This is the highest civilian award of the United States, in recognition of his efforts toward combating global poverty. Professor Yunus is only the 7th person in history to have won both the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, another of the highest US civilian awards.

The achievement places him in the company of Norman Borlaug, Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela, Elie Wiesel, Aung San Suu Kyi and Mother Teresa — personalities who have received the two medals from the US as well as the Nobel Peace Prize.