Eisenhower Fellowships (EF) is a private, non-profit organization created in 1953 by a group of American citizens to honor President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

for his contribution to humanity as a soldier, statesman, and world leader. The organization describes itself as an "independent, nonpartisan international leadership organization"."Dr. James McCain Selected For Study In Foreign Country", ''The Manhattan Republic'' (January 30, 1957), p. 1.

History

In 1953, Thomas Bayard McCabe led a group of Pennsylvania businessmen in the establishment of Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships (EEF) to commemorate President Dwight D. Eisenhower's first birthday in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. The program was initiated with donations totaling $125,000, which were reported as having been "pledged by 50 American industrialists".

Format

EF annually hosts two international fellowship programs of 20–25 Fellows each. The first is the Global Program of Fellows from around the world, followed by a fall program targeted to a specific country, region or sector. Through its USA Program, EF also sends a smaller group of 20 ascendant young American leaders overseas for similar four- to five-week fellowship to one or two countries, half of them to China under the Zhi-Xing China Eisenhower Fellowships Program. In 2020, EF launched the Global Scholars Program, which sends four university graduates abroad.

Fellows

Since the organization's founding, nearly 2,000 men and women have been awarded fellowships. Fellows are identified by committees in 48 countries and six U.S. locales (New England, Philadelphia, Research Triangle-NC, St. Louis, Chicago and Los Angeles). They identify men and women who have positions of substantial influence in their fields.

1950s–1970s

Sixteen fellowships were awarded in 1954 to three Americans and thirteen men from overseas. Initially, all funds came from the fundraising efforts of the EF Board of Trustees, but a ten-year $600,000 grant from the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

was granted in 1956. Each year's program included at least two seminars where Fellows shared experiences. It has yearly newsletters and three international alumni conferences. In 1961, the first Eisenhower regional conference was held in

Geneva, Switzerland Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic and Ca ...

, and in the same year, the first female Fellow, Dr. Pilar G. Villegas, was named. In 1963, the USA Fellow program was suspended temporarily. As the U.S. celebrated its

bicentennial __NOTOC__ A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to: Europe * French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...

in 1976, 101 Fellows from 56 countries convened in San Francisco for EF's First World Forum. In 1977, President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

was appointed president.

1980s–1990s

President

and

John Eisenhower John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower (August 3, 1922 – December 21, 2013) was a United States Army officer, diplomat, and military historian. He was the second son of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. His military ca ...

helped the company get a grant from the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

for $7.5 million. In 1986, the first Single Nation Program was introduced under the leadership of Theodore Friend, EEF President. Prior to 1986, Multi-Nation Programs had only allowed one fellowship to be granted to each participating country. The Single Nation Program was launched in 1986. In 1988, the first Dwight D. Eisenhower Medal for Leadership and Service was awarded to Ambassadors

Walter Annenberg Walter Hubert Annenberg (March 13, 1908 – October 1, 2002) was an American businessman, investor, philanthropist, and diplomat. Annenberg owned and operated Triangle Publications, which included ownership of ''The Philadelphia Inquirer' ...

and Thomas Watson Jr. In 1989, the USA Fellow Program returned after a 26-year hiatus, which brought EEF to three yearly programs (the Multi-Nation Program, the Single Nation Program, and the USA Fellow Program) with 50 Fellows participating. EEF celebrated the centennial of President Eisenhower's birth in 1990 at its second World Forum called "From Fellowship to Partnership" in Philadelphia. Over two hundred Fellows from 63 countries gathered. In the next 18 years, eleven other countries hosted EF conferences. In 1991, legislation sponsored by Senator

Bob Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Party leaders of the United States Senate, Republican Leader of th ...

and Representative

Pat Roberts Charles Patrick Roberts (born April 20, 1936) is a retired American politician and journalist who served as a United States senator from Kansas from 1997 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Roberts served 8 terms in the U.S. House of R ...

established a permanent endowment for EEF in honor of President Eisenhower. A Single Nation Program in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

for nine Fellows was run in 1994 after the country elected its first democratic government.

2000s

Eisenhower Fellowships developed additional programs and foci. In 2003, EF celebrated its 50th Multi Nation Program and 50th Anniversary Conference in Philadelphia called "Connecting Global Leaders." USA Fellows started choosing their fellowship destinations from a list of 27 countries on six continents. The Multi-Nation and Single-Nation programs continued, but the addition of Regional Programs, three in Asia, and one each in Latin America and the Middle East, were also implemented. In 2007 and 2009, two Common Interest Programs were introduced with Fellows from the United States and from overseas participating. In 2010, Eisenhower Fellowships held its first Women's Leadership Program.

