MIKHAIL GORBACHEV 2008 Liberty Medal Recipient (RIGGED)

MIKHAIL GORBACHEV 2008 Liberty Medal Recipient

http://constitutioncenter.org/libertymedal/recipient_2008.html

2008 Liberty Medal Recipient

The National Constitution Center’s 2008 Liberty Medal was awarded to former Soviet leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mikhail Gorbachev for his courageous role in ending the dangerous, decades-long Cold War and in giving hope and freedom to millions who lived behind the Iron Curtain. The public Liberty Medal ceremony took place on Thursday, September 18, 2008, at the National Constitution Center in Historic Philadelphia, and it helped set the stage for international commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 2009.

After becoming the youngest full member of the Politburo in 1980, Gorbachev was named General Secretary of the Communist Party in 1985, ready to make long overdue reforms in the Soviet system. For six years he pressed for democratization by promoting glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring). These policies gave a voice to the people of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, resulting in an unprecedented extension of the freedoms of assembly, speech, and travel, as well as religious freedom. In 1988, Gorbachev announced that the Soviet Union would abandon the Brezhnev Doctrine and allow the Eastern bloc nations to determine their own internal affairs. Gorbachev’s refusal to intervene militarily in Eastern European affairs gave hope to those struggling to end four decades of Soviet control. Ultimately, his policies created the environment which led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in November of 1989. Gorbachev was elected as the first executive President of the Soviet Union in 1990.

Fittingly, the Liberty Medal will be presented to Gorbachev by President George H.W. Bush, Chairman of the National Constitution Center. While serving as President of the U.S., Bush’s friendship and political alliance with Gorbachev enabled the world’s two superpowers to peacefully end their decades-long rivalry. In fact, Gorbachev trusted and valued their friendship so much that, as the Soviet flag was being lowered for the final time at the Kremlin, the person he called was President Bush. Their partnership is symbolic of the way in which Gorbachev has transcended old animosities to spread the blessings of liberty.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Gorbachev was the general secretary for the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and is the founder for the Green Cross International.

Note: Global Green USA is the US affiliate for Green Cross International.

Patricia E. Mitchell is a board member for Global Green USA, the vice chair for the Sundance Institute, and was a director at the Human Rights Watch.

George Soros was a benefactor for the Human Rights Watch, is the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Sundance Institute, the Human Rights Watch, People for the American Way, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Brookings Institution (think tank), and the International Rescue Committee, Common Cause, and the Committee for Economic Development.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Human Rights Watch, and the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Norman Lear is a director at People for the American Way, and a council of advisor’s member for Global Green USA.

Leonardo DiCaprio is a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and a board member for Global Green USA.

J. Robert Kerrey was a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and is a council of advisor’s member for Global Green USA.

Lee H. Hamilton is a board member for Global Green USA, and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Henry Louis Gates Jr. was an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a trustee at the National Constitution Center.

Mary M. Boies is a director at the International Rescue Committee, and married to David Boies.

David Boies is married to Mary M. Boies, and a trustee at the National Constitution Center.

Richard Dreyfuss is a governing board member for Common Cause, and was a trustee at the National Constitution Center.

Ellen Alemany is a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and a trustee at the National Constitution Center.

Christopher H. Shays was a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and is a council of advisor’s member for Global Green USA.

Global Green USA is the US affiliate for Green Cross International.

Benjamin W. Heineman Jr. is a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and was a trustee at the National Constitution Center.

Anthony C. Zinni is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and was a trustee at the National Constitution Center.

Mikhail Gorbachev is the founder for the Green Cross International, and was the general secretary for the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.