The World Peace Prize was established in 1989 by

Robert L. Leggett Robert Louis Leggett (July 26, 1926 – August 13, 1997) was an American lawyer and politician who served eight terms as a U.S. Representative from California from 1963 to 1979. Early life Born in Richmond, California, Leggett attended the pub ...

, Suzi Leggett, and Dr. Han Min Su., and was registered the same year in Washington D.C. as the "World Peace Corps Mission, World Peace Corp Academy and World Peace Prize Awarding Council, Inc.," a non-profit

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

organization. The organization operates under the principles of inter-religious collaboration, and in the spirit of

altruism Altruism is the principle and moral practice of concern for the welfare and/or happiness of other human beings or animals, resulting in a quality of life both material and spiritual. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures and a core as ...

and world peace.

History

Robert L. Leggett was a nine-term

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

man. While visiting

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

in 1961, he met Dr. Han Min Su who was an elder clergyman of the Korean Christian churches. He was also an ex-

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...

officer of

Pacific Air Forces Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force and is also the air component command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). PACAF is headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (fo ...

, and the author of ''Goodbye John''. The two men became friends, and Congressman Leggett continued to be inspired by the faithful Christians in Korea. Inspired by the success of the United States Peace Corps initiated by U.S. President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

, the two co-founded the World Peace Corp Mission as a civilian organization emulating the spirit of that program.

Prize

Two awards are given - the Main Prize and the Top Honor Prize. The first Top Honor Prize was awarded to former U.S. President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

for "Winning the star wars against the Russia and the UAS National stability". The prize is not awarded every year; the next prizes were not issued until 1995. The Top Honor Prize has been issued posthumously to

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

in 2003. The prize has the stated intention to promote world peace and inter-religious understanding, and is awarded periodically to individuals considered to have contributed to the causes of world peace by preventing regional conflicts or world war; by settling the disputes of political, diplomatic and economic matters; or by developing new inventions to minimize threats and confusions within mankind. The prize's stated core spirit is to advance peace and justice and inter-religious collaborations.

Controversy

In 1997, the award was presented to

Taufa'ahau Tupou IV George Tupou I (4 December 1797 – 18 February 1893), originally known as Tāufaʻāhau I, was the first king of modern Tonga. He adopted the name Siaosi (originally Jiaoji), the Tongan equivalent of ''George'', after King George III of the U ...

, King of Tonga. The group who presented the prize also said that they were going to provide Tonga with the world's first plant that would turn sea water into natural gas, which did not materialize. The Tongan government later said that they had been scammed, and the ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

'' expressing mystification at the "elaborate and, so far as anyone can see, totally pointless hoax". According to R.G. Crocombe, the Korean government made the Peace Corps issue an apology to Tonga. After Taiwanese Vice-President Annette Lu accepted the award in 2001, there was controversy about the World Peace Prize in the Taiwanese press. A spokesman for Lu denied that the prize was a hoax. Congressman

Lester Wolff Lester Lionel Wolff (January 4, 1919 – May 11, 2021) was an American politician who served as a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. He also held the position of pres ...

, the Chief Judge of World Peace Prize Award Council, held a press conference in Taipei where he showed what he said was a letter from the Prime Minister of Tonga apologizing for inaccuracies reported in the Tongan press. Wolff received the Top Honor Prize in 2011.

Laureates

, former President of the United States *

, pacifist and leader of the Indian independence movement * Yitzhak Rabin, former Prime Minister of Israel * Fidel Valdez Ramos, former President of the Philippines *

Yakubu Gowan Yakubu Dan-Yumma 'Jack' Gowon (born 19 October 1934) is a retired Nigerian Army general and military leader. As Head of State of Nigeria, Gowon presided over a controversial Nigerian Civil War and delivered the famous "no victor, no vanquishe ...

, former President of the Republic of Nigeria *

Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee (, ; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965) was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Ko ...

, former (first) President of South Korea * Abdurrahman Wahid, former President of Indonesia *

Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat ( mn, Пунсалмаагийн Очирбат; born 23 January 1942) is a Mongolian political figure and a current member of the Constitutional Court of Mongolia. He served as a president of Mongolia from 1990 to 1997 fir ...

, former President of Mongolia *

Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in t ...

, former President of Egypt *

Kuniwo Nakamura was a Palau, Palauan politician who served as the President of Palau from 1993 to 2001. He had earlier served as Vice President of Palau from 1989 to 1993, under Ngiratkel Etpison. Background and early life Nakamura was the son of a Japanese set ...

, former President of Palau *

Meles Zenawi Meles Zenawi Asres (Tigrinya and ; , born Legesse Zenawi Asres; 9 May 1955 – 20 August 2012) was an Ethiopian soldier and politician who served as President of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995 and then Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 1995 until his ...

, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Ethiopia *

Ben Gilman Benjamin Arthur Gilman (December 6, 1922 – December 17, 2016) was an American politician and Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Middletown, New York, from January 3, 1973, to January 3, 2003. Early life Gilm ...

, former U.S. Representative * H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, Buddhist religious leader *

Hun Sen Hun Sen (; km, ហ៊ុន សែន, ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military commander who has served as the prime minister of Cambodia since 1985. He is the longest-serving head of government of Cambodia, and o ...

, Prime Minister of Cambodia

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Official website of the World Peace Prize Awarding Council
Peace awards Christian missionary societies