Ramon Magsaysay Award
Ramon Magsaysay Award is also known as the Nobel Award of the Asian Continent. It was introduced in April 1957 for the honor of the late president of the Philippines, “Ramon Magsaysay”. It is Asia’s premier prize, and highest nobility honored to only great spirits who serve selfless service to the society, Asia, and the world and contributes some great solutions for the development of human life. Over the past five decades, the award has been awarded to a minimum of three hundred outstanding men, women, and organizations of which the complete list has been mentioned below.
Every year, the trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation select the awardees. They are presented with a medallion with an embossed image of Ramon Magsaysay facing right in profile and a certificate. The award ceremony is organized in Manila, the Philippines, on much-esteemed Philippine President’s birthday that is August 31st.
In 2019, the award given to 5 individuals included India’s most Influential journalist Ravish Kumar. Other recipients of this award include Myanmar’s Ko Swe Win (journalist), Thailand’s Angkhana Neelapajit (human rights activist), Philippines’ Raymundo Pujante Cayabyab (musician), and South Korea’s Kim Jong-Ki, an activist working on violence and mental health issues in youth.
The award is given in 6 categories named as
- Government Service
- Public Service
- Community Leadership
- Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts
- Peace and International Understanding
- Emergent Leadership
Acharya Vinoba Bhave is the first receiver of the Ramon Magsaysay award in India for community leadership. The list of Ramon Magsaysay Award Winners 2020 will soon be updated on this page.
Ramon Magsaysay Award Winners (List of All Recipients Till The Date)
Ramon Magsaysay Award Winners (Indian)
| Name | Year Awarded | Category |
| Vinobha Bhave | 1958 | Community Leadership |
| Chintaman Deshmukh | 1959 | Government Services |
| Amitabha Chowdhury | 1961 | Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts |
| Mother Teresa | 1962 | Peace and International Understanding |
| Dara Khurody | 1963 | Community Leadership |
| Verghese Kurien | 1963 | Community Leadership |
| Tribhuvandas Patel | 1963 | Community Leadership |
| Welthy Fisher | 1964 | Peace and International Understanding |
| Jayaprakash Narayan | 1965 | Public Service |
| Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay | 1966 | Community Leadership |
| Satyajit Ray | 1967 | Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts |
| Moncompu Sambasivan Swaminathan | 1971 | Community Leadership |
| M.S. Subbalakshmi | 1974 | Public Service |
| Boobli George Verghese | 1975 | Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts |
| Henning Holck-Larsen | 1976 | Peace and International Understanding |
| Ela Ramesh Bhatt | 1977 | Community Leadership |
| Mabelle Arole | 1979 | Community Leadership |
| Rajanikant Arole | 1979 | Community Leadership |
| Gour Kishore Gosh | 1981 | Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts |
| Pramod Karan Sethi | 1981 | Community Leadership |
| Chandi Prasad Bhatt | 1982 | Community Leadership |
| Manibhai Desai | 1982 | Public Service |
| Arun Shourie | 1982 | Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts |
| Rasipuram Lakshman | 1984 | Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts |
