United Nations Peace Medal

This article is about the diplomatic and souvenir medal. For medals for participation in UN operations, see United Nations Medal.

The United Nations Peace Medal is a commemorative medal produced by the United Nations to promote peace. First made by Franklin Mint in 1971,[1] a new design is produced annually, with limited editions offered for sale in gold, silver, and bronze.[2] Gold medals may be formally presented by UN officials as a diplomatic gift to heads of state, former UN Secretaries-General, and dignitaries visiting the UN Headquarters.[3][4]

Recipients of the United Nations Peace Medal
Date Name(s) Notes Refs
24 August 1971 Alfred Worden, David Scott, and James Irwin By U Thant to Apollo 15 astronauts. First recipients. [1][5]
24 October 1971 Pau Casals and W. H. Auden By U Thant for composing the music and text of a "Hymn to the United Nations" [6]
1971 Norman Cousins [7]
5 January 1972 Emperor Haile Selassie I In presenting the medal, UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim spoke of Selassie's support for UN principles and of his contribution to promote international peace and understanding. Selassie is the first Head of State to receive the medal. [8][9][10][11]
1972 Kathleen D'Olier Courtney [12]
1972 Percival Noronha [13]
1973 Dixy Lee Ray [14]
1975 Ada Norris [15]
26 April 1976 Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden [16]
6 February 1977 King Khalid of Saudi Arabia By Kurt Waldheim "for his significant contribution to international peace" [17]
September 1977 Leonid Brezhnev By Kurt Waldheim in Moscow "in recognition of his considerable and fruitful activities in favor of universal peace and people's security" [18]
1978 Obert C. Tanner [19]
1978 Bee Gees For a record entitled “Music for UNICEF”, the proceeds of which were donated to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). [20]
1979 Nobusuke Kishi [21]
1979 Estefania Aldaba-Lim By Kurt Waldheim. Chair of the UNESCO international commission for peace. [22]
1980 Maurice Kendall For his work on the World Fertility Survey [23]
4 September 1981 Carlos Romulo By Kurt Waldheim [24]
27 January 1982 Kurt Waldheim By Javier Pérez de Cuéllar to his predecessor as Secretary-General [25]
7 May 1982 Ryōichi Sasakawa [26][27]
17 September 1982 Steven Spielberg By Javier Pérez de Cuéllar after a screening of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial at the UN. [28]
8 August 1983 Daisaku Ikeda the President Soka Gakkai International and Honorary President of Soka Gakkai. [29][30][31][32][33]
1984 Esther Coopersmith [34]
1984 Dadi Prakashmani By Javier Pérez de Cuéllar to the administrative head of Brahma Kumaris at a conference of NGOs. [35][36]
1985 Jiddu Krishnamurti [37]
1985 Firdaus Kharas By Javier Pérez de Cuéllar for contributions to the United Nations in Canada and abroad. [38]
24 October 1985 Ken Kragen By Phyllis Kraminsky in Washington, D.C., for producing We Are The World [39]
1986 Eric Bogle [40]
1986 Allen Weinstein For his "extraordinary efforts to promote peace, dialogue, and free elections in several critical parts of the world". [41]
28 September 1987 Bill Cosby By Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, for his anti-apartheid activism [42]
17 March 1992 Javier Pérez de Cuéllar By Boutros Boutros-Ghali to his predecessor as Secretary-General [43]
17 December 2001 Miriam Makeba Germany honors "Mama Africa" for her Human Rights Engagement [44]
7 December 2010 Lim Hyung-joo For a solo concert at Carnegie Hall to fund scholarships for descendants of United Nations Command veterans of the Korean War [45]
  1. ^ a b "Peace Medal Issued By United Nations". Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal. 26 December 1971. p. 9C. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  2. ^ "1989 United Nations Peace Medal and 1989 commemorative medals / from the Assistant Secretary-General for General Services". United Nations. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  3. ^ Reiter, Ed (October 18, 1981). "Numismatics; THE VALUE OF SMART LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 September 2016. It is being minted for official presentation by U.N. Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim to heads of state and other visiting dignitaries, and also is being offered on a limited basis for sale to collectors.
  4. ^ van den Dungen, Pieter (1999). "Peace Prizes A. 1. a". Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace and Conflict. Vol. 3: Po–Z, index. Academic Press. p. 799. ISBN 9780122270109.
  5. ^ "American Astronauts Visit United Nations". United Nations Photo. 24 August 1971. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  6. ^ "United Nations Day Concert Held at United Nations Headquarters". United Nations Photo. 24 October 1971. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  7. ^ United Nations News Centre (1 October 2015). "European leaders at UN urge concerted action amid 'unprecedented' humanitarian crises". United Nations. Retrieved 29 September 2016. Norman Cousins, an American political journalist who received the UN Peace Medal in 1971
  8. ^ "ADDIS ABA. Ethiopia (AP)". No. 38. Big Spring Daily Herald Newspaper. 3 February 1972.
  9. ^ "EMPEROR HAILE SELASSIE". No. 30. Battle Creek Enquirer from Battle Creek, Michigan. 3 February 1972.
  10. ^ Anbessa, Gad. Orders and Medals of the Emperor Haile Selassie I. Editions Fitawari. p. 60. ISBN 9791069964488.
  11. ^ "UN Peace Medal is Given Selassie". Nashua Telegraph. 3 February 1972. p. 11. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  12. ^ Rappaport, Helen (2001). "Courtney, Kathleen D'Olier". Encyclopedia of Women Social Reformers. Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 166. ISBN 9781576071014. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  13. ^ "Remembering Percival, an encyclopedia of heritage, history & the heavens". oHeraldo. 26 July 2022. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  14. ^ Becker, Paula (20 November 2004), "Ray, Dixy Lee (1914-1994)", HistoryLink, Seattle: History Ink, retrieved 31 March 2022, <quotation>
  15. ^ Cafarella, Jane (21 July 1989). "Champion of the impossible". The Age. Melbourne. p. 16. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  16. ^ "King Gets Medal". Reading Eagle. Reading, Pennsylvania. 27 April 1976. p. 15. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  17. ^ "Secretary-General Pays Two-Week Visit to Middle East". United Nations Photo. 6 February 1977. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  18. ^ Hazzard, Shirley (2016-01-05). We Need Silence to Find Out What We Think: Selected Essays. Columbia University Press. p. 132. ISBN 9780231540797. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  19. ^ Tanner Humanities Center. "College of Humanities, Obert C. and Grace A. Tanner Humanities Center". Sponsor Information. GrantForward. Retrieved 30 September 2016. Among his many national and international awards are the United Nations Peace Medal (1978) and the National Medal of Arts conferred in Washington, D. C. (1988). Obert Tanner died October 14, 1993, in Palm Springs, California.
  20. ^ UN Photo (16 May 1978). "Secretary-General Awards UN Peace Medals to "Bee Gees"". United Nations New York. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  21. ^ Bochat, W. Maria (2010). "The Atomic Bomb: Memory and Its Power on Japanese Pacifism" (PDF). Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: School of Advanced Military Studies. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  22. ^ Sexton, Virginia Staudt; Hogan, John D. (1992). International Psychology: Views from Around the World. U of Nebraska Press. p. 331. ISBN 9780803241848. Retrieved 10 May 2018.; "Scientist Profile: Estefania Aldaba-Lim". Specialized Philippine Enterprise Reference of Experts and Scientists (SPHERES). Philippines: Science and Technology Information Institute. 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  23. ^ O'Connor, J. J.; Robertson, E. F. "Maurice George Kendall". MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. St Andrews, Scotland: School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  24. ^ Bright, Becky (December 1981). "Carlos Romulo — Today and Yesterday". The Rotarian. 139 (6). Evanston, Illinois: Rotary International: 34–35: 35. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  25. ^ "United Nations' Leader Presents Peace Medal to his Predecessor". Ocala Star-Banner. 27 January 1982. p. 3A. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  26. ^ "Billionaire believes peace is the best investment". The Age. Melbourne. 3 October 1986. p. 16. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  27. ^ Daventry, P. (2014-06-28). Sasakawa: The Warrior for Peace, the Global Philanthropist. Elsevier. p. 90. ISBN 9781483299389. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  28. ^ McBride, Joseph (2012-09-01). Steven Spielberg: A Biography (Third ed.). Faber & Faber. p. 248. ISBN 9780571280551. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  29. ^ 朝日新聞 1983年8月9日 朝刊
  30. ^ 日本経済新聞 1983年8月9日 朝刊。AERA 2004年12月6日号
  31. ^ 「経済往来」第35巻第 9-12 号、経済往來社, 1983,p193
  32. ^ 南開大学周恩来研究センター「周恩来と池田大作」朝日ソノラマ 2002、p30
  33. ^ ホーム > 池田大作名誉会長の足跡 > 主な顕彰 > 国連からの表彰 at the Wayback Machine (archived 2010-11-13)
  34. ^ Esther Coopersmith
  35. ^ Partridge, Christopher (2004). Encyclopedia of New Religions: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities. Lion Publishing. p. 177. ISBN 9780745950730.
  36. ^ Musselwhite, Richard (2009). Possessing Knowledge: Organizational Boundaries Among The Brahma Kumaris (PDF) (Thesis). Department of Religious Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. p. 33.
  37. ^ Ogletree, Aaron Peron (2007). "Peace Profile: Jiddu Krishnamurti". Peace Review. 19 (2): 277–280. doi:10.1080/10402650701354032. ISSN 1040-2659. S2CID 143796404.
  38. ^ "Firdaus Kharas Receives Honorary Doctorate from Carleton University". Carleton University newsroom. 11 June 2015. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  39. ^ "Washington: U.N. Honored". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. 25 October 1985. p. 4A. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  40. ^ "OH 598 Transcript of Songlines: Eric bogle & John Schumann in concert & conversation" (PDF). J. D. Somerville Oral History Collection. State Library Of South Australia. 18 February 2001. p. 4. Retrieved 30 September 2016. In 1986 he was awarded a United Nations Peace Medal in recognition of his efforts through his music to promote peace and racial harmony.
  41. ^ "Professor wins peace medal". The Lewiston Journal. Lewiston, Maine. 25 October 1986. p. 7A. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  42. ^ "Cosby to get UN peace medal". New Straits Times. Kuala Lumpur. 26 September 1987. p. 12. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  43. ^ "Unveiling of Portrait of the Fifth Secretary-General of the United Nations". United Nations Photo. 17 March 1992. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  44. ^ "Peace Medal for the African Singer Miriam Makeba". MUSEUM OF EUROPEAN ART Official Website. 17 December 2001. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  45. ^ "Lim Hyung-joo Becomes 1st Korean to Win UN Peace Medal". The Chosun Ilbo. 9 December 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2017.