Which U.S. award did Nelson Mandela receive in 2002?

Nelson Mandela received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002.

U.S. President George W. Bush presented the award to Mandela in recognition of his leadership in ending apartheid and promoting reconciliation in South Africa. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the United States’ highest civilian honor.

Mandela’s award came more than a decade after his release from prison and eight years after he became South Africa’s first Black president. By then, he had become an internationally recognized symbol of human rights and democratic transition.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is sometimes confused with the Congressional Gold Medal, another major U.S. honor. Mandela received the former in 2002; the award was part of the United States’ formal recognition of his global contribution.