Poster by Christie Pedder of West Springfield High School in Fairfax County, Virginia, who received a Citation for Excellence in the 2003/2004 First Freedom Student Competition.   Courtesy Christie Pedder

2007 The Honorable Madeleine K. Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State; chairwoman of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs

INTERNATIONAL HONOREES

2007 Abdelfattah Amor, former United Nations Secial Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief; former President of the UNESCO human-rights jury

2006 President Václav Havel, Former President of Czechoslovakia and subsequently the Czech Republic; Active in human rights initiatives Charter 77, the Velvet Revolution and Shared Concern Initiative

2005 Father Elias Chacour, Founder and President of Israel’s Mar Elias Educational Institutions and Three- time Nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize

2004 Prof. Alberto de la Hera, Director General of the Department of Religious Affairs for the Spanish Ministry of Justice
M. Farooq Kathwari, Chairman and CEO, Ethan Allen, Inc.; Founder, Kashmir Study Group

2002 John Wallach & Seeds of Peace, Award-winning journalist and founder of Seeds of Peace, an international conflict-resolution program for youth

2001 No recipient

2000 Mostar 2004 Project; The Reves Center for International Studies at The College of William & Mary; War Child U.S.A.; and The World Bank; Organizations working to rehabilitate the cultural and physical vitality of the City of Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, following the Balkans War

1999 His Excellency Tony Blair, Prime Minister of Great Britain for his leadership role in the Northern Ireland Peace Negotiations

NATIONAL HONOREES

2007 Kevin “Seamus” Hasson, Founder and Chairman of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty

2006 The Honorable Chet Edwards, Member, U.S. House of Representatives; Winner of Walter Cronkite Faith & Freedom Award

2005 The Honorable Robert A. Seiple, First U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom and founder of the Institute for Global Engagement

2004 Garry Wills, Ph.D., Pulitzer Prize-winning author; adjunct professor of history at Northwestern University
Norman Lear, Emmy Award-winning writer, television producer; Founder, People for the American Way
Martin E. Marty, Writer, theologian and distinguished authority on American religious tradition; Professor Emeritus, University of Chicago; and founder of the Martin Marty Center

2001 The Honorable Frank R. Wolf, Member, U.S. House of Representatives; Author, International Religious Freedom Act

2000 Bill & Judith Moyers, Award-winning television documentary producers, Public Affairs Television

1999 The Honorable George J. Mitchell, Former U.S. Senator; Chairman, Northern Ireland Peace Negotiations

1998 Steven C. Rockefeller, Professor Emeritus of Religion, Middlebury College; Chair, Earth Charter Drafting Committee

1997 Merrill D. Peterson, Thomas Jefferson Scholar and Professor Emeritus, University of Virginia

1996 The Honorable Richard C. Holbrooke, Chief Negotiator, Dayton Peace Accords; U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

VIRGINIA HONOREES

2007 Dr. Azizah Y. al-Hibri, Founder and President of KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights; professor of law at the University of Richmond’s T.C. Williams School of Law

2006 Dr. Robert S. Alley, Professor emeritus of humanities at the University of Richmond; Author of numerous books on church state issues

2005 William Lee Miller, Scholar in Ethics and Institutions at the Miller Center of Public Affairs and author, “The First Liberty: America’s Foundation in Religious Freedom”

2004 Rev. Dr. Robert Bluford, Jr., Founder of the Historic Polegreen Church Foundation
Rev. J. Fletcher Lowe, Jr., Exec. Dir., Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy; Rev. James A. Payne,
Founding Dir., Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy and; the Virginia Interfaith Ctr for Public Policy

2003 Rev. J. Fletcher Lowe, Jr., Exec. Dir., Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy; Rev. James A. Payne, Founding Dir., Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy and; the Virginia Interfaith Ctr for Public Policy

2002 Rev. Benjamin P. Campbell, Pastoral Director, Richmond Hill

2001 Jay M. Ipson, Founder and Chairman of the Board, Virginia Holocaust Museum

2000 Very Rev. C. N. Dombalis, Dean Emeritus, Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Richmond, Va.

1999 Tommy P. Baer, Former president, B’nai B’rith International

1998 Congregations of St. James’s Episcopal Church & Temple Beth Ahabah, Richmond, Va.

1997 Most Rev. Walter F. Sullivan, Bishop, Catholic Diocese of Richmond, Va.

1996 Mary Tyler McClenahan and Neilson J. November, Civic leaders, Richmond, Va.

1995 James E. Ukrop and Robert S. Ukrop, Civic and business leaders, Richmond, Va.