Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani will receive a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour, Donald Trump has announced on Truth Social.
Giuliani became known as “America’s Mayor” after leading New York through 9/11. While he previously worked as Trump’s personal lawyer, the pair have since parted ways.
The announcement comes two days after Giuliani sustained back injuries when a car he was a passenger in was struck from behind, police said.
Presidential Medals of Freedom are awarded to people who have made “exceptionally meritorious contributions to the nation’s prosperity, values, or security, world peace, or other significant public or private endeavours”.
In the Truth Social post where Trump announced Giuliani’s nomination, the president called him “the greatest Mayor in the history of New York City, and an equally great American Patriot”.
Past honourees include Muhammad Ali, Dr Jane Goodell, Anna Wintour and Michael J Fox, among many others.
In 2017, former President Barack Obama awarded then Vice-President Joe Biden with the Medal of Freedom.
Giuliani has not yet publicly commented on the announcement and it’s unclear when he will formally receive the medal.
On Saturday evening, a car he was a passenger in was struck from behind in the US state of New Hampshire.
All involved in the crash suffered non-life threatening injuries and were taken to hospital, police said. His security guard said he suffered back injuries as well as lacerations and contusions. Giuliani has since left hospital, reports say.
Giuliani’s response to the 11 September terror attack in New York drew widespread praise. Time magazine named him its Person of the Year for 2001, and Queen Elizabeth II presented him with an honorary knighthood.
In 2008, he made an unsuccessful run for US president, and later became one of Trump’s advisers during the latter’s 2016 campaign.
While Giuliani had a historic rise to fame, in recent years he has been troubled by personal and financial problems.
He joined Trump’s legal team in 2018 and remained a part of it through to the 2020 election.
He was among several Trump allies who spread false claims of election fraud in an effort to overturn Trump’s loss to former President Joe Biden in 2020.
Giuliani was sued for defamation and forced to pay two former Georgia election workers $148m (£120m).
That judgement also forced Giuliani to file for bankruptcy and led to him being stripped of his legal credentials.
In early 2021, Giuliani’s legal work with Trump ended, although an adviser said they remained allies and friends.
