THE SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL
LEADERSHIP AWARD 2022
Please join us in congratulating President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the recipient of The Sir Winston Churchill Leadership Award 2022.
To mark this historic occasion, the Society has produced a special issue of its quarterly journal Finest Hour.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson presents the award to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The presentation took place virtually on Tuesday, 26 July 2022, from Downing Street, London.
Along with the award, the International Churchill Society will also be making a donation of £50,000 to the Disasters Emergency Committee.
Here is what is being said about the award
No one knows how much time and effort it will take to achieve that victory, but the victory is worthwhile. This will become a joint history, as prominent as it was during Churchill times. It will be quoted just like he was quoted. I would like to thank you, thank you for this award, for the award for the people of Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
President of Ukraine
President Zelenskyy has faced a test of leadership just as severe as Churchill. He has, with quintessentially Churchillian composure, showed the world what moral and physical courage really means. His defiance, dignity and serenity under extreme pressure has moved millions. It has been a true honour to call him my friend and it is my immense privilege to present him with this award today.
The Rt Hon BOris Johnson
British Prime Minister
Sir Winston Churchill once said, ‘All the greatest things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom; justice; honour; duty; mercy; hope’. The ICS was established to memorialise these principles in Sir Winston’s name. It is, however, President Zelenskyy and his people that personify them.
Laurence Geller CBE
chairman, International Churchill Society
To my mind there has never been an easier case to make than that for President Zelenskyy as a wartime leader, showing so many of the same characteristics as my grandfather, bravery, courage, grace under pressure and a very close relationship with his people. The parallels go on and on”.
The Hon Emma Soames
Winston Churchill's grand-daughter
To Laurence Geller CBE
A note from Prime Minister Boris Johnson to International Churchill Society Chairman Laurence Geller CBE.
Laurence Geller CBE and Jennie Churchill
Winston Churchill
All the greatest things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: Freedom; Justice; Honour; Duty; Mercy; Hope.
14 May 1947, United Europe Meeting, Albert Hall, London
About the Award
The award recognises extraordinary leadership by individuals in the spirit of war time leader Sir Winston Churchill. President Zelenskyy has demonstrated beyond question this Churchillian character and substance over the last few months leading his country through its darkest days.
The Sir Winston Churchill Leadership Award was first presented in person by Sir Winston’s grandson in 2006. Past recipients of a Churchill Award include HRH The Prince of Wales, The Rt Hon Baroness Thatcher, Sir John Major, Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Former US Secretary of State James Baker III.
Leadership
President Zelenskyy to the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 8 March 2022
...And I would like to remind you the words that the United Kingdom have already heard, which are important again...We will fight until the end, at sea, in the air. We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost. We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets. I’d like to add that we will fight on the banks of...rivers and we’re looking for your help, for the help of the civilised countries...
Glory to Ukraine and glory to the United Kingdom.
About the International Churchill SOciety
The International Churchill Society (ICS), founded in 1968 shortly after Churchill’s death, is the world’s preeminent member organisation dedicated to preserving the historic legacy of Sir Winston Churchill. At a time when leadership is challenged at every turn, that legacy looms larger and remains more relevant than ever.
Join Us for the 2022
39th International Churchill Conference
6-8 OCTOBER 2022
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The International Churchill Society is dedicated to preserving and promoting the historic legacy of Sir Winston Churchill. For the benefit of scholars, students, and Churchillians, the Society’s activities, publications, and programs are conducted through the joint resources of the National Churchill Leadership Center at The George Washington University in Washington, DC and America’s National Churchill Museum at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri.
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Winston Churchill
In this island we have today achieved in a high degree the blessings of civilization. There is freedom; there is law; there is love of country…there is a widening prosperity. There are unmeasured opportunities of correcting abuses and making further progress.
2 July 1930, Bristol
Mary Churchill accompanying her father Winston Churchill on the HMS Duke of York, shortly before leaving Britain for the US in December 1941. © Imperial War Museum (H 16478)
