FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 13, 2011
Contact: Caitlin E. Chamberlain
(207) 441-0501

Secretary of State Charles E. Summers, Jr. Congratulates Condoleezza Rice, the 2011 Margaret Chase Smith American Democracy Award Recipient

AUGUSTA, Maine – Maine Secretary of State Charlie Summers congratulates former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for being named the 2011 Margaret Chase Smith American Democracy Award winner at the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) summer meeting in Daniels, WV. 

Rice was recognized for her efforts to foster democratic ideals in the rebuilding of Afghanistan and Iraq. She also helped to promote stable democracies in Eastern Europe and Latin America. She was nominated by Alabama Secretary of State and President of NASS Beth Chapman and will be presented with the award at the NASS 2012 winter meeting in Washington, DC next January.

Established in 1992, the Margaret Chase Smith American Democracy Award is named after the former U.S. Senator from Maine, who jeopardized her career by speaking out against the red-baiting tactics of Senator Joseph P. McCarthy in the 1950's. Recipients of the award are recognized for similar acts of political courage, uncommon character, and selfless action in the realm of public service.

?I would like to personally congratulate Ms. Rice for this outstanding achievement,? said Summers.? ?Like Margaret Chase Smith, Ms. Rice has always demonstrated integrity and poise as a leader during challenging times.?

Past recipients include Sandra Day O’Connor, Retired Supreme Court Justice; Ruby Duncan, Civil Rights Activist/Founder, Operation Life Community Development Corp; John J. Sirica, the chief judge who presided over the Watergate scandal; Morris Dees and Joseph Levin, Jr., co-founders of the Southern Poverty Law Center; and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. A complete list of Margaret Chase Smith American Democracy Award winners can be viewed here: http://nass.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34&Itemid=134.