Presidential Citizens Medal

Presidential Citizens Medal
Presidential Citizens Medal
Type	Medal
Awarded for	"Exemplary deeds or services [performed] for his or her country or fellow citizens."
Presented by	President of the United States
Eligibility	Citizens of the United States
Status	Active
Established	1969
First awarded	1973
	Ribbon of the medal
Precedence
Next (higher)	Presidential Medal of Freedom
Next (lower)	Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor

The Presidential Citizens Medal is an award bestowed by the president of the United States. It is the second-highest civilian award in the United States and is second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Established by executive order on November 13, 1969, by President Richard Nixon, it recognizes an individual "who has performed exemplary deeds or services for his or her country or fellow citizens." Only United States citizens are eligible for the medal, which may be awarded posthumously.

The medal is a disc of gilt and enamel, based on the seal of the president of the United States, with the eagle surrounded by a wreath of leaves. The medal is suspended on a ribbon, dark blue with a light blue central stripe and white edge stripes. Despite being a civilian award, it may be worn on some military uniforms.^[1]

Recipients

President Joe Biden presents the Presidential Citizens Medal to D.C. Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fanone during a ceremony on January 6, 2023

Recipient	Year	Notes
Henry "Hank" Aaron	2001
Albert Abramson	1998
Clarence Alexander	2011
Muhammad Ali	2001
Juan Andrade Jr.	2001
Richard Lee Armitage	1989^[2]
Brooke Astor	1988
Hubert Dickey Ballantine	1981
Arnold O. Beckman	1989
Ezra Taft Benson	1989
Jocelyn Benson	2023^[3]
Mitchell Besser	2008
James H. Billington	2008
Forrest M. Bird	2008
Milly Bloomquist	2011
Rusty Bowers	2023^[3]
James Scott Brady	1989
T. Berry Brazelton	2012
Ward Brehm	2008
Ruby Bridges	2001
Roberta Diaz Brinton	2010
Daisy M. Brooks	2010
Ronald H. Brown	2001	(posthumous)
William F. Buckley Jr.	1989
Adam Burke	2012
Don R. Cameron	2001
Frank C. Carlucci	1983
Raymond Castellani	1995
Raymond G. Chambers	2008
Betty Kwan Chinn	2010
Cynthia M. Church	2010
Roberto Clemente	1973	(posthumous)
Bruce Cole	2008
Charles Colson	2008
Mary Jo Copeland	2012
Carol Coston, O.P.	2001
Archibald Cox	2001
Chester A. Crocker	1989
Arthur Culvahouse Jr.	1989
Rachel D'Avino	2012	(posthumous)
Joe Delaney	1983	(posthumous)
Charles DeLisi	2001
Bob Dole	1989
Michael Dorman	2012
General Wayne A. Downing, USA (Ret.)	2008
Samuel Nelson Drew	1995	(posthumous)
Kenneth M. Duberstein	1989
Harry Dunn	2023^[3]
Lawrence Eagleburger	1991
Caroline Edwards	2023^[3]
Vijaya Lakshmi Emani	2011	(posthumous)
Jaime Escalante	1988
Michael Fanone	2023^[3]
Mike Feinberg	2008
Edwin Feulner	1989
Arnold Fisher	2008
Max M. Fisher	1989
Zachary Fisher	1995
Marlin Fitzwater	1993
John P. Foley, S.J.	2008
Malcolm S. Forbes	1989
Donald R. Fortier	1989	(posthumous)
Robert C. Frasure	1995	(posthumous)
Ruby Freeman	2023^[3]
Robert M. Gates	1992
Robert P. George	2008
Susan Retik Ger	2010
Dana Gioia	2008
Maria Gomez	2012
Aquillino Gonell	2023^[3]
Eugene Goodman	2023^[3]
C. Boyden Gray	1993
Jack Greenberg	2001
Elinor C. Guggenheimer	1997
Richard N. Haass	1991
Dorothy Height	1989
Charlton Heston	1989
David Hermelin	2000	(posthumous)
John S. Herrington	1989
