The National Constitution Center will award its 2022 Liberty Medal to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The award is given each year to people who have worked to protect freedom around the world. Zelenskyy will be honored “for his heroic defense of liberty in the face of Russian tyranny” during the war in Ukraine, the center announced Monday.
“President Zelenskyy has bravely led the Ukrainian people in their defense of freedom against Russian tyranny, and his courage has inspired people around the world to defend liberal democracy and the rule of law,” Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, said in a statement.
The medal comes with a $100,000 prize, which the center said Zelenskyy plans to give to the new Ukrainian Veteran Fund.
The prize is the latest in a long line of accolades the Ukrainian president has received since becoming an international hero in February, after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Zelenskyy has also been bestowed with the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award and the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.
The Liberty Medal, which was established in 1988, has in recent years recognized figures such as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Sen. John McCain, U.S. Rep. John Lewis, the Dalai Lama and Pakistani women’s education activist Malala Yousafzai.
This year, Zelenskyy will be honored in October at a livestreamed ceremony at the National Constitution Center, which has hosted the event since 2006.
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