The Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty, named in honor of perhaps the greatest champion of liberty in the 20th century, is presented every other year to an individual who has made a significant contribution to advance human freedom. Previous winners of the prize include the late British economist Peter Bauer in 2002, the Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto in 2004 and former prime minister of Estonia Mart Laar in 2006. The prize, a cash award of $500,000, will be presented on May 15, 2008 at the Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty’s Biennial Dinner at the Waldorf=Astoria hotel in New York City.

The prize is awarded to an individual who has made a significant contribution to advancing human freedom. For the prizes awarded to date, nominees were received from all walks of life, with scholars, activists, and political leaders among the hundreds of nominations submitted. The International Selection Committee votes by ballot for the winner.

The recipient 2008 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty is Yon Goicoechea, leader of the pro-democracy student movement in Venezuela. Under Goicoechea's leadership, the student movement organized mass opposition to the erosion of human and civil rights in Venezuela and played the key role in defeating Hugo Chávez's bid for a constitutional reform that would have turned the country into a dictatorship.

For further information about the Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty's Biennial Dinner, please contact Lesley Albanese at lalbanese@cato.org or by telephone at 202-789-5223.

2008 International Selection Committee: