Media Advisory: April 21, 2008
Media Contact: Carolyn Roche – (202) 585-2152; croche@powelltate.com Moira Hanna – (202) 585-2130; mhanna@powelltate.com (Spanish language)
Cato Institute to Reveal Winner of 2008 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty on April 24, 2008
Washington, D.C. – The Cato Institute will announce the fourth-ever recipient of the Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty – a $500,000 cash prize – this Thursday, April 24, 2008.
The remarkable 2008 Friedman Prize winner, chosen by the 2008 International Selection Committee from a public, worldwide nomination process, exemplifies the capacity of one individual to make an extraordinary contribution to the global fight for freedom.
The Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty is the leading international award for significant contributions to advancing individual liberty. The award was established in 2002, and is presented once every two years. It was named in honor of the Nobel laureate, who passed away November, 2006.
In a 2001 statement, Friedman said, "Those of us who were fortunate enough to live and be raised in a reasonably free society tend to underestimate the importance of freedom. We tend to take it for granted. It has made us in the West more complacent, so having a prize emphasizing liberty is extremely important."
The members of the 2008 International Selection Committee are:
•Kakha Bendukidze – Head of the Chancellery, Republic of Georgia
• Edward H. Crane – President, Cato Institute
• Francisco Gil Díaz – Former Minister of Finance, Mexico
• Rose D. Friedman – Co-Founder, Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation for School Choice
• Karen Horn – Director, Berlin Office, Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft (Germany)
• Charles G. Koch – Chairman and CEO, Koch Industries Inc<
• Andrew Mwenda – Research Fellow, Advocates Coalition for Development (Uganda)
• Mary Anastasia O’Grady – Member, Editorial Board, The Wall Street Journal
• Fareed Zakaria – Editor, Newsweek International
To receive the April 24th announcement of the Friedman Prize winner via e-mail, please contact mhanna@powelltate.com. For more information about the Friedman Prize, please visit www.Cato.org.