Trailblazing former Sen. Elizabeth Dole to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, to former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

The former North Carolina senator spent her political career shattering glass ceilings and fighting for women’s equality.

During her expansive career, Dole, 87, became the first woman to hold two Cabinet positions under two presidents, as the labor and transportation secretaries. She was the first woman to hold the latter position.

She was also the first female senator from North Carolina and the first woman to chair the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

And if that wasn’t enough, she was the second woman to lead the Red Cross, since its founder Clara Barton. Dole did not take a salary her first year.

The president gives the Medal of Freedom to individuals who made “meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors,” according to the White House.

She is one of 19 people receiving the award Friday. The list also includes former Vice President Al Gore, former Secretary of State John Kerry, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and South Carolina Sen. James Clyburn, all Democrats.

“President (Joe) Biden often says there is nothing beyond our capacity when we act together,” a news release from the White House said. “These nineteen Americans built teams, coalitions, movements, organizations, and businesses that shaped America for the better. They are the pinnacle of leadership in their fields. They consistently demonstrated over their careers the power of community, hard work, and service.”

Dole is receiving the medal 27 years after it was awarded to her late husband, Bob Dole, the former Kansas senator and the Republican presidential nominee in 1996. They’re one of just a few couples to both receive the medal, along with Ronald and Nancy Reagan.

Clinton gave Bob Dole the medal in 1997, a year after the two campaigned against each other for the White House. In that ceremony, Clinton called Bob Dole one the nation’s most distinguished World War II veterans and celebrated his career in public service.

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