Statesman Natan Sharansky, a distinguished fellow at the Shalem Center and head of its new strategic studies institute, will to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a White House ceremony on Dec. 15, the White House announced today.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award in the United States and is bestowed by the U.S. President. It recognizes individuals who have made “an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”

The other major civilian award is the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, which is bestowed by the U.S. Congress. Natan Sharansky was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal of Honor in 1986. Only 28 individuals have received both awards, among them Jonas Salk, Elie Wiesel, and Rosa Parks; Sharansky will become only the fourth non-American citizen and the only Israel to receive both awards; the others are Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa and Pope John Paul II.

“The commitment of the American people and their leaders to democracy and freedom for every individual has always given, and continues to give, strength and hope to oppressed nationals and people around the world. I am deeply moved by having been chosen to receive this honor,” Sharansky said.

“Natan Sharansky’s determination in facing down tyranny in Soviet Russia inspired people around the world, and the moral clarity of his thought has provided much-needed intellectual leadership to the West under attack,” said Daniel Polisar, president of the Shalem Center. “He is not only one of the leading statesmen of the Jewish people but is a genuine hero to millions.”

Sharansky, a former Cabinet Minister who resigned from the Knesset last month to head the Shalem Center’s new strategic studies institute, is a human rights activist, statesman, and the author of the influential best-seller, The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror(Public Affairs, 2004).