Messi, Others To Get Biden’s Presidential Medal Of Freedom Award

Legendary footballer, Lionel Messi, is set to receive America’s highest civilian honour, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

This prestigious award is presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavours.

President Joe Biden will hold a star-studded ceremony at the White House Saturday for the latest batch of Medal of Freedom recipients — which will include Bono, José Andres, Hillary Clinton, Jane Goodall and many more.

The medal is the nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to people who have made “exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values or security of the United States, world peace or other significant societal, public or private endeavors,” according to the White House.

Biden on Saturday named 19 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The president, the White House said in a statement, “believes great leaders keep the faith, give everyone a fair shot and put decency above all else.”

“These 19 individuals are great leaders who have made America and the world a better place,” the statement added.

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“They are great leaders because they are good people who have made extraordinary contributions to their country and the world.”

Hillary Clinton will be honored for having “made history many times over decades in public service, including as the first First Lady elected to the United States Senate,” the White House release said.

“After serving as Secretary of State, she became the first woman nominated for president by a major United States political party,” the statement added.

Among the other honorees is Tim Gill, described by the White House as “a visionary entrepreneur whose work has advanced LGBTQI rights and equality.”

Four political figures will receive posthumous medals. Former Attorney General and Sen. Robert Francis Kennedy — the brother of former President John F. Kennedy and the father of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — “fiercely combatted racial segregation” and “sought to address poverty and inequality in the country,” the White House said.

Defense Secretary Ashton Baldwin Carter “devoted his career to making the nation safer for all,” the White House added, while former Michigan Gov. George Romney — the father of former senator and Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney — will also be honored for his years of public service.

Prominent civil rights activist and medal honoree Fannie Lou Hamer “transformed the struggle for racial justice in America,” the White House said. “She challenged the exclusion of Black voices in the political system and laid the groundwork for the 1965 Voting Rights Act.”

Several cultural icons will be awarded the medal, among them U2 frontman and activist Bono, actor and Parkinson’s disease research advocate Michael J. Fox, actor Denzel Washington and playwright George Stevens, Jr. Fashion designer Ralph Lauren and fashion icon Anna Wintour will also be honored, as will legendary basketball player Earvin “Magic” Johnson and soccer great Lionel Messi.
Conservationist Jane Goodall and William Sanford Nye — also known as “Bill Nye the Science Guy” — will be honored for their contributions to scientific education.

José Andrés — the Spanish-American chef who went on to found the World Central Kitchen — will be awarded the medal in part due to his work providing relief to “communities affected by natural disasters and conflict around the world,” the White House said.

Medal recipients David M. Rubenstein of The Carlyle Group and George Soros of the Open Society Foundations will also be honored for their decades of philanthropic work, Saturday’s announcement said.

In a statement sent to ABC News, Soros said, “As an immigrant who found freedom and prosperity in America, I am deeply moved by this honor,” adding he will accept the medal “on behalf of the many people around the world with whom the Open Society Foundations have made common cause over the past 40 years.”

The OSF said Soros’ children and grandchildren will attend the White House ceremony, with OSF Chair Alex Soros accepting the medal on behalf of his father.