The Knight of Freedom Award (Polish: Rycerz Wolności) is a Polish international award conferred annually to "outstanding figures, who promote the values represented by General Casimir Pulaski: freedom, justice, and democracy".

History

The award was established in 2005 and is presented by the Casimir Pulaski Foundation, which is an independent, non-profit think tank specializing in foreign policy and international security. The award committee chaired by Zbigniew Pisarski,^[1] the President of the Casimir Pulaski Foundation, presents the laureates with handmade replicas of the sabre (Polish: karabela) used by General Pulaski. The award ceremony takes place each year during the Warsaw Security Forum and the award is considered to be one of the most important Polish foreign policy and human rights awards.^[2][3]

Laureates

Year	Laureate(s)	Image	Citizenship(s)	Citation(s)	Source(s)
2023	NATO		International	to the most successful military alliance in world history that nobody has dared to attack.	[4]
2022	Olena Zelenska		Ukraine	to over forty million individuals, who bravely defend their country, values and freedom in the face of cruel war.	[5]
2021	Alexei Navalny		Russia	for his extraordinary efforts to promote democratic values in Russia, long-standing dedication in bringing values such as freedom, justice, respect to the law, and accountability to the Russian state system.	[6]
2020	Thorbjørn Jagland		Norway	for his continuous commitment to the European integration project, active engagement in fostering international dialogue and a tireless effort to promote democracy, rule of law and human rights in Europe and beyond.	[7]
2019	Dalia Grybauskaitė		Lithuania	for her considerable efforts undertaken in the fight for the security and defense of Lithuania, the Baltic states and Poland as well as for her hard stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine	[8]
2018	Anders Fogh Rasmussen		Denmark	for his activities related to enhancing European integration and promoting European values	[9]
2017	Mary Robinson		Ireland	for her uncompromising fight for human rights and universal values	[10]
2016	Toomas Ilves		Estonia	for his activity to promote democratic and pro-European values in the country and all over the world	[11][12]
	Mikhail Khodorkovsky		Russia	for the uncompromising efforts to build the rule of law, civil society and the promotion of European values in Russian society	[13][14]
2015	Carl Bildt		Sweden	for his contribution to the EU's Eastern Partnership initiative, whose goal is to bring pro-European values to the partner countries and help in carrying out reforms	[15]
	Radosław Sikorski		Poland	for initiating the process of creating the concept of the Eastern Partnership in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy of the EU, the aim of which is to bring pro-European values and help in carrying out reforms in the partner states	[16]
2014	Mikheil Saakashvili		Georgia	for strengthening the democracy, rule of law, and development of civil society in Georgia	[17]
2013	Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga		Latvia	for the promotion of democratic values throughout the world, fighting for equality of women, as well as efforts for social justice	[18]
2012	Richard Lugar		United States	for his actions and support of the Polish accession process to NATO structures	[19]
2011	Bernard Kouchner		France	for his contribution in promoting humanitarian values through the organization "Doctors Without Borders" and input in the promotion of the freedom, justice and democracy worldwide	[20]
2010	Javier Solana		Spain	for his commitment to a peaceful solution of the political conflict related to the presidential elections in Ukraine in 2004	[21]
2009	Valdas Adamkus		Lithuania	for his contribution to conduct re-elections in Ukraine, as well as for his involvement in the Orange Revolution	[22]
	Aleksander Kwaśniewski		Poland	for his merits in favour of a peaceful end to the Orange Revolution	[23][24]
2008	Lech Wałęsa		Poland	for his contribution to the democratic transition of Poland	[25]
2007	Alaksandar Milinkievič		Belarus	for his work and commitment to democratic elections in Belarus, as well as for his contribution to the promotion of the freedom, justice and democracy worldwide	[26]
2006	Władysław Bartoszewski		Poland	for his involvement in opposition activities, in particular, the "Solidarity" movement, as well as his contribution to the improvement of Polish-German relations	[27]
2005	Norman Davies		United Kingdom	for his involvement in promoting Poland throughout his books, which are well-known and recognized worldwide	[28]