Bono Will Receive Liberty Medal

May 24, 05:05 PM

Current Headlines: By David O'Reilly, The Philadelphia Inquirer

May 24--Bono, the lead singer of U2, and his nonprofit advocacy group DATA, will be this year's recipient of Philadelphia's prestigious Liberty Medal.

The award, which includes a $100,000 prize, will be given to the 47-year-old Dublin native and activist on Sept. 27 at the National Constitution Center.

Bono has said the money will be given the DATA -- Debt Aids Trade and Africa -- which was established in 2002 and is based in Washington. He cofounded the organization with Bobby Shriver and Jamie Drummond.

The announcement of the award was made jointly this afternoon by Joseph M. Torsella, president and CEO of the Constitution Center, and Mayor Street.

Bono is the first rock musician to receive the honor.

Street said he thought that giving the award to Bono would "attract the notice of young people who might not have paid much attention in the past" to the Liberty Medal.

Torsella called Bono "the ultimate civic entrepreneur."

Last year was the first time that the medal, established in 1988 as part of the bicentennial of the Constitution, was given under the auspices of the Constitution Center.

Past winners of the Liberty Medal include South African President Nelson Mandela and former President Jimmy Carter who, like last year's recipients Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, was honored for his work after leaving the White House.

Contact staff writer David O'Reilly at 215-854-5723 or doreilly@phillynews.com.

Liberty Medal Winners

Recipients of the Philadelphia Liberty Medal, first given in 1989, are:

2006: Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush.

2005: Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.

2004: Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

2003: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

2002: U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell.

2001: United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

2000: Scientists James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick.

1999: South Korean President Kim Dae-jung.

1998: Former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, chairman of the 1998 Northern Ireland peace talks.

1997: CNN International.

1996: Former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres and Jordan's King Hussein.

1995: Sadako Ogata, U.N. high commissioner for refugees.

1994: Czech President Vaclav Havel.

1993: South African leaders F.W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela.

1992: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.

1991: Nobel laureate and former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias and the French medical and human-rights organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders).

1990: Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

1989: Polish President Lech Walesa.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Philadelphia Inquirer

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