The 2027 Mark Palmer Prize: Call for Nominations

Freedom House is now accepting nominations for the 2027 Mark Palmer Prize, inviting individuals and organizations around the world to put forward candidates whose work exemplifies the important role of diplomacy in supporting democratic movements and defending fundamental freedoms.

The award takes its name from the late Mark Palmer, a longtime Freedom House trustee and US ambassador to Hungary from 1986 to 1990. In 1989, as the Cold War was coming to a close, Palmer boldly joined civil society and the Hungarian democratic opposition to support the country's transition to democracy.

The Mark Palmer Prize has been awarded to diplomats and international civil servants from around the world, including Georgia, Peru, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Mongolia, Sweden, Canada, Uruguay, and the United States. The prize is made possible through the generosity of the Mark and Sushma Palmer Legacy Fund, established by Dr. Sushma Palmer in loving memory of her late husband and former Freedom House trustee and vice chairman Ambassador Mark Palmer.

Nomination Form

Criteria

The award winner must be a current or former diplomat or official serving in an intergovernmental institution.

Nominations for the Mark Palmer Prize should document the diplomat or official's extraordinary achievements in and support for advancing democracy and human rights by accomplishing one or more of the following:

1. Demonstrated support for civil society's right to freedoms of assembly, expression, and other principles as outlined in the Warsaw Declaration of the Community of Democracies.
2. Supported efforts to ensure broader political participation.
3. Contributed significantly to assuring free and fair elections.
4. Sustained efforts to support human rights, including actions that resulted in the release of prisoners of conscience or an end to cruel and inhumane punishment.
5. Facilitated a broader dialogue on democratic reform.
6. Coordinated effective international efforts to advance democracy.
7. Identified and articulated the importance of democratic values, despite working in a closed or authoritarian society.
8. Contributed innovative ideas and support for the consolidation of democratic institutions in countries in transition.
9. Upheld the idea of the rule of law in countries where it is not practiced.

Deadline

Submit by January 31, 2027.

Freedom House is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to create a world where all are free. We inform the world about threats to freedom, mobilize global action, and support democracy's defenders.