| Muralidhar Amte | 1985 | Public Service |
| Lakshmi Chand Jain | 1989 | Public Service |
| K.V. Subbanna | 1991 | Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts |
| Ravi Shankar | 1992 | Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts |
| Banoo Jehangir Coyaji | 1993 | Public Service |
| Kiran Bedi | 1994 | Government Services |
| Pandurang Athavale | 1996 | Community leadership |
| Tirunellai Seshan | 1996 | Government Services |
| Maheshweta Devi | 1997 | Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts |
| Jockin Arputham | 2000 | Peace and International Understanding |
| Aruna Roy | 2000 | Community Leadership |
| Rajendra Singh | 2001 | Community Leadership |
| Sandeep Pandey | 2002 | Emergent Leadership |
| James Michael Lyngdoh | 2003 | Government Services |
| Shantha Sinha | 2003 | Government Services |
| Lakshminarayan Ramdas | 2004 | Peace and International Understanding |
| V. Shantha | 2005 | Public Service |
| Arvind Kejriwal | 2006 | Emergent Leadership |
| Palagummi Sainath | 2007 | Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts |
| Mandakini Amte, Mr. Prakash Amte | 2008 | Community Leadership Community Leadership |
| Deep Joshi | 2009 | Community Leadership |
| Neelima Mishra | 2011 | Emergent Leadership |
| Harish Hande | 2011 | Community Leadership |
| Kulandei Francis | 2012 | Emergent Leadership |
| Anshu Gupta & Sanjiv Chaturvedi | 2015 | Emergent Leadership |
| Bezwada Wilson, Thodur Madabusi Krishna | 2016 | Human rights activist, Carnatic music |
| Bharat Vatwani, Sonam Wangchuk | 2018 | Restoring health and dignity to troubled lives Education for community progress |
| Ravish Kumar | 2019 | Journalist (“Prime Time” show on NDTV) |
Magsaysay awardees – Emergent Leadership
| Year | Recipient | Nationality or Base Country |
| 1996 | Pandurang Shastri Athavale | India |
| 2001 | Oung Chanthol | Cambodia |
| 2001 | Dita Indah Sari | Indonesia |
| 2002 | Sandeep Pandey | India |
| 2003 | Aniceto Guterres Lopes | East Timor |
| 2004 | Benjamin Abadiano | Philippines |
| 2005 | Hye-Ran Yoon | South Korea |
| 2006 | Arvind Kejriwal[1] | India |
| 2007 | Chen Guangcheng | China |
| 2007 | Chung To | United States in Hong Kong |
| 2008 | Ananda Galappatti | Sri Lanka |
| 2009 | Ka Hsaw Wa | Myanmar |
| 2011 | Nileema Mishra | India |
| 2012 | Ambrosius Ruwindrijarto | Indonesia |
| 2014 | Randy Halasan | Philippines |
| 2015 | Sanjiv Chaturvedi | India |
| 2016 | Thodur Madabusi Krishna[2] | India |
Ramon Magsaysay Award Winners – Government Service
| Year | ||
| 1959 | Recipient | Nationality or Base Country |
| 1961 | Jose Vasquez Aguilar | Philippines |
| 1962 | Raden Kodijat | Indonesia |
| 1963 | Francisca Reyes-Aquino | Philippines |
| 1964 | Akhtar Hameed Khan | Pakistan |
| 1965 | Yukiharu Miki | Japan |
| 1966 | Puey Ungphakorn | Thailand |
| 1967 | Phon Sangsingkeo | Thailand |
| 1968 | Keo Viphakone | Laos |
| 1969 | Kwoh-Ting Li | Taiwan |
| 1971 | Hsu Shih-chu | Taiwan |
| 1972 | Ali Sadikin | Indonesia |
| 1973 | Goh Keng Swee | Singapore |
| 1974 | B. C. Shekhar | Malaysia |
| 1975 | Hiroshi Kuroki | Japan |
| 1976 | Mohamed Suffian Mohamed Hashim | Malaysia |
| 1977 | Elsie Tu | United Kingdom in Hong Kong |
| 1978 | Bejamin Galstaun | Indonesia |
| 1979 | Dato Shahrum bin Yub | Malaysia |
| 1980 | Raden Wasito | Indonesia |
| 1981 | Muhammed Alias | Malaysia |
