List of Puerto Rican Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients

This is a list of notable Puerto Ricans who were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The list includes people who were born in Puerto Rico, people who are of full or partial Puerto Rican ancestry such as Pablo Casals, whose mother was Puerto Rican and Chita Rivera, whose father was Puerto Rican. It also includes other residents and/or immigrants of other ethnic heritages who have made Puerto Rico their home, and who are recognized for their life and/or work.

Puerto Rican recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presented by

President of the United States

Nine Puerto Ricans have been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with the comparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States. It recognizes those 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".[1][2] Former governor Luis A. Ferré and his sister Isolina Ferré are the only pair of Puerto Rican brother and sister to have been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente was also the posthumous recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Citizens Medal.

Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

The following people are the recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom:[2]

NameYear awardedOccupation

Pablo Casals
(Puerto Rican mother)		1963Cellist and Conductor

Luis Muñoz Marín		1963
(with Distinction)		Governor of Puerto Rico

Luis A. Ferré		1991Governor of Puerto Rico
Antonia Pantojas1996Educator, social worker,
feminist, civil rights leader
Isolina Ferré
(sister of recipient Luis A. Ferré)		1999Roman Catholic nun

Roberto Clemente
(USMC picture)		2003
(posthumously)		Baseball Hall of Famer

Rita Moreno		2004Actress

Chita Rivera		2009Actress, dancer, and singer

Sylvia Mendez		2011Civil Rights activist
Felicitas Mendez2011
(posthumously)		Civil Rights activist

See also

References
  1. Executive Order 9586, signed July 6, 1945; Federal Register 10 FR 8523, July 10, 1945
  2. Presidential Medal of Freedom
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