January 4, 2025
With barely two weeks before he exits office as president of United States of America, Joe Biden on Saturday will award 19 Presidential Medal of Freedom to entertainers, sports stars, politicians and diplomats.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom, is the highest civilian honor in the United States .
Those to be honoured by the outgoing US president include singer and activist Bono, basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, longtime fashion editor Anna Wintour, soccer superstar Lionel Messi, actors Denzel Washington and Michael J. Fox, and fashion designer Ralph Lauren.
The honorees “are great leaders because they are good people who have made extraordinary contributions to their country and the world,” the White House had said in a statement.
Others on the honored list, are chef Jose Andres, founder of the World Central Kitchen NGO, and primate researcher Jane Goodall, a leading environmentalist voice.
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Some of the selected recipients by president Biden, have a more political profile, such as billionaire financier and left-wing philanthropist George Soros, a boogeyman of sorts for Republicans and Hillary Clinton, the former first lady, senator and US secretary of state who unsuccessfully ran against Donald Trump for the presidency in 2016.
Soros was honored because he “has supported organizations, and projects across the world that strengthen democracy, human rights, education and social justice.”
Biden also chose to posthumously award a Presidential Medal of Freedom to Robert Francis Kennedy, better known as “Bobby” Kennedy or his initials, “RFK.”
RFK served as US attorney general while his brother John F. Kennedy was president, and was assassinated in 1968 while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination.
“His legacy continues to inspire those committed to justice, equality, and public service,” Biden said in a statement.
Biden’s selections for the Medal of Freedom illustrate a desire to leave one final mark before leaving office.
