Dr. Henry Kissinger 2010 Medal for Distinguished Public Service

Dr. Henry Kissinger was selected as the recipient of the 2010 Gerald R. Ford Medal For Distinguished Public Service. The medal was presented by Jack Ford, Chairman of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, at the Foundation’s Annual Dinner on June 7, 2010 at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel, Washington, DC. Widely respected around the world for his intelligence and diplomatic skills, he has continued to advise presidents and world leaders.

Pictured: Ford Family and Dr. Henry Kissinger

President Ford described Dr. Kissinger’s extraordinary public service and expressed the appreciation and gratitude of all Americans:

“His superb record of achievement is unsurpassed in the annals of American history.”In every case,Secretary Kissinger has worked mightily for peace. And in every case the cause of peace has been advanced by his efforts. We have been impressed by our association with him on a personal basis and impressed by his intellect and his insights.

We are thankful for his mighty efforts to the cause of peace for mankind in a worldwide basis. He is, so far as this American is concerned, the greatest Secretary of State in the history of our Republic.”

The medal is given annually to an individual who has served the public good in the private or public sector and was established by the Board of Trustees of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation in 2003. Previous recipients have been Alan Greenspan, Richard Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, Betty Ford, the Men and Women of the United States Armed Forces, Carla A. Hills, Lee Hamilton, and James Baker.

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation fosters increased awareness of the life, career, values and legacy of America’s 38th President. It does so through activities designed to promote the high ideals of integrity, honesty, and candor that defined President Ford’s extraordinary career of public service. The Foundation promotes the ideals, values, commitment to public service and historical legacy of President Gerald R. Ford and further promotes greater civic engagement and recognition of integrity wherever it exits in the public arena. It supports permanent and changing exhibits designed to promote historical literacy; conferences; educational outreach and other programs, both scholarly and popular, including at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.