Elliot L. Richardson Prize Recipients

Ceremony Details

Wednesday, February 16th | 7:00 - 8:30pm EST

About the Elliot L. Richardson Prize for Excellence in Public Service

This award recognizes individuals for extraordinary public service, in the fine tradition of Elliot Richardson, who served as a beacon of integrity and commitment to the public service. Richardson was a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and served in four Cabinet-level positions in the U.S. government, including Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, and Secretary of Commerce.

Shortly, after his death on December 31, 1999, several friends and admirers of this exceptional public servant decided to establish a prize in honor of his memory. The bylaws of the Prize specify that the Richardson Prize is to be awarded to individuals "possessing the public service virtues exemplified by Elliot L. Richardson." Moreover, they state that such individuals "shall have demonstrated achievement, be significantly advancing the public good, and long-term dedication to public service, by serving the public interest in a public service capacity." Additionally, the bylaws state that individuals selected to receive the Richardson Prize "shall have demonstrated generosity of spirit, thoughtfulness in the pursuit of excellence in government, courage, and integrity."

Several of the past Prize recipients are Fellows or Honorary Fellows of the National Academy of Public Administration. Previous recipients of this distinguished award are the following: Colin Powell, Alice Rivlin, George Shultz, Norman Mineta, Sandra Day O’Connor, Lee Hamilton, Tom Kean, James Baker, George Mitchell, Robert Gates, Sheila Colleen Bair, Paul Volcker, Jr., John Koskinen, William D. Ruckelshaus, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Leon Panetta, and Edmund G. Brown, Jr.