| 1982 | Prawase Wasi | Thailand |
| 1983 | Arturo Alcaraz | Philippines |
| 1984 | Su Nan-cheng | Taiwan |
| 1985 | Ta-You Wu | Taiwan |
| 1987 | Tan Sri Noordin | Malaysia |
| 1988 | Haji Hanafiah | Malaysia |
| 1989 | Miriam Santiago | Philippines |
| 1991 | Zakiah Hanum | Malaysia |
| 1992 | Alfredo R. A. Bengzon | Philippines |
| 1993 | Chamlong Srimuang | Thailand |
| 1994 | Võ Tòng Xuân | Vietnam |
| 1995 | Kiran Bedi | India |
| 1996 | Morihiko Hiramatsu | Japan |
| 1997 | T. N. Seshan | India |
| 1998 | Anand Panyarachun | Thailand |
| 1999 | Syed Adibul Hasan Rizvi | Pakistan |
| 2000 | Tasneem Ahmed Siddiqui | Pakistan |
| 2001 | Jesse Robredo | Philippines |
| 2002 | Yuan Longping | China |
| 2003 | Hilario G. Davide, Jr. | Philippines |
| 2004 | James Michael Lyngdoh | India |
| 2005 | Haydee Yorac | Philippines |
| 2006 | Jon Ungpakorn | Thailand |
| 2007 | Ek Sonn Chan | Cambodia |
| 2008 | Jovito R. Salonga | Philippines |
Ramon Magsaysay Award Winners – Public Service
| Year | Recipient | Nationality or Base Country |
| 1958 | Mary H. Rutnam | Sri Lanka |
| 1959 | Joaquin Vilallonga | Spain in Philippines |
| 1959 | Tee Tee Luce | Myanmar |
| 1960 | Henry Holland | United Kingdom in Pakistan |
| 1960 | Ronald Holland | United Kingdom in Pakistan |
| 1961 | Nilawan Pintong | Thailand |
| 1962 | Horace Kadoorie | United Kingdom in Hong Kong |
| 1962 | Lawrence Kadoorie | United Kingdom in Hong Kong |
| 1963 | Helen Kim | South Korea |
| 1964 | Augustine Nguyen Lac Hoa | South Vietnam |
| 1965 | Jayaprakash Narayan | India |
| 1966 | Kim Yong-ki | South Korea |
| 1967 | Sithiporn Kridakorn | Thailand |
| 1968 | Seiichi Tobata | Japan |
| 1969 | Kim Hyung-Seo | South Korea |
| 1971 | Pedro Orata | Philippines |
| 1972 | Cecile Guidote | Philippines |
| 1972 | Gilopez Kabayao | Philippines |
| 1973 | Antonio Fortich | Philippines |
| 1973 | Benjamin Gaston | Philippines |
| 1974 | M.S. Subbulakshmi | India |
| 1975 | Phra Parnchand | Thailand |
| 1976 | Hermenegild Fernandez | France in Sri Lanka |
| 1977 | Fe del Mundo | Philippines |
| 1978 | Prateep Ungsongtham Hata | Thailand |
| 1979 | Chang Kee-ryo | South Korea |
| 1980 | Ohm Dae-sup | South Korea |
| 1981 | Johanna Nasution | Indonesia |
| 1982 | Manibhai Desai | India |
| 1983 | Fua Hariphitak | Thailand |
| 1984 | Thongbai Thongpao | Thailand |
| 1985 | Baba Amte | India |
| 1986 | Abdul Sattar Edhi | Pakistan |
| 1986 | Bilquis Edhi | Pakistan |
| 1987 | Hans Jassin | Indonesia |
| 1988 | Masanobu Fukuoka | Japan |
| 1989 | Lakshmi Chand Jain | India |
| 1991 | Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn | Thailand |
| 1992 | Angel Alcala | Philippines |
| 1993 | Banoo Jehangir Coyaji | India |
| 1994 | Mechai Viravaidya | Thailand |
| 1995 | Asma Jahangir | Pakistan |
| 1996 | John Woong-Jin Oh | South Korea |
| 1997 | Mahesh Chandra Regmi | Nepal |
| 1998 | Sophon Suphapong | Thailand |
| 1999 | Rosa Rosal | Philippines |
| 2000 | Liang Congjie | China |
| 2001 | Wu Qing | China |
| 2002 | Ruth Pfau | Pakistan |
| 2003 | Gao Yaojie | China |
| 2004 | Jiang Yanyong | China |
| 2005 | Teten Masduki | Indonesia |
| 2005 | V. Shanta | India |
| 2006 | Park Won-soon | South Korea |
| 2007 | Kim Sun-tae | South Korea |
| 2008 | Center for Agriculture and Rural Development Mutually Reinforcing Institutions | Philippines |
| 2008 | Therdchai Jivacate | Thailand |
