U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has been chosen as the winner of the 2003 Philadelphia Liberty Medal. The award, which includes a $100,000 honorarium, is presented each year on the 4th of July to an individual or organization from anywhere in the world that has demonstrated "leadership and vision in pursuit of liberty of conscience or freedom from oppression, ignorance or deprivation."
At a news conference on April 23, 2003, Philadelphia Mayor John Street stated, "Sandra Day O'Connor is a leader of exceptional dignity, character and integrity. She has been a champion of justice, while her fairness and prudence on major decisions have made a lasting impact on society."
Normally presented at Independence Hall, this year's award will be presented at the new $137.5 million National Constitution Center which will officially open to the public on July 4, 2003.
O'Connor is the 15th winner of the Philadelphia Liberty Medal. She is the first woman to be honored and the second U.S. Supreme Court justice to receive the award. In 1992 the Liberty Medal was awarded to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
The Philadelphia Liberty Medal was established in 1988 by We the People 2000, an organization comprised of civic and business leaders created to heighten recognition of the nation's founding principles and to commemorate the bicentennial of the United States Constitution. The recipient of the Philadelphia Liberty Medal is chosen each year by an International Selection Commission drawn from leaders in government, world affairs, education, culture and business.
Past Philadelphia Liberty Medal Winners
2002 U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell
2001 U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan
2000 Dr. James Watson/Dr. Francis Crick (joint prize)
1999 South Korean President Kim Dae Jung
1998 Irish Peace Negotiator and Retired U.S. Senator George J. Mitchell
1997 CNN International
1996 King Hussein 1/Shimon Peres (joint prize)
1995 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata
1994 Czech President Václav Havel
1993 F.W. de Klerk/Nelson Mandela (joint prize)
1992 U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall
1991 Former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias and the French medical and human rights organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) (joint prize)
1990 Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter
1989 Polish Solidarity founder and later Polish President Lech Walesa