PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Eisenhower Fellowships has announced that it will present the 2008 Dwight D. Eisenhower Medal for Leadership and Service to former U.S. Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell. Eisenhower Chairman General Colin L. Powell USA (Retired) will present the award to Senator Mitchell at its annual board of trustees’ dinner in Philadelphia on May 15, 2008. The Eisenhower medal is awarded annually to a business leader, statesmen, or other public figure who has achieved widely-recognized advances toward President Eisenhower’s vision of peace and productivity through person-to-person international dialogue.
“Senator Mitchell’s commitment to brokering innovative solutions to international conflicts, as demonstrated by his stewardship of the peace effort in Ireland and his efforts to end violence in the Middle East, reflects the time-honored mission of Eisenhower Fellowships,” said John S. Wolf, president of organization. “For 55 years, Eisenhower Fellowships has promoted international understanding and cooperation through the exchange of information, ideas, and perspectives among emerging leaders throughout the world.”
Senator George J. Mitchell currently serves as chairman of the global board of international law firm DLA Piper and as Chancellor of Queen’s University in Northern Ireland. In 1980, Senator Mitchell resigned the position of U.S. District Judge for Maine to accept appointment to the U.S. Senate. He served in the U.S. Senate for 14 years, including six years as Senate Majority Leader. While in the Senate, Senator Mitchell’s efforts led to the successful passage of major legislation to protect the environment, expand public education, and promote free trade. After he left the Senate in 1995, Senator Mitchell continued to serve the public through his pro bono work for a number of domestic and international causes.
In 1996, the governments of the United Kingdom and Ireland asked Senator Mitchell to chair the peace negotiations in Northern Ireland. The Senator led the negotiations for two years, work that ultimately resulted in the historic Good Friday Accord that ended decades of conflict. In addition, Senator Mitchell has served as chairman of the Special Commission investigating allegations of impropriety in the bidding process for the Olympic Games, the National Health Care Commission, and an international fact finding commission on violence in the Middle East. More recently, Senator Mitchell led an independent investigation on past steroid use by Major League Baseball. He was also named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.
Eisenhower Fellowships is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization that identifies men and women well on their way to positions of regional or national leadership, and provides them with individualized fellowships for visits and consultations with leaders in their fields. Established in 1953 as a tribute to President Eisenhower, the organization has sponsored over 1,700 Fellows from more than 100 countries.
For more information please visit http://www.eisenhowerfellowships.org.