Ramon Magsaysay Award Winners- Journalism, Literature, and the Creative Communication Arts
| Year | Recipient | Nationality or base country |
| 1958 | Robert Dick | United Kingdom in Philippines |
| 1958 | Mochtar Lubis | Indonesia |
| 1959 | Tarzie Vittachi | Sri Lanka |
| 1959 | Edward Michael Law-Yone | Myanmar |
| 1961 | Amitabha Chowdhury | India |
| 1962 | Chang Chun-ha | South Korea |
| 1964 | Richard Wilson | United Kingdom in Hong Kong |
| 1964 | Kayser Sung | China in Hong Kong |
| 1965 | Akira Kurosawa | Japan |
| 1967 | Satyajit Ray | India |
| 1968 | Tôn Thất Thiện | South Vietnam |
| 1969 | Mitoji Nishimoto | Japan |
| 1971 | Prayoon Chanyavongs | Thailand |
| 1972 | Yasuji Hanamori | Japan |
| 1973 | Michiko Ishimure | Japan |
| 1974 | Zacarias Sarian | Philippines |
| 1975 | Boobli George Verghese | India |
| 1976 | Sombhu Mitra | India |
| 1977 | Mahesh Chandra Regmi | Nepal |
| 1978 | Yoon Suk-joong | South Korea |
| 1979 | L. T. P. Manju Sri | Sri Lanka |
| 1980 | F. Sionil José | Philippines |
| 1981 | Gour Kishore Ghosh | India |
| 1982 | Arun Shourie | India |
| 1983 | Fr. Marcelline Jayakody | Sri Lanka |
| 1984 | R. K. Laxman | India |
| 1985 | Lino Brocka | Philippines |
| 1986 | Radio Veritas | Philippines |
| 1987 | Diane Ying | Taiwan |
| 1988 | Ediriweera Sarachchandra | Sri Lanka |
| 1989 | James Reuter | Philippines |
| 1991 | K. V. Subbanna | India |
| 1992 | Ravi Shankar | India |
| 1993 | Bienvenido Lumbera | Philippines |
| 1994 | Abdul Samad Ismail | Malaysia |
| 1995 | Pramoedya Ananta Toer | Indonesia |
| 1996 | Nick Joaquin | Philippines |
| 1997 | Mahasweta Devi | India |
| 1998 | Ruocheng Ying | China |
| 1999 | Raul Locsin | Philippines |
| 1999 | Lin Hwai-min | Taiwan |
| 2000 | Atmakusumah Astraatmadja | Indonesia |
| 2001 | W. D. Amaradeva | Sri Lanka |
| 2002 | Bharat Koirala | Nepal |
| 2003 | Sheila Coronel | Philippines |
| 2004 | Abdullah Abu Sayeed | Bangladesh |
| 2005 | Matiur Rahman | Bangladesh |
| 2006 | Eugenia Duran Apostol | Philippines |
| 2007 | Palagummi Sainath | India |
| 2008 | Akio Ishii | Japan |
| 2019 | Ravish Kumar | India |
Ramon Magsaysay Award Winners -Peace and International Understanding
| Year | Recipient | Nationality or Base Country |
| 1958 | Operation Brotherhood | Philippines |
| 1960 | Y.C. James Yen | Taiwan |
| 1961 | Genevieve Caulfield | United States in Thailand |
| 1962 | Mother Teresa | India |
| 1963 | Peace Corps | United States |
| 1964 | Welthy Fisher | United States in India |
| 1965 | Bayanihan Folk Arts Center and its Supporting Entities | Philippines |
| 1966 | Mekong Committee and Cooperating Entities | Cambodia |
| 1967 | Shiroshi Nasu | Japan |
| 1968 | Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere (CARE) | Philippines |
| 1969 | International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) | United States in Philippines |
| 1971 | Saburo Okita | Japan |
| 1973 | Summer Institute of Linguistics | Philippines |
| 1974 | William Masterson | Philippines |
| 1975 | Patrick James McGlinchey | Ireland in South Korea |
| 1976 | Henning Holck-Larsen | Denmark in India |
| 1977 | College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines at Los Baños (UPLB) | Philippines |
| 1978 | Soedjatmoko | Indonesia |
| 1979 | Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) | Indonesia |
| 1980 | Shigeharu Matsumoto | Japan |
| 1981 | Augustine Joung Kang | South Korea |
| 1983 | Aloysius Schwartz | United States in South Korea |
| 1984 | Jiro Kawakita | Japan |
| 1985 | Harold Ray Watson | Philippines |
| 1986 | International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) | Philippines |
| 1987 | Richard William Timm | Bangladesh, United States |
| 1988 | The Royal Project | Thailand |
| 1989 | Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) | Thailand |
| 1991 | Press Foundation of Asia | Philippines |
| 1992 | Washington SyCip | Philippines, United States |
| 1993 | Noboru Iwamura | Japan |
| 1994 | Eduardo Jorge Anzorena | Argentina in Japan |
| 1995 | Asian Institute of Management (AIM) | Philippines |
| 1996 | Toshihiro Takami | Japan |
| 1997 | Sadako Ogata | Japan |
| 1998 | Corazon Aquino | Philippines |
| 2000 | Jockin Arputham | India |
| 2001 | Ikuo Hirayama | Japan |
| 2002 | Pomnyun | South Korea |
| 2003 | Tetsu Nakamura | Japan |
| 2003 | Seiei Toyama | Japan |
| 2004 | Laxminarayan Ramdas | India |
| 2004 | Ibn Abdur Rehman | Pakistan |
| 2006 | Sanduk Ruit | Nepal |
| 2007 | Tang Xiyang | China |
| 2008 | Ahmad Syafi’i Maarif | Indonesia |
Ramon Magsaysay Award Winners- Uncategorized
| Year | Recipient | Nationality or Base Country |
| 2009 | Antonio Oposa, Jr. | Philippines |
| 2009 | Krisana Kraisintu | Thailand |
| 2009 | Deep Joshi | India |
| 2009 | Ma Jun | China |
| 2009 | Yu Xiaogang | China |
| 2010 | Tadatoshi Akiba | Japan |
| 2010 | Huo Daishan | China |
| 2010 | A.H.M. Noman Khan | Bangladesh |
| 2010 | Christopher Bernido | Philippines |
| 2010 | Ma. Victoria Carpio-Bernido | Philippines |
| 2010 | Pan Yue | China |
| 2010 | Fu Qiping | China |
| 2011 | Hasanain Juaini | Indonesia |
| 2011 | Tri Mumpuni | Indonesia |
| 2011 | Harish Hande | India |
| 2011 | Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation, Inc. (AIDFI) | Philippines |
| 2011 | Koul Panha | Cambodia |
| 2012 | Chen Shu-chu | Taiwan |
| 2012 | Kulandei Francis | India |
| 2012 | Yang Saing Koma | Cambodia |
| 2012 | Syeda Rizwana Hasan | Bangladesh |
| 2012 | Romulo Davide | Philippines |
| 2013 | Habiba Sarobi | Afghanistan |
| 2013 | Lahpai Seng Raw | Myanmar |
| 2013 | Shakti Samuha | Nepal |
| 2013 | Ernesto Domingo | Philippines |
| 2013 | Corruption Eradication Commission | Indonesia |
| 2014 | Hu Shuli | China |
| 2014 | Wang Canfa | China |
| 2014 | Saur Marlina Manurung | Indonesia |
| 2014 | Omara Khan Massoudi | Afghanistan |
| 2014 | The Citizens Foundation | Pakistan |
| 2015 | Kommaly Chanthavong | Laos |
| 2015 | Ligaya Fernando | Philippines |
| 2015 | Anshu Gupta And Sanjiv Chaturvedi | India |
| 2015 | Kyaw Thu | Myanmar |
| 2016 | Conchita Carpio-Morales | Philippines |
| 2016 | Vientiane Rescue | Laos |
| 2017 | Gethsie Shanmugam | Sri Lanka |
| 2017 | Yoshiaki Ishizawa | Japan |
| 2017 | Lilia de Lima | Philippines |
| 2017 | Abdon Nababan | Indonesia |
| 2017 | Tony Tay | Singapore |
| 2017 | Philippine Educational Theater Association | Philippines |
| 2018 | Howard Dee | Philippines |
| 2018 | Sonam Wangchuk | India |
| 2018 | Bharat Vatwani | India |
| 2018 | Youk Chhang | Cambodia |
| 2018 | Vo Thi Hoang | Vietnam |
| 2018 | Maria de Lourdes Martins | East Timor |
| 2019 | Raymundo Pujante Cayabyab | Philippines |
| 2019 | Kim Jong-ki | South Korea |
| 2019 | Ko Swe Win | Myanmar |
| 2019 | Angkhana Neelaphaijit | Thailand |