Four Freedoms Award


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 Four Freedoms speech to the 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:
  1. Freedom of speech
  2. Freedom of worship
  3. Freedom from want
  4. 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 honors non-Americans. The choice of Middelburg was motivated by the suspected descent of the family Roosevelt from Oud-Vossemeer in the municipality Tholen.

Laureates

Freedom Medal

YearMiddelburgPhotoYearHyde ParkPhoto
1982Princess Juliana of the Netherlands1983W. Averell Harriman
1984Harold Macmillan1985Claude Pepper
1986Alessandro Pertini1987Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr.
1988Helmut Schmidt1989William J. Brennan, Jr.
1990Václav Havel and Jacques Delors1991Thurgood Marshall
1992Javier Pérez de Cuéllar1993Cyrus Vance
1994Dalai Lama1995Jimmy Carter
1996Juan Carlos I of Spain1997Katharine Meyer Graham
1998Mary Robinson1999Edward M. Kennedy
2000Martti Ahtisaari2001W.W. II veterans as represented by
-
2002Nelson Mandela2003George J. Mitchell
2004Kofi Annan2005Bill Clinton
2006Mohamed ElBaradei2007Carl Levin and Richard Lugar
2008Richard von Weizsäcker2009Hillary Clinton
2010European Court of Human Rights2011Russ Feingold
2012Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva2013Wendell Berry
2014Red Cross2015Ruth Bader Ginsburg
2016Angela Merkel2017Harry Belafonte
2018Christiana Figueres as representative of the Paris Climate Agreement2019Lonnie Bunch
2020United Nations2021Fred Korematsu
2022Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya2023Nancy Pelosi
2024Save Ukraine2025Darren Walker-

Freedom of Speech

YearMiddelburgYearHyde Park
1982Max van der Stoel1983Joseph L. Rauh, Jr.
1984Amnesty International1985Kenneth B. Clark
1986El País1987Herbert Block
1988Ellen Johnson Sirleaf1989Walter Cronkite
1990No Award1991James Reston
1992Mstislav Rostropovich1993Arthur Miller
1994Marion Dönhoff1995Mary McGrory
1996John Hume1997Sidney R. Yates
1998CNN1999John Lewis
2000Bronisław Geremek2001The New York Times and the Ochs/Sulzberger Family
2002Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty2003Studs Terkel
2004Lennart Meri2005Tom Brokaw
2006Carlos Fuentes2007Bill Moyers
2008Lakhdar Brahimi2009Anthony Romero
2010Novaya Gazeta2011Michael J. Copps
2012Al Jazeera2013Paul Krugman
2014Maryam Durani2015Arthur Mitchell
2016Mazen Darwish2017Dan Rather
2018Erol Önderoğlu2019The Boston Globe
2020Maria Ressa2021Nikole Hannah-Jones
2022Đỗ Nguyễn Mai Khôi2023Tracie Hall
2024Bellingcat2025Teen Vogue

Freedom of Worship

YearMiddelburgYearHyde Park
1982Willem A. Visser 't Hooft1983Coretta Scott King
1984Werner Leich and Christiann F. Beyers Naudé1985Elie Wiesel
1986Bernardus Alfrink1987Leon Sullivan
1988Teddy Kollek1989Raphael Lemkin and Hyman Bookbinder
1990László Tőkés1991Paul Moore, Jr.
1992Terry Waite1993Theodore M. Hesburgh, CSC
1994Gerhart M Riegner1995Andrew Young
1996Lord Runcie1997William H. Gray
1998Desmond Tutu1999Corinne C. Boggs
2000Cicely Saunders2001Johnnie Carr
2002Nasr Abu Zayd2003Robert F. Drinan
2004Sari Nusseibeh2005Cornel West
2006Taizé Community2007Peter J. Gomes
2008Karen Armstrong2009Eboo Patel
2010Asma Jahangir2011Rev. Barry W. Lynn
2012Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople2013Simone Campbell
2014Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan2015Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II
2016Dieudonné Nzapalainga, Omar Kobine Layama and Nicolas Guérékoyame-Gbangou2017Rev. Dr. Steve Stone and Dr. Bashar A. Shala
2018Paride Taban2019Krista Tippett
2020Religions for Peace International2021Raphael Warnock
2022Lian Gogali2023Dr. Walter Earl Fluker
2024Zumretay Arkin2025Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis

Freedom from Want

YearMiddelburgYearHyde Park
1982H. Johannes Witteveen1983Robert S. McNamara
1984Liv Ullmann1985John Kenneth Galbraith
1986F. Bradford Morse1987Mary Lasker
1988Halfdan T. Mahler1989Dorothy I. Height
1990Emile van Lennep1991Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward
1992Jan Tinbergen1993Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Sargent Shriver
1994Sadako Ogata1995Lane Kirkland
1996Médecins Sans Frontières1997Mark O. Hatfield
1998Stéphane Hessel1999George S. McGovern
2000M. S. Swaminathan2001March of Dimes
2002Gro Harlem Brundtland2003Dolores Huerta
2004Marguerite Barankitse2005Marsha J. Evans
2006Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Bank2007Barbara Ehrenreich
2008Jan Egeland2009Vicki Escarra
2010Maurice Strong2011Jacqueline Novogratz
2012Ela Bhatt2013Coalition of Immokalee Workers
2014Hawa Abdi Diblaawe2015Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade
2016Dr. Denis Mukwege2017Ai-jen Poo
2018Emmanuel de Merode2019Franklin A. Thomas
20202021Deepak Bhargava
2022Nice Nailantei Leng'ete2023Ady Barkan
2024Sônia Guajajara2025World Central Kitchen

Freedom from Fear

YearMiddelburgYearHyde Park
1982J. Herman van Roijen1983Jacob K. Javits
1984Brian Urquhart1985Isidor Rabi
1986Olof Palme 1987George Kennan
1988Armand Hammer1989J. William Fulbright
1990Simon Wiesenthal1991Mike Mansfield
1992Lord Carrington1993George Ball
1994Zdravko Grebo1995Elliot Richardson
1996Shimon Peres1997Daniel K. Inouye
1998Craig Kielburger1999Robert O. Muller
2000Louise Arbour2001W.W. II veterans as represented by
2002Ernesto Zedillo2003Robert C. Byrd
2004Max Kohnstamm2005Lee H. Hamilton and Thomas Kean
2006Aung San Suu Kyi2007Brent Scowcroft
2008Willemijn Verloop - War Child2009Pasquale J. D'Amuro
2010Gareth Evans2011Bryan A. Stevenson
2012Hussain al-Shahristani2013Ameena Matthews
2014Malala Yousafzai2015The Nation
2016Human Rights Watch2017Cristina Jiménez Moreta
2018Urmila Chaudhary2019Sandy Hook Promise
2020Leoluca Orlando2021Worker Rights Activists for the Excluded Workers Fund
2022ÜniKuir2023Bennie Thompson
2024Grace Forrest2025Center for Victims of Torture