Awards

Annually, Fellows are recognized an honorary fellowship in the name of a member of the board of trustees.

Distinguished Fellow Award

In 2008, EF established the Distinguished Fellow Award to recognize network Fellows. It is presented at the Annual Meeting of the board of trustees. The awardees are: *2008: Eisenhower Fellows of the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

*2009: Nezir Kirdar, ‘57,

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

*2010: Sister Mary Scullion, ’02, U.S. *2011: Jeffrey Koo Sr., ’71, Taiwan *2012: Conrado Etchebarne, '62, Argentina *2013: Martin Burt, '94, Paraguay *2014: Alfonso Vegara, '87, Spain, and

Philip Yeo Noel Philip Yeo Liat Kok ( Chinese: 杨烈国; born 1946), DUNU (First Class), is the Chairman oEconomic Development Innovations SingaporeAdvanced MedTech HoldingsanAccuron Technologies From April 2007 to March 2018, Yeo was Chairman of Standa ...

, '87, Singapore *2015: Susan Baragwanath, '94, New Zealand *2016: Shahid Mahmud, '01, Pakistan *2017: Ariel "Ayi" Hernandez, '11, Philippines *2018: Mari Pangestu, '90, Indonesia *2019: Eisenhower Fellows of Sri Lanka *2020: Juan Jose Guemes, '11, Spain *2021: Anita Brown-Graham, '05, U.S. *2022: Raman Madhok, '04, India, and Rajshree Pathy, '00, India *2023: Irina Anghel-Enescu, '08, Romania *2024: Tin Huu Mai '13, Vietnam, and Nguyen Griffiths Thao, '13, Vietnam *2025: Miatta Gbanya '16, Liberia and Nuru Mugambi (posthumously), '16, Kenya

Eisenhower Medal for Leadership and Service

In 1988, the EF Board of Trustees established the Dwight D. Eisenhower Medal for Leadership and Service. It is awarded annually to a business leader, statesperson, or other public figure. Notable recipients include Presidents

and

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, United States secretaries of state

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...

and

George Shultz George Pratt Shultz ( ; December 13, 1920February 6, 2021) was an American economist, businessman, diplomat and statesman. He served in various positions under two different Republican presidents and is one of the only two persons to have held f ...

, U.S. treasury secretary

Douglas Dillon Clarence Douglas Dillon (born Clarence Douglass Dillon; August 21, 1909January 10, 2003) was an American diplomat and politician who served as the United States ambassador to France from 1953 to 1957 and as the 57th United States secretary of the ...

, Federal Reserve Board chairman

Alan Greenspan Alan Greenspan (born March 6, 1926) is an American economist who served as the 13th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006. He worked as a private adviser and provided consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates L ...

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

winner and economist Dr.

Amartya Sen Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher. Sen has taught and worked in England and the United States since 1972. In 1998, Sen received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions ...

, Professor

Muhammad Yunus Muhammad Yunus (born 28 June 1940) is a Bangladeshi economist, entrepreneur, and civil society leader who has been serving as the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh, Chief Adviser of the Interim government of Muhammad Yunus, interim Yunus ministry, g ...

, and founding trustees ambassadors Walter H. Annenberg and Thomas J. Watson Jr. The Eisenhower Medal is conferred annually at a private gala dinner with Trustees, sponsors, and Fellows.

Recipients

*1988: Ambassador

, founding trustee of Eisenhower Fellowships; ambassador to the Court of St. James and Ambassador Thomas Watson Jr., founding trustee of Eisenhower Fellowships; former chairman, IBM; ambassador to the Soviet Union *1989: Robert Orville Anderson, former chairman of Eisenhower Fellowships; former CEO, ARCO *1990: Ambassador C. Douglas Dillon, ambassador to France and undersecretary of state under President Eisenhower; former secretary of the treasury *1991: Senator

Mark Hatfield Mark Odom Hatfield (July 12, 1922 – August 7, 2011) was an American politician and educator from the state of Oregon. A Factions in the Republican Party (United States)#Moderates, moderate Republican Party (United States), Republican, he se ...

, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations; chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations *1992: President

Süleyman Demirel Sami Süleyman Gündoğdu Demirel (; 1 November 1924 – 17 June 2015) was a Turkish people, Turkish politician, engineer, and statesman who served as the List of Presidents of Turkey, 9th President of Turkey from 1993 to 2000. He previously serv ...

of Turkey, 1955 Eisenhower Fello

*1993: Honorable

Donald Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, businessman, and naval officer who served as United States Secretary of Defense, secretary of defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and again ...

, former secretary of defense; former CEO of G.D. Searle and General Instrument Co.; former chairman, Eisenhower Fellowships *1994: No medal awarded *1995: Honorable

, representative of the First Congressional District, Kansas; chairman, House Committee on Agriculture *1996: President

, former chairman of Eisenhower Fellowships *1997: Theodore Friend, president emeritus of Eisenhower Fellowships; former President, Swarthmore Colleg

*1998: General

Brent Scowcroft Brent Scowcroft (; March 19, 1925August 6, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer, and a two-time National Security Advisor (United States), United States National Security Advisor, first under U.S. President Gerald Ford and then under Georg ...

, former national security affairs directo

*1999: General Colin L. Powell, USA (ret.), former chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; former secretary of stat

*2000: Dr.

, Economist; 1998 Nobel Prize winner in Economics *2001: Honorable George P. Shultz, former U.S. secretary of state *2002:

Katharine Graham Katharine Meyer Graham (June 16, 1917 – July 17, 2001) was an American newspaper publisher. She led her family's newspaper, ''The Washington Post'', from 1963 to 1991. Graham presided over the paper as it reported on the Watergate scandal, wh ...

, chairman of the executive committee, ''The Washington Post''; Pulitzer Prize-winning author *2003: President

, former chairman of Eisenhower Fellowships *2004: Dr.

, chairman, board of governors of the Federal Reserve *2005: Honorable John C. Whitehead, chairman, AEA Investors; former chairman, Goldman, Sachs; former deputy secretary of stat

*2006: Honorable

, former secretary of state; former chairman, Eisenhower Fellowships *2007: Honorable Lee H. Hamilton, president, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; former chairman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs *2008: Senator

George J. Mitchell George John Mitchell Jr. (born August 20, 1933) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A leading member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Maine from 1980 to 1995, and as Senate Majority Leader from 19 ...

, chairman of the global board, DLA Piper; chancellor, Queen's University, Northern Ireland *2009: Professor

, founding and managing director, Grameen Bank *2010:

James Baker James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930) is an American attorney, diplomat and statesman. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 10th White House chief of staff and 67th United States secretary ...

, former U.S. secretary of the treasury; senior partner, Baker Botts; honorary chairman, James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, Rice University *2011:

International Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a global non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, conducting research and analysis on global crises. ...

*2012:

Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the presidency. She was re-elected in December ...

, executive director, UN Women; former president, Chile *2013: Senator

Richard Lugar Richard Green Lugar ( ; April 4, 1932 – April 28, 2019) was an American politician who served as a United States Senate, United States Senator from Indiana from 1977 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republ ...

, former chair, Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senator

Sam Nunn Samuel Augustus Nunn Jr. (born September 8, 1938) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Georgia (1972–1997) as a member of the Democratic Party. After leaving Congress, Nunn co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initi ...

, co-chair and CEO, the Nuclear Threat Initiative *2014: Dr. Abdul Razaque, founder and CEO, M-learning platform inc. *2015:

International Rescue Committee The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a global humanitarian aid, relief, and development nongovernmental organization. Founded in 1933 as the International Relief Association, at the request of Albert Einstein, and changing its name in 1 ...

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*2016:

Doctors Without Borders Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded ...

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*2017: Governor

Christine Todd Whitman Christine Temple Whitman (; born September 26, 1946) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush ...

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*2018:

David Eisenhower Dwight David Eisenhower II (born March 31, 1948) is an American author, public policy fellow, lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, and eponym of the U.S. presidential retreat Camp David. He is the grandson of President Dwight D. Eisenhowe ...

and Susan Eisenhowerbr>
*2019: Senator John McCain (posthumously) *2021:

Jamie Dimon James Dimon ( ; born March 13, 1956) is an American businessman who has been the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of JPMorgan Chase since 2006. Dimon began his career as a management consultant at Boston Consulting Group. After earnin ...

*2022: Dr.

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Körbelová, later Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political science, political scientist who served as the 64th United States Secretary of State, United S ...

(posthumously) *2023:

Melinda French Gates Melinda French Gates (born Melinda Ann French; August 15, 1964) is an American philanthropist. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, she was educated at Ursuline Academy of Dallas, Duke University, and Duke's Fuqua School of Business. Shortly afte ...

*2024:

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

*2025:

David Rubenstein David Mark Rubenstein (born August 11, 1949) is an American lawyer, businessman, and philanthropist. A former government official, he is a co-founder and co-chairman of the Carlyle Group,* Non-profit organizations based in Philadelphia Diplomacy American awards Organizations established in 1953