Gary Becker receives the Medal of Freedom

Gary Becker has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In the words of George Bush:

This longtime professor at the University of Chicago has helped train hundreds of talented economists. He has been a wise and challenging presence in the lives of his students, and they remain devoted to him. One close friend said, "A 15-minute conversation with Gary Becker can change your thinking forever." He is without question one of the most influential economists of the last hundred years. With today's honor, he is one of only two persons to have received both the Nobel Prize in Economics and the Medal of Freedom. The other was the late Milton Friedman. And I know that today Dr. Friedman would be very proud of his friend, and student, and colleague, Dr. Gary Becker.

Gary Becker is actually the third person to have received both the Nobel Prize in Economics and the Medal of Freedom. Nobel laureate Friedrich Hayek also received the Medal of Freedom in 1991, interestingly enough, from another George Bush. 

Congratulations to Gary Becker. He has also been an active blogger for a long time, with Richard Posner. Their Becker-Posner blog is worth checking.

(Hat tip to Greg Mankiw)