WASHINGTON: Actress Meryl Streep and crooner Stevie Wonder were among 19 people named on Monday by US President Barack Obama to receive the country’s highest civilian honour.
Others to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, an award for those who make “especially meritorious contributions” to the United States’ security, interests, world peace or the arts, include the composer Stephen Sondheim, author Isabel Allende and journalist Tom Brokaw.
The economist Robert Solow and late dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey will also be recognised.
“I look forward to presenting these 19 bold, inspiring Americans with our nation’s highest civilian honor,” Obama said in a statement.
The awards will be presented on November 24 at the White House.
AFP
