The George C. Marshall Foundation Award

The George C. Marshall Foundation Award was established in 1997 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Award is presented to an individual or organization that has made a significant contribution internationally to ameliorating "hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos," as described by Secretary of State Marshall in his speech at Harvard University, June 1947.

The purpose of The George C. Marshall Foundation Award is to:

• foster international economic development to establish, in Marshall's words, "economic health in the world, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace...[and to] permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist;"
• encourage and recognize significant humanitarian service;
• create public awareness of the accomplishments of the recipient individual or organization;
• encourage other individuals and organizations to emulate those good works.

To qualify for this award, an individual or organization must have demonstrated leadership that has furthered international humanitarian and economic development efforts, and must have exhibited the following personal and professional qualities practiced by George C. Marshall throughout his life of extraordinary public service:

• a career of distinguished public/civic service in the tradition of George C. Marshall;
• dignity and integrity of character;
• devotion to creating and perpetuating free and democratic institutions and promoting appropriate economic development which will allow them to flourish;
• nonpartisanship or bipartisanship.

 

Recipients

2009: Robert M. Gates

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates received the Marshall Foundation Award on October 16, 2009 at a luncheon at the U.S. Department of State to mark the 60th anniversary of George Marshall’s death. Secretary Gates said, “There were no holidays from history for Marshall."  Gates was recognized for his 43 years of selfless public service, including a distinguished career in the CIA.

 

2007: Senator John W. Warner and

The Honorable Lee H. Hamilton

The George C. Marshall Foundation Award Gala, celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Marshall Plan, honored two distinguished recipients: Senator John W. Warner, left, and The Honorable Lee H. Hamilton, right, on June 5, 2007, at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.

 

 

2003: Colin Powell

On November 12, 2003, David Rockefeller presented Secretary of State Colin Powell with the George C. Marshall Foundation award at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. Powell rose through the ranks in the U.S. Army in a military career spanning 35 years before becoming Secretary of State with the Bush administration. In many ways, the course of his life and his selfless commitment to public service exhibits the traits of George Marshall. "We have so much still to learn from General Marshall - from his character, from his courage, his compassion and his commitment to our nation and to all humankind." - Secretary Powell. Also attending the ceremonial gala were esteemed world leaders including President Carlo Ciampi of Italy, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson, philanthropist David Rockefeller, and members of the U.S. Congress and the diplomatic corps.

2002: George Herbert Walker Bush
President George Herbert Walker Bush, 41st President of the United States, received the distinguished George C. Marshall Foundation Award at a gala dinner in New York City on March 8, 2002. It was the third such award the foundation has presented. "We are pleased to honor President Bush for his efforts to open a global economy while he was president," said Albert Beveridge, III, president of the Marshall Foundation. "His leadership of the international community during the fall of the Berlin Wall, the emergence of democracy in Eastern Europe, and his construction of a 30-nation coalition to uphold international law during the Gulf War all underscore President Bush's leadership in the Marshall model."

1999: David Rockefeller
David Rockefeller received the second George C. Marshall Foundation Award at a dinner and ceremony at the New York Public Library in May 1999. Mr. Rockefeller was honored for his long-time commitment to positive international economic development, his humanitarian service to community based on the recognition that a healthy, vibrant society depends upon a sound economic base, and his strength of character in the tradition of George Catlett Marshall.

1997: Helmut Kohl
The first recipient of the Award was Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, who received the Award on June 5, 1997, at a Gala Dinner celebrating the 50th Anniversary of The Marshall Plan Speech in Washington, D.C.