The Walter Judd Freedom Award is presented annually to recognize individuals who have advanced the cause of freedom in the United States and abroad, are devoted to the preservation and expansion of freedom, influential in world and national affairs, and are outspoken voices against tyranny and oppression, while embodying the characteristics of self-sacrifice and patriotism.
One of the founders of The Fund for American Studies, Walter Henry Judd (1898-1994) was one of the leading statesmen and orators of the 20th century. He began his career as a medical missionary in China and was elected to Congress from Minnesota in 1942, where he served for 20 years. He was recognized as a leading expert in Asian affairs and advised every president from Truman to Reagan. President Reagan conferred the Presidential Medal of Freedom upon Judd in 1981.
Past recipients include:
2017: Garry Kasparov, Russian pro-democracy leader, author and world chess champion
2016: Rep. Ed Royce of California
2015: Sen. John McCain of Arizona
2014: Dr. Alejandro Chafuen, President of the Atlas Economic and Research Foundation
2013: Ambassador Paula Dobriansky, Former Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs
2012: Mary Anastasia O’Grady, Editorial Board Member and Columnist at the Wall Street Journal
Otto Reich, Former Ambassador to Venezuela
2011: Donald Rumsfeld, Former United States Secretary of Defense
2010: Suzanne Scholte, President of the Defense Forum Foundation
2009: Ambassador John Bolton
2008: Dr. Lee Edwards, chairman of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
2007: General Edward L. Rowny, former ambassador and LTG USA (Ret.)
2006: U.S. Rep. Henry J. Hyde
2005: Dr. Charles Krauthammer
2004: Dr. Edwin J. Feulner
2002: Dr. George J. Viksnins
2001: U.S. Rep. Philip M. Crane
2000: U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart & Ms. Elena Amos
1999: President Ronald Reagan
1998: U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf
1997: Dr. Harry Wu
1996: The Honorable Jack Kemp
1995: Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick
1994: William F. Buckley, Jr.