Ten Years of US Congressional Gold Medal for Professor Muhammad Yunus

• Miscellaneous
• 18th April 2023
• YC

The Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award of the United States, was bestowed upon Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus on April 17, 2013, and today marks the 10-year anniversary of this event. The US Congress celebrated the occasion with a rousing ceremony, showing their support for Professor Yunus and his contributions as a microfinance pioneer. As the founder of Grameen Bank, which provides small loans to impoverished individuals typically excluded from the banking system, Professor Yunus made history as the first Muslim and first Bangladeshi to receive the Congressional Gold Medal.

In his speech at the ceremony, Professor Yunus expressed his gratitude to Congress for the "wonderful honour," saying it was an endorsement of his microfinance ideas. He further added, "I am receiving it not for me but for all these women who have worked so hard to make you convinced they can take care of themselves given the financial institutional support - not charity." Professor Yunus's visit to the Capitol holds a special place in his heart, as he first came to Washington in 1971 to lobby for the US to support Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan.

The medal, designed by the United States Mint, was presented to Professor Yunus in the rotunda under the US Capitol's dome, and was attended by three hundred dignitaries with leaders from both parties in attendance. House Speaker John Boehner presented the award with "awe and gratitude," adding “Professor Yunus set out to do what may be the biggest thing of all, and that is liberating people to seek a better life,” Boehner said.” Representative Rush Holt of New Jersey, a member of President Barack Obama's Democratic Party, hailed Yunus as “a man who has shown most of us to be wrong” and praised Professor Yunus as a visionary, banker, and revolutionary, who has challenged conventional economic wisdom with his microfinance ideas.

Professor Yunus has achieved a remarkable feat that only a few have accomplished, stated by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the occasion. He has been awarded the US President's Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, and the Nobel Prize. Furthermore, Professor Yunus holds the distinction of being the first Muslim to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, which traces its roots back to the American Revolution, with George Washington being the first person to receive it in 1776.