The George C. Marshall Foundation Award was established in 1997 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Marshall Plan. This award is presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to foster international economic development and to establish, in Marshall’s words, “economic health in the world, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace.”
Recipients
2019 | Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Albright received the Marshall Foundation Award on November 11, 2019, at a gala dinner at the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC. Dr. Albright was recognized for her career of distinguished public service in the tradition of George C. Marshall, for her dignity and integrity, for her devotion to free and democratic institutions, and for promoting the economic development which allows these institutions to flourish.
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2017 | Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger received the Marshall Foundation Award on June 7 at a gala dinner on the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York. Dr. Kissinger was recognized for a lifetime dedicated to supporting free enterprise and democracy throughout the globe and for his skilled statesmanship in solving tough problems.
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2011 | Hillary Rodham Clinton
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton received the Marshall Foundation Award on June 2 at a gala dinner in Washington for her support of the U.S. military and its soldiers, families and veterans, for her passionate advocacy on behalf of women and children whose voices are not being heard, and for her relentless devotion to spreading the highest ideals of democracy across the globe.
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2010 | Frederick W. Smith
FedEx chairman, president and CEO Frederick W. Smith received the Marshall Foundation Award for his success in building a company that has changed business around the world and for the generous use of FedEx resources to provide humanitarian assistance to countries and regions in need. The award was presented during a luncheon at American Red Cross headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 16, 2010.
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2009 | Robert M. Gates
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates received the Marshall Foundation Award on October 16, 2009 at a luncheon at the U.S. Department of State to mark the 60th anniversary of George Marshall’s death. Secretary Gates said, “There were no holidays from history for Marshall.” Gates was recognized for his 43 years of selfless public service, including a distinguished career in the CIA.
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2007 | John W. Warner and Lee H. Hamilton
The George C. Marshall Foundation Award Gala, celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Marshall Plan, honored two distinguished recipients: Senator John W. Warner, left, and The Honorable Lee H. Hamilton, right, on June 5, 2007, at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.
2003 | Colin Powell
On November 12, 2003, David Rockefeller presented Secretary of State Colin Powell with the George C. Marshall Foundation award at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. Powell rose through the ranks in the U.S. Army in a military career spanning 35 years before becoming Secretary of State with the Bush administration. In many ways, the course of his life and his selfless commitment to public service exhibits the traits of George Marshall. “We have so much still to learn from General Marshall – from his character, from his courage, his compassion and his commitment to our nation and to all humankind.” – Secretary Powell. Also attending the ceremonial gala were esteemed world leaders including President Carlo Ciampi of Italy, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson, philanthropist David Rockefeller, and members of the U.S. Congress and the diplomatic corps.
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2002 | George Herbert Walker Bush
President George Herbert Walker Bush, 41st President of the United States, received the distinguished George C. Marshall Foundation Award at a gala dinner in New York City on March 8, 2002. It was the third such award the foundation has presented. “We are pleased to honor President Bush for his efforts to open a global economy while he was president,” said Albert Beveridge, III, president of the Marshall Foundation. “His leadership of the international community during the fall of the Berlin Wall, the emergence of democracy in Eastern Europe, and his construction of a 30-nation coalition to uphold international law during the Gulf War all underscore President Bush’s leadership in the Marshall model.” Photos
1999 | David Rockefeller
David Rockefeller received the second George C. Marshall Foundation Award at a dinner and ceremony at the New York Public Library in May 1999. Mr. Rockefeller was honored for his long-time commitment to positive international economic development, his humanitarian service to community based on the recognition that a healthy, vibrant society depends upon a sound economic base, and his strength of character in the tradition of George Catlett Marshall.
1997 | Helmut Kohl
The first recipient of the Award was Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, who received the Award on June 5, 1997, at a Gala Dinner celebrating the 50th Anniversary of The Marshall Plan Speech in Washington, D.C. Photos