Steve Jobs to get the Presidential Medal Of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the US, posthumously- Technology News, Firstpost

FP StaffJul 05, 2022 15:00:12 IST

Earlier this week, the office of the President of the United States announced that it would be bestowing Steve Jobs with the Presidential Medal Of Freedom, the highest honour in the country that a civilian is eligible for.

The Biden administration announced seventeen recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Friday. Jobs is one of three to receive the award posthumously, the others being John McCain and Richard Trumka.

The Presidential Medal Of Freedom is awarded to those civilians who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavours. It is considered equivalent to the Medal Of Honour, an award that is bestowed on military personnel who go above and beyond the call of duty 

The White House’s bio of Jobs reads, “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.”

2022 marks the 11th year since Steve Jobs passed away on October 5th at the age of 56, after fighting a long and hard battle with pancreatic cancer. He had resigned from Apple just six weeks before his death.

Although he is considered to be a visionary by many in the tech community, some see Steve Jobs as a divisive figure. He was either seen as a brilliant, genius entrepreneur who left an indelible mark on the tech industry thanks to the products his company designed and developed under him, or he was seen as a tyrannical, manipulative man who was terrible to those around him who abandoned his daughter.

The awards will be presented at the White House on July 7, 2022. The Biden administration has not revealed who will be collecting Jobs’ award. However, it is likely to be collected by Steve Job’s wife of 20 years, Laurene Powell-Jobs.