On December 1, 2008, Kennedy received a final honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Harvard University, his own undergraduate alma mater.[9] The University President Drew Gilpin Faust chose to honor Kennedy at a special ceremony, after the initial commencement awarding had to be postponed due to Kennedy's ongoing battle with a brain tumor.[9] Kennedy became only the fourth person to receive such a special ceremony from Harvard, following George Washington, Winston Churchill, and Nelson Mandela.[9]
Kennedy released a statement saying he was "deeply grateful" for the "extraordinary honor".
"I have always prized the opportunity to work with the British government and strengthen and deepen the role of our two countries as leading beacons of democracy in the world", Kennedy said. "So for me this honor is moving and personal—a reflection not only of my public life, but of things that profoundly matter to me as an individual".
In 2006, Kennedy received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems.[20]
In 2007, Kennedy was awarded the Esperanza Leadership Award at the 2007 National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. for his endeavors for comprehensive immigration reform.[21]
Kennedy received the Order of the Aztec Eagle in July 2008 in recognition of his support for immigrants' rights. The order is the highest decoration that the Mexican government can bestow upon a foreigner.[22]
On September 23, 2008, Kennedy was presented with the Order of Merit of Chile (Grand Cross class) by the Chilean President Michelle Bachelet for Kennedy's dedication to human rights and his support of the Chilean people during the country's years under a military regime. The Order is Chile's highest civilian award.[23][24][25]
In 2009, Kennedy received the U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards[26] (not to be confused with the Heinz Award of the Heinz Family Foundation).
On March 10, 2009, it was announced that Kennedy would receive the National Association of State Boards of Education's Lifetime Achievement Award, for his contributions to public education during his time as a senator.[28]
On June 26, 2009, Kennedy received the Henry Clay Medallion for Distinguished Service from the Henry Clay Memorial Foundation, in recognition of his record of bipartisan collaboration in the Senate.[30]
On September 15, 2009, three weeks after Kennedy's death, it was announced by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees that Kennedy had been given its annual Nansen Refugee Award for "his achievements as an unparalleled champion of refugee protection and assistance for more than 45 years." The statement also reads: "UNHCR is grateful it was able to inform Senator Kennedy of the Nansen Committee's decision in June, and deeply saddened by his passing."[32]
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy was presented with a grant of arms for all the descendants of Patrick Kennedy from the Chief Herald of Ireland. The arms of the Kennedy family are black with three gold helmets depicted upon it, within a border that is divided into red and ermine segments, and strongly alludes to the symbols in the coats of arms of the O'Kennedys of Ormonde and the Fitzgeralds of Desmond from whom the family is believed to be descended. The crest is an armored hand holding four arrows between two olive branches, elements taken from the coat of arms of the United States of America and also symbolic of Kennedy and his brothers. The coat of arms is described in heraldic terms as, Sable three helmets in profile Or within a bordure per saltire gules and ermine, and the crest is, Between two olive branches a cubit sinister arm in armor erect the hand holding a sheaf of four arrows points upward all proper on a torse Or and sable, while the mantling is gules doubled argent.[34]
^Brown, Gordon (March 4, 2009). "In full: Brown's speech to Congress". BBC News. Retrieved 4 March 2009. Northern Ireland is today at peace and happiness, more Americans have health care, more children around the world are going to school, and for all those things we owe a great debt to the life and courage of Senator Edward Kennedy. And so today, having talked to him last night, I want to announce that Her Majesty The Queen has awarded an honorary Knighthood for Sir Edward Kennedy.
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