Only two people have received the Presidential Medal of Freedom twice.

Arts & Culture

A longside the Congressional Gold Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award in America. An average of roughly 10 awards per year have been bestowed since the honor was first created by John F. Kennedy in 1963 (though some presidents award more medals than others), and only two people have received more than one: Ellsworth Bunker and Colin Powell. The former, a career diplomat who served six different U.S. presidents as the ambassador to Argentina, Italy, India, and South Vietnam, received his in 1963 and 1967, both of them with distinction — an additional level of veneration reserved for approximately 8% of recipients.

Powell, meanwhile, earned his awards in 1991 and 1993, the second with distinction. He received the first from George H.W. Bush and the second from Bill Clinton, both of whom he served under as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; he had previously been Ronald Reagan's national security adviser and later became secretary of state for George W. Bush. While presenting Powell with his first medal at the end of the Gulf War, the elder President Bush said, "Your commitment and good counsel, your deep compassion for every one of the thousands of men and women under your command, will always be remembered."

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By the Numbers

Individuals who have received the Presidential Medal of Freedom

651

Medals awarded by Barack Obama, the most of any president

118

Did you know?

The criteria to receive a Presidential Medal of Freedom are quite broad.

The president can award the Presidential Medal of Freedom at their discretion, with no real guidelines determining eligibility. An official White House statement explains it's reserved for "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 endeavors." Unsurprisingly, the list of recipients is wide-ranging. Eight former and future presidents have been awarded the medal, as have more than 600 other people, including Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks, Fred Rogers, John Paul II, Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali, Maya Angelou, Yo-Yo Ma, Martin Luther King Jr., Jonas Salk, Norman Rockwell, Walt Disney, Helen Keller, and all three Apollo 11 astronauts (Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins). Then there's Dolly Parton, who, true to record-setting form, declined the award — twice.

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