Obama to Receive JFK Foundation's 'Profile in Courage' Award

Former President Barack Obama has been named the 2017 "Profile in Courage" award honoree by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

The foundation said Thursday it is recognizing Obama for "expanