Steve Jobs will be posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom

Steve Jobs, co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Apple, will be posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The announcement was made by the White House earlier today.

Steve Jobs

As far as civilian honors go, the Medal of Freedom is the highest in the United States. It is “presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.” This award, along with others, will be presented on July 7, 2022.

Here’s the White Houses’s official statement:

President Biden has long said that America can be defined by one word: possibilities. These seventeen Americans demonstrate the power of possibilities and embody the soul of the nation – hard work, perseverance, and faith. They have overcome significant obstacles to achieve impressive accomplishments in the arts and sciences, dedicated their lives to advocating for the most vulnerable among us, and acted with bravery to drive change in their communities – and across the world – while blazing trails for generations to come.

And here’s the important bits on why Jobs is being recognized for this particular distinction, as announced today:

Steve Jobs (d. 2011) was the co-founder, chief executive, and chair of Apple, Inc., CEO of Pixar and held a leading role at the Walt Disney Company. His vision, imagination and creativity led to inventions that have, and continue to, change the way the world communicates, as well as transforming the computer, music, film and wireless industries.

There are several people being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom this go around. That includes Olympic athlete (and most decorated American athlete to date) Simone Biles, Julieta García who became the first Hispanic woman to take up the mantle of a college president, and many others.

As mentioned above, the awards will be presented on July 7.