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Home , Profiles in Courage, Profile in Courage Award

It JOHN F. LIBRARY FOUNDATION

Caroline Kennedy President

March 5,2002

The Honorable Secretary-General of the United Nations Headquarters First Avenue at 46th Street New York, NY 10017 i Dear Secretary-General Annan: It gives me great pleasure to inform you that you have been selected as this year's recipient of the John F. Kennedy .

A distinguished bipartisan committee of national political and community leaders have selected you to receive this award in recognition for the extraordinary leadership and courage you have demonstrated in responding to the worldwide threat of terrorism, AIDS, and other challenges to world peace.

President Kennedy felt his greatest admiration for those in politics who had the courage to make decisions of without fear of the consequences. It is this unique kind of courage for which you are being honored. As you know, my father believed strongly in the United Nations. As a young man, he attended the United Nations Charter Conference in 1945, and as President he delivered some of his most powerful and prophetic speeches before the General Assembly. This Award therefore has a special meaning and significance to me and the members of my family and we very much hope you will be able to accept.

As the recipient of the international Profile in Courage Award, we would like to honor you at a black-tie dinner at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in on Sunday evening, May 5, 2002, followed by a formal presentation ceremony on Monday morning, May 6,2002.

The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award was created by the Kennedy Library Foundation in 1989 to honor President Kennedy's commitment and contribution to public service. It is presented annually to an elected official who has withstood strong opposition from constituents, powerful interest groups or adversaries to follow what she or he believes is the right course of action. The award is named for President Kennedy's 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, , which eight U.S. Senators who risked their careers to fight for what the;

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Columbia Point, Boston, 02125 • 617.929.1200 • 617.436.3395 (fax)f' OF THt S£CR£TARV-CENERAL in Courage Award is accompanied by a $25,000 stipend and a sterling silver lantern representing a beacon of hope.

In addition to honoring you, the Kennedy Library Foundation will recognize former Palos Heights, Illinois Mayor Dean Koldenhoven who placed his career in jeopardy by speaking out against discrimination toward Muslim Americans in his community.

A special Profile in Courage Award will also be presented to the men and women whose extraordinary physical courage and public service in response to the events of September 11 gave testimony to my father's exhortation to "ask what you can do for your country."

When you last visited the John F. Kennedy Library on June 6, 1997, you spoke very warmly of my father and his vision for a free world and a strong United Nations. You also noted that "our enemy now is indifference, the belief that there are many worlds, and that the only one we need care about is our own."

On behalf of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, please accept our deepest appreciation for the noble work that you have performed in battling this indifference.

I look forward to having the opportunity to thank you in person.

Please do not hesitate to contact me at (212) 628-6077, or Ambassador John Shattuck, CEO of the Kennedy Library Foundation, at (617) 929-1275, should you have any questions or desire any additional information.

Respectfully,

Caroline Kennedy JOHN E KENNEDY LIBRARY FOUNDATION

John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award

The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award is presented annually to an elected official who has withstood strong opposition from constituents, powerful interest groups or adversaries to follow what she or he believes is the right course of action. The award is named for President Kennedy's 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Profiles in Courage, which recounts the stories of eight U.S. Senators who risked their careers to fight for what they believed in.

The recipient of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation's prestigious award for political courage is selected by a distinguished bipartisan committee of national political and community leaders whose current members are David Burke, former president of CBS News; U.S. Senator Thad Cochran, (R-Missippi); Marian Wright Edelman, President of the Children_s Defense Fund; Antonia Hernandez, President of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund; iElaine Jones, Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund; Caroline Kennedy, President of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation; U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-Massachusetts); Paul G. Kirk, Jr., Chairman of the Board of Directors of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation; David McCullough, presidential historian and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography Truman; , Chairman of the Committee and Founder of the First Amendment Center; and U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine).

The Profile in Courage Award was created by the Kennedy Library Foundation in 1989 to honor President Kennedy's commitment and contribution to public service. It is presented on or near May 29, in celebration of President Kennedy's birthday. Described by one recipient as the "Nobel in Government", the Profile in Courage Award is accompanied by a $25,000 stipend and a sterling silver lantern representing a beacon of hope. The lantern was designed by , Inc., and crafted by Tiffany & Co.

In selecting a recipient, the Profile in Courage Award Committee considers elected officials who have demonstrated the kind of political courage described by John F. Kennedy in Profiles in Courage.

In his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Kennedy wrote:

"The true democracy, living and growing and inspiring, puts its faith in the people - faith that the people will not simply elect men who will represent their views ably and faithfully, but also elect men who will exercise their conscientious judgment - faith that the people will not condemn those whose devotion to principle leads them to unpopular courses, but will reward courage, respect honor and ultimately recognize right."

Last year's recipient was former U.S. President , who presided over the country's recovery from what he called "our long national nightmare" and who made a controversial decision of conscience to pardon former President Richard M. Nixon. Legendary civil rights leader and U.S. Congressman (D-GA) received an unprecedented special Profile in Courage Award for Lifetime Achievement in recognition of a career marked by extraordinary

Columbia Point, Boston, Massachusetts 02125 • 617.929.1200* 617.436.3395 (fax) • www.jfklibrary.org courage, leadership, and commitment to universal human rights. The presentation of a Profile in Courage Award for Lifetime Achievement was unprecedented.

Past recipients of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award are former U.S. Congressman , Sr. of ; former U.S. Congressman Charles Weltner of ; former Governor of , Jr.; former ; U.S. Congressman Henry Gonzalez of ; former U.S. Congressman Michael Synar of Oklahoma; former Calhoun County, Georgia School Superintendent Corkin Cherubini; Circuit Court Judge of Montgomery County, Alabama Charles Price; Garfield County, Montana Attorney Nickolas Murnion; co-recipients U.S. Senators John McCain of and Russell Feingold of ; California State Senator ; and former U.S. President Gerald Ford.

In December, 1998, a special John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award was presented to the Irish Peacemakers — eight political leaders of Northern Ireland [, , , John Alderdice, David Ervine, Monica McWilliams, Gary McMichael, and Malachi Curran] and former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, the American chairman of the peace talks - in recognition of the extraordinary political courage they demonstrated in negotiating the historic Good Friday Peace Agreement. The presentation of the Profile in Courage Award to a non-American was unprecedented.

In May 2001, a special Profile in Courage Award for Lifetime Achievement was presented to U.S. Congressman John Lewis. The presentation of a Profile in Courage Award for Lifetime Achievement was unprecedented.

The John F. Kennedy Library and Museum is a presidential library administered by the National Archives and Records Administration and supported, in part, by the Kennedy Library Foundation, a non-profit organization.

For more information on the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, visit the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum web page at jfklibrary.org.