HYDE PARK, NY—Aung San Suu Kyi, Mohamed ElBaradei, and three others will receive Four Freedoms medals from the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute in recognition of their substantial, courageous and personal contributions to advancing freedom in our world. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt and Ambassador William J. vanden Heuvel, Co-Chairs of the Roosevelt Institute, announced today the Four Freedoms laureates who will receive the awards on May 13, 2006, in the Abbey of Middelburg, The Netherlands.

 

The annual awards, given on an alternating annual basis in Hyde Park, NY, the birthplace and home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the Netherlands, the Roosevelts’ ancestral home, are presented to national and world citizens of extraordinary achievement whose words and deeds best exemplify the qualities proclaimed by President Roosevelt in 1941 as necessary for flourishing democracies everywhere in the world: “Freedom of Speech and Expression, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear.”

 

The International Four Freedoms Medal, recognizing a lifetime of work in advancing freedom and peace for all peoples everywhere in the world, will be awarded to Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei of Egypt, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Dr. ElBaradei is being honored for his pioneering role in the development of international governance mechanisms for the control and restraint of nuclear weapons. He has guided the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and he has been the principal exponent of the control of the destructive uses of that energy. His career as a diplomat, as an international lawyer committed to the Rule of Law, and as an advocate and guardian of the Non-Proliferation Treaty has earned him the respect and admiration of the world community.

 

Joining Dr. ElBaradei in receiving medals reflecting specific freedoms are:

Freedom of Speech and Expression: Carlos Fuentes of Mexico, whose extraordinary writings have had a significant influence and impact not only in the Hispanic world but in every place where freedom is cherished. He served Mexico as a distinguished diplomat but the true power of his influence has been the eloquence of his words. He is a defender of Freedom of Speech and his brilliant career has established him as one of its principal guardians.

 

Freedom of Worship: The Taizé Community of France, reflecting its great work in the cause of international ecumenicism. Bringing together representatives of all religions from many nations, the Community in the simplicity of its life has provided an example to the world of the meaning of the Lord’s work. In a time of violence and fear, the Taizé Community has been a voice of understanding, of compassion and of courage. It has given hope that the conflicts which disturb the world and the universal search for truth and purpose can find peaceful resolution.

 

Freedom from Want: Muhammad Yunnus of Bangladesh, whose leadership in establishing the Grameen Bank and in the field of micro-financing has enabled millions in developing nations to live a better life. He is a visionary with a dream to eradicate poverty from the world, and has had phenomenal success in helping people lift themselves out of poverty not only in Bangladesh but in many nations of the world. His efforts have helped liberate the poor and have shown the way for countless individuals to gain economic self-sufficiency for themselves and for their families.

 

Freedom from Fear: Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar, who has kept alive the hope of freedom, justice and democracy for her people. The triumph of her courage in the never-ending struggle against militarism and totalitarianism has made her voice one of the most eloquent for freedom and social justice. She has given power and meaning to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Her continued imprisonment by the military junta that rules her country demands that the world take notice and bring before the tribunals of the world her cause for freedom. Aung San Suu Kyi is fearless, and in her example all peoples and all nations find inspiration to resist tyranny.

 

Past recipients of the International Four Freedoms Medals include: Kofi Annan, Mikhail Gorbachev, Vaclav Havel, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, and Shimon Peres.

 

Based at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library in Hyde Park, NY, the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute is committed to informing new generations of the ideals and achievements of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and to inspire the application of their spirit of optimism and innovation to the solution of common problems.