Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States, has received numerous honors in recognition of his career in politics.
These include:
National honors Country Date Decoration Ribbon bar Post-nominal letters 12 January 2017 Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction 16 January 2025 Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service
Foreign honors Country Date Decoration Ribbon bar Post-nominal letters 5 February 2004 Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (1st Class)President 28 October 2008 Crescent of Pakistan 21 May 2009 Golden Medal of FreedomNovinite 22 July 2009 St. George's Order of VictoryForeign Policy 1 April 2011 Order of the Three Stars (1st Class)Embassy of Latvia newsletter 17 November 2016Order of Boyaca (Extraordinary Grand Cross) ODB 17 January 2017 Member of the Order of LibertyObama White House MOL 22 March 2018 National Order of the Montenegrin Great Star, First ClassBiden receives Montenegrin honour 14 July 2022 Israeli Presidential Medal of Honour 22 December 2022 Cross of Military Merit 11 July 2023 Order of Vytautas the Great with the Golden Chain 18 October 2024 Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Grand Cross Special Class)
Scholastic
Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector and fellowships Location Date School Position 19751976 Timothy Dwight College at Yale University Chubb Fellow 19912008 Widener University Delaware Law School Adjunct Professor 7 February 2017present University of Pennsylvania Benjamin Franklin Presidential Practice Professor On leave as of 25 April 2019 7 February 2017present Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy at the University of Pennsylvania Senior Fellow On leave as of 25 April 2019
Honorary degrees LocationDateSchoolDegreeGave commencementaddress 1979 University of Scranton Doctorate Yes 1981 Saint Joseph's University Doctor of Laws (LLD) No May 2000 Widener University Delaware Law School Doctorate 7 May 2003 Delaware State University Doctor of Humane Letters (DHL) Yes 19 May 2003 Emerson College Doctor of Humane Letters (DHL) Yes 29 May 2004 University of Delaware Doctor of Laws (LLD) Yes 23 May 2005 Suffolk University Law School Doctorate Yes 10 May 2009 Syracuse University Doctor of Laws (LLD) Yes 18 May 2009 Wake Forest University Doctor of Laws (LLD) Yes 13 May 2013 University of Pennsylvania Doctor of Laws (LLD) Yes 3 May 2014 Miami Dade College Doctorate Yes 9 May 2014 University of South Carolina Doctor of Public Administration (DPA) Yes 24 June 2016 Trinity College Dublin Doctor of Laws (LLD) Yes 20 May 2017 Morgan State University Doctor of Public Service (DPS) Yes 21 May 2017 Colby College Doctor of Laws (LLD) Yes 17 December 2021 South Carolina State University Doctor of Humane Letters (DHL) Yes 13 May 2023 Howard University Doctor of Letters (DLitt) Yes 19 May 2024 Morehouse College Doctor of Laws (LLD) Yes
Awards
LocationDateInstitutionAward 26 April 1992 Ellis Island Honors Society Ellis Island Medal of HonorMedalist 2005 Men Stopping Violence True Ally Award26 October 2009National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial FundNational Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund's Distinguished Service Award 23 November 2009 American Speech–Language–Hearing Association Annie Glenn Award 3 May 2011 Atlantic Council Distinguished International Leadership Award 21 March 2013 Irish America Magazine Irish America Hall of Fame Inductee 2015 Patient Safety Movement Foundation Humanitarian Award Awarded with Barack Obama 17 October 2015 Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate Patriarch Athenagoras Humanitarian Award 15 May 2016 University of Notre Dame Laetare Medal Awarded with John Boehner 7 June 2016 Allegheny College Allegheny College Prize for Civility in Public Life Awarded with John S. McCain III 24 June 2016 Philosophical Society of Trinity College Dublin Gold Medal of Honorary Patronage 6 December 2016 Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award Awarded with Howard Schultz and Scott Minerd 1 March 2017 Bipartisan Policy Center Congressional Patriot Award 16 March 2017 HELP USA HELP HERO Humanitarian Award 5 October 2017 Center for Strategic and International Studies Zbigniew Brzezinski Annual Prize 11 October 2017 New York City Anti-Violence Project Courage Award 3 November 2017 United Nations Association of New York United Nations Day Humanitarian of the Year Award 10 December 2017 American Society of Hematology ASH Public Service Award 8 January 2018 Delaware State Chamber of Commerce Josiah Marvel Cup Award Awarded with Jill Biden 14 April 2018 PNC Bank Common Wealth Award of Distinguished Service Awarded with Ronald Chernow and Henry Louis Gates Jr. 23 May 2018 Freedom House Freedom House Human Rights Award Awarded with Robert Corker, Elena Milashina and Igor Kochetkov 11 July 2018 John Glenn College of Public Affairs at Ohio State University Excellence in Public Service Award 17 October 2018 National Civil Rights Museum Hyde Family Foundation Award 29 November 2018 Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Luminary Leadership Award 9 April 2019 National Minority Quality Forum Lifetime Achievement Award 10 December 2020 TIME Magazine Time Person of the Year Awarded with Kamala Harris 19 May 2024 NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award 26 October 2025 Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate Lifetime Achievement Award 5 December 2025 LGBTQ+ Victory Institute Chris Abele Impact Award
Freedom of the City 25 June 2016: County Louth
References