | Lee H. Hamilton and Thomas Kean |
2006 | Aung San Suu Kyi | 2007 | Brent Scowcroft |
2008 | Willemijn Verloop - War Child | 2009 | Pasquale J. D'Amuro |
2010 | Gareth Evans | 2011 | Bryan A. Stevenson |
2012 | Hussain al-Shahristani | 2013 | Ameena Matthews |
2014 | Malala Yousafzai | 2015 | The Nation |
2016 | Human Rights Watch | 2017 | Cristina Jiménez Moreta |
2018 | 2019 | Sandy Hook Promise | |
2020 | Leoluca Orlando | 2021 |
![]() W. Fulbright 1989 |
![]() |
![]() L. Arbour 2000 |
![]() Aung San S. 2006 |
Special presentations[]
1984 | Simone Veil (Centennial Award) | 2002 | William vanden Heuvel | 2005 | BBC World Service |
1990 | Mikhail Gorbachev | 2003 | Arthur Schlesinger Jr. | 2005 | Mary Soames |
1995 | Jonas Salk | 2004 | Anton Rupert | 2006 | Mike Wallace |
1995 | Ruud Lubbers | 2004 | Bob Dole | 2008 | Forrest Church |
![]() Simone Veil 1984 |
![]() M. Gorbachev 1990 |
![]() R. Lubbers 1995 |
![]() M. Soames 2005 |
![]() |
See also[]
- Four Freedoms Monument
- William O. Douglas Prize
- List of religion-related awards
References[]
- Roosevelt Institute, List of laureates
- NOS (2008) TV documentary on the Four Freedoms Award
- Oosthoek, A.L. (2010) Roosevelt in Middelburg: the four freedoms awards 1982-2008, ISBN 978-9079875214
- American Rhetoric, Four Freedoms Speech of Roosevelt
External links[]
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Four Freedoms Awards. |
- Free expression awards
- Human rights awards
- Humanitarian and service awards
- Religion-related awards
- Awards established in 1982
- Monuments and memorials to Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States
- Four Freedoms
- Middelburg, Zeeland