George P. Shultz, the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Distinguished Fellow at the Hoover Institution, was awarded the Dwight D. Eisenhower Medal for Leadership and Service by the Eisenhower Fellowships on May 17.
Shultz received the award at the Eisenhower Fellowships annual meeting dinner in Philadelphia. Julie Nixon Eisenhower read the award citation and Eisenhower Fellowships Chairman, Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, bestowed the medal.
"Secretary Shultz is one of the most outstanding public servants this country has ever had," said Adrian Basora, president of Eisenhower Fellowships. "We are proud to honor him for his leadership and work for international understanding, peace, and progress."
In his acceptance speech, Shultz remarked that President Eisenhower, for whom he worked as an economic advisor, inspired him in important ways. "He told me the process of planning is important because it allows you to deviate from your plan when you need to. He also told me to know what the professionals are thinking, even if you don't follow their advice. And he told me you cannot do good work without taking a break from it."
Shultz has had a long and illustrious career in public service. He served in four cabinet posts—as secretary of labor, head of the Office of Budget and Management, secretary of the treasury, and, for seven years under President Ronald Reagan, as secretary of state.
In 1989, he was awarded the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. He is also a recipient of the Seoul Peace Prize (1992) and many other honors.
Among the 14 previous Eisenhower medal awardees are former President Gerald Ford, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Since 1954, the Eisenhower Fellowships has been promoting international understanding and productivity through the exchange of information, ideas, and perspectives among emerging leaders throughout the world.
The Hoover Institution, founded at Stanford University in 1919 by Herbert Hoover, who went on to become the 31st president of the United States, is an interdisciplinary research center for advanced study on domestic and international affairs.
