The title Man of Peace was created in 1999 by the annual World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome. The purpose of the award is to recognize individuals who "from personalities from the world of culture and entertainment who have stood up for human rights and for the spread of the principles of Peace and Solidarity in the world, made an outstanding contribution to international social justice and peace".
An initiative by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, himself a winner of a Nobel Peace Prize, the award is presented in Rome's Campidoglio (Capitoline Hill) by President Gorbachev, Walter Veltroni, Mayor of Rome, and the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates attending the annual summit meeting.
In its early years the award was referred to as both the "Man for Peace" in Europe and "Man of Peace" in the United States. In 2006 its title was officially changed to "Man of Peace", also "Peace Summit Award".
Recipients of the award are:
2002: Roberto Benigni
2003: Italian National Singers’ Football Team
2004: Cat Stevens
2005: Bob Geldof and The PeaceJam Foundation
2006: Peter Gabriel
2007: Don Cheadle and George Clooney
2008: Bono
2009: Annie Lennox
2010: Roberto Baggio
2012: Sean Penn
2013: Sharon Stone
2014: Bernardo Bertolucci
2015: Rene Perez
In addition, the conference also awarded the "Peace Summit Award for Social Activism" to "associations which have distinguished themselves for their outstanding contribution to international peace and social justice".
2005: Peace Jam
2010: Nihonhidankyo (Japan Confederation of Atomic and Hydrogen Bomb Sufferers Organization)
Mikhail Gorbachev (1990)
Joseph Rotblat (1995)
Betty Williams (1976)
Rigoberta Menchú (1992)
Shimon Peres (1994)
Frederik Willem de Klerk (1993)
David Trimble (1998)
Mikhail Gorbachev (1990)
Joseph Rotblat (1995)
Betty Williams (1976)
Lech Wałęsa (1983)
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (1980)
Mikhail Gorbachev (1990)
Joseph Rotblat (1995)
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (1980)
Betty Williams (1976)
Lech Wałęsa (1983)
Rigoberta Menchú (1992)
Mikhail Gorbachev (1990)
Joseph Rotblat (represented by Robert Hinde) (1995)
Betty Williams and Mairead Maguire (1976)
Lech Wałęsa (1983)
14th Dalai Lama (1989)
Shimon Peres (1994)
Óscar Arias (1987)
Médecins Sans Frontières (1999)
Mikhail Gorbachev(1990)
14th Dalai Lama(1989)
Kim Dae-jung (2000)
Shimon Peres (1994)
Lech Wałęsa (1983)
José Ramos-Horta (1996)
Betty Williams (1976)
Mairead Maguire (1976)
Rigoberta Menchù Tum (1992)
Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo (1996)
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (1980)
Joseph Rotblat (1995)
American Friends Service Committee (1947)
International Campaign to Ban Landmines (1997)
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) (1965)
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (1955, 1981)
Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs (1995)
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (1985)
International Labour Organization (1969)
International Peace Bureau (1910)
Institut de Droit International (1904)
Médecins Sans Frontières (1999)
United Nations (1988, 2001)
Amnesty International (1977)
Mairead Maguire (1976)
Frederik Willem de Klerk (1993)
Mikhail Gorbachev (1990)
Rigoberta Menchú (1992)
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (1980)]
Lech Wałęsa (1983)
Betty Williams (1976)
Nelson Mandela, represented by John Samuels (1993)
American Friends Service Committee (1947)
Amnesty International (1977)
International Campaign to Ban Landmines (1997)
International Labour Organization (1969)
Institut de Droit International (1904)
International Peace Bureau (1910)
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (1985)
Médecins Sans Frontières (1999)
Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs (1995)
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) (1965)
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (1955, 1981)
United Nations (1988, 2001)