Samuel J. Heyman	2008
Colonel William R. (Rich) Higgins	1992	(posthumous)
David D. Ho	2001
Dawn Hochsprung	2012	(posthumous)
Don Hodel	1989
Daniel Hodges	2023^[3]
Mary K. Hoodhood	2010
Leamon Hunt	1984
Janice Jackson	2012
Pamela Green Jackson	2012
Bernice Young Jones	1996
I. King Jordan	2001
Herman Kahn	1989	(posthumous)
Max Kampelman	1989
Dennis Keogh	1984	(posthumous)
Richard James Kerr	1991
Robert M. Kimmitt	1991
Russell Kirk	1989
Lane Kirkland	1989
Wendy Kopp	2008
Joseph C. Kruzel	1995
Donald W. Landry	2008
Janice Langbehn	2011
Patience Lehrman	2012
Dave Levin	2008
Anthony Lewis	2001
Howard Liebengood	2023^[3]	(posthumous)
Alan Lovelace	1981
Jeanne Manford	2012
Adair Margo	2008
Robert S. Martin	2008
John O. Marsh, Jr.	1989
Andrew W. Marshall	2008
Martin Mathews	1981
Oseola McCarty	1995
Kimberly McGuiness	2010
Chelle McIntyre-Brewer	2012
Richard Meadows	1995	(posthumous)
Bob Michel	1989
Jeffery L. Miller	2008
Billy Mills	2012
Irene Morgan	2001
Erwin Morse	2008
Wandrea' ArShaye Moss	2023^[3]
Constance Baker Motley	2001
Jorge Muñoz	2010
Anne Marie Murphy	2012	(posthumous)
William H. Natcher	1994
Lisa Nigro	2010
David Paton	1987
Claiborne Pell	1994
Pete Peterson	2000
Mary Ann Phillips	2010
General Colin Powell USA (Ret)	1989
Donald E. Powell	2008
Elizabeth Cushman Titus Putnam	2010
Anne-Imelda Radice	2008
Arnold Lewis Raphel	1989	(posthumous)
Rick Rescorla	2019	(posthumous)
Susan Retik	2010
Rozanne L. Ridgeway	1989
Helen Rodriguez-Trias	2001
Adele Langston Rogers	1973
John F. W. Rogers	1985
Edward L. Rowny	1989
Edward Roybal	2001
Robert Rubin	2001
Warren Rudman	2001
Charles Ruff	2001	(posthumous)
Myrtle Faye Rumph	2010
Lauren Rousseau	2012	(posthumous)
Elbert Rutan	1986
Richard Rutan	1986
Al Schmidt	2023^[3]
Rabbi Arthur Schneier	2001
Timothy R. Scully, C.S.C.	2008
Eli J. Segal	2001
John F. Seiberling	2001
John Sengstacke	2001	(posthumous)
Mary Sherlach	2012	(posthumous)
Terry Shima	2012
The Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth	2001
Brian Sicknick	2023^[3]	(posthumous)
Gary Sinise	2008
Jeffrey L. Smith	2023^[3]	(posthumous)
Victoria Leigh Soto	2012	(posthumous)
Larry Speakes	1987
Stuart K. Spencer	1989
Adrian St. John	1995
William Howard Taft IV	1989
Elizabeth Taylor	2001
Edward Teller	1989
Strom Thurmond	1989
Richard H. Truly	1989
Armando Valladares	1989
John Volpe	1983
Vernon A. Walters	1989
Admiral James D. Watkins, USN (Ret.)	2008
Raymond Weeks	1982
Geo. J. Weiss Jr.	2010
John C. Whitehead	1989
Charles Z. Wick	1989
Marion Wiesel	2001
Harris Wofford	2012
Robert L. Woodson, Sr.	2008
Patrisha Wright	2001
Joseph R. Wright, Jr.	1989
Sidney R. Yates	1993
Jeana Yeager	1986
Tony Zale	1990

Hubert Dickey Ballantine and Martin Mathews were jointly awarded the 1981 Citizens Medal as founders of the Mathews-Dickey Boy's Club.

The teachers Rachel D'Avino, Anne Marie Murphy, Lauren Rousseau, and Victoria Soto and school administrators Mary Sherlach and Dawn Hochsprung, who perished in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting defending their students, were jointly awarded the 2012 Citizens Medal posthumously.^[4]

Most of the recipients of the 2023 Citizens Medal were awarded for their respective roles in the 2020 United States presidential election or their response to the subsequent January 6 United States Capitol attack in 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their awards were delayed in 2021 and 2022.