List of awards and honors received by Lech Wałęsa


The following is a list of awards and honors conferred on Polish politician, trade-union organizer, and human-rights activist Lech Wałęsa.

Honors

Apart from his 1983 Nobel Peace Prize, Wałęsa has received many other international distinctions and awards. He has been named "Man of the Year" by Time Magazine, The Financial Times and The Observer. He was the first recipient of the Liberty Medal, on 4 July 1989 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and that same year received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He is the third foreigner and the first non-head-of-state to have addressed a joint session of the United States Congress.
On 8 February 2002, Wałęsa represented Europe, carrying the Olympic flag at the opening ceremonies of the XIX Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, in company with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, John Glenn, Kazuyoshi Funaki, Cathy Freeman, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Jean-Claude Killy, and Steven Spielberg. Two years later, on 10 May 2004, Gdańsk International Airport was officially renamed Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport to commemorate a famous Gdańsk citizen, and his signature was incorporated into the airport's logo.
A month later, in June 2004, Wałęsa represented Poland at the state funeral of Ronald Reagan. On 11 October 2006, Wałęsa was keynote speaker at the launch of "International Human Solidarity Day," proclaimed in 2005 by the United Nations General Assembly. In January 2007 Wałęsa spoke at a Taiwan event, "Towards a Global Forum on New Democracies," in support of peace and democracy, along with other prominent world leaders and Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian.
On 25 April 2007, Wałęsa represented the Polish government at the funeral of Boris Yeltsin, former President of the Russian Federation. On 23 October 2009, he spoke at a conference in Gdansk of presidents of all European senates, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the first free parliamentary elections in a former communist country – the 1989 elections to the Polish Senate.
On 6 September 2011, Wałęsa rejected Lithuania's Order of Vytautas the Great as a result of constant discrimination on the part of the Lithuanian government towards its Polish minority.

Decorations

A partial list of Wałęsa's honors and awards.

State decorations

Orders and awards

Man of the Year prizes

Man of the YearByLocationDateNotesRef
1980The Financial Times
1980The Observer
1980Die Welt Germany
1981Die Zeit Germany
1981L'Express
1981Le Soir Brussels, Belgium
1981TIME Magazine4 January 1982Time Person of the Year
1981Le Point
1989Polish Radio and Television
1989Saudi Gazette
1989The Warsaw Voice
1989El Periodico Barcelona, Spain
1995Wprost Warsaw, Poland3 January 1996
2001Federacja Regionalnych Związków Gmin i Powiatów RP
2004XV Economic Forum in Krynica Krynica-Zdrój, Poland7 September 2005
2012Tłuchowo Tłuchowo, Poland20 January 2013

Honorary

Honorary doctorates

Wałęsa has been awarded over 100 honorary doctorates by universities around the world.
InstitutionDegreeLocationDateNotesRef
Universidad de Mendoza Mendoza, Argentina1997
Universidad del Salvador Buenos Aires, Argentina1997
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Leuven, Belgium1981
McMaster UniversityLL.D. Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaNovember 1989
Simon Fraser University Burnaby, Canada1989
Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada28 November 2005"za wyjątkową drogę życia, zaangażowanie i uczestnictwo w rozwoju demokracji"
University of Chile Santiago, Chile1995
Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic2001
London Metropolitan UniversityDoctor of Philosophy London, England8 December 2009"in recognition of his outstanding contribution to international relations in Europe and the wider world"
Alliance College Paris, France1981in absentia
St. Senis University Paris, France1982
University of Paris Paris, France1983
University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, Hawaii1999
Meiji University Tokyo, Japan1997
Universidad Anáhuac del Sur Mexico City, Mexico1996
University of Lima Lima, Peru21 June 2007
Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Toruń, Poland 1 October 1990
Opole University Opole, Poland10 March 2011
University of Gdańsk Gdańsk, Poland20 March 1990"in recognition of his undying achievements in developing and propagating the ideas of freedom and democracy, the rebirth of humanist values, the dignity and rights of man, and the community and the nation"
Korea Universityhon. prof. Seoul, South Korea1997
European University of Madrid Madrid, Spain28 January 2011"in recognition of his defense of independent unionism and for becoming Poland's first democratic president after the fall of communism"
University of DundeeDoctor of Laws Dundee, Scotland, UK13 July 1984
Central Connecticut State UniversityDoctor of Humane Letters Hartford, Connecticut, United States10 April 1996Commencement at CCSU
Columbia University New York City, USA1981
Fordham UniversityDoctor of Laws New York City, USA20 May 1984in absentia
Gannon University Erie, Pennsylvania1999
Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States14 April 1983Never actually received
Lawrence UniversityDoctor of Laws Appleton, Wisconsin, United States15 October 2001"in recognition of his democratic efforts both in his homeland and worldwide"
Lewis & Clark College Portland, Oregon, United States2000
Lewis & Clark CollegeDoctorate of Humane Letters Portland, Oregon, United States6 May 2001
Lynn University Florida, USA11 December 1998
MacMurray College Jacksonville, Illinois, United States1982
Marquette UniversityDoctor of Laws Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States2 March 2004
Middlebury CollegeDoctor of Letters Middlebury, Vermont, United States21 May 2000
Nasson CollegeDoctor of Laws Springvale, Maine, United States7 June 1982in absentia
Providence College Providence, Rhode Island, United States1981
Ramapo College Mahwah, New Jersey, United States3 October 2001presented a public lecture: Democracy: The Never Ending Battle.
Saint Ambrose UniversityDoctor of Humanities Davenport, Iowa, United States14 May 2001
Seton Hall UniversityDoctor of Laws South Orange, New Jersey, United States1982received on December 2, 2005 from Kurt Borowsky
Springfield CollegeDoctor of Humanics Springfield, Massachusetts, United States1982
University of North Carolina at CharlotteDoctor of Laws Charlotte, North Carolina, United States14 December 2002
University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, United StatesMay 1982in absentia
University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon, United States2001
University of West FloridaDoctor of Public Service Pensacola, Florida, U.S.31 March 2006
University of Santo TomasHonorary Professor Manila, Philippines26 November 2012"Whereas, you were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983 for your struggles and ideals, as a trade union leader and organizer, advocating non-violent human right activism against a communist regime You are man of the people, who regarded the Catholic faith as a source of strength and inspiration, and the courage and moral vision of a hero of Polish independence."
Gave a lecture entitled "The Role of Faith on the Struggle for Freedom and Democracy"
Westminster College Fulton, Missouri, United States1998

Honorary citizenship

City / RegionCountryDateNotesRef
Turin1982received on October 22, 2000
Reggio nell'Emilia1984conferred on July 5, 1984
Osaka
Białystok1990
Borne Sulinowo
Brzeg Dolny23 June 2005
Będzin
Darłowo3 March 2010
Elbląg27 October 2011
Gdańsk24 April 1997
Gdynia20 December 1995
Kościerzyna6 June 2005
Kraków24 August 1990
Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship19 October 2010received in Toruń
ŁęczycaJune 2004
Łuków10 November 1995
Mielec31 October 1990
Mława16 November 2009
Opole2009received on 11 October 2010
Poznań18 November 2009
Puławy3 June 2009accepted by Henryk Wujec from Workers' Defence Committee on Wałęsa's behalf
Radom1990
Sopot21 December 1995
Szczecin8 September 2008received on 20 April 2009
Terespol22 August 2009
Ustrzyki Dolne10 July 2010
Warsaw24 May 2007received on 31 July 2007
Wrocław24 June 2005
Zamość19 November 1990
Zielona GóraAugust 2008received on 10 September 2010
London1991
Buffalo

Other

Places named after Lech Wałęsa

Buildings

Schools

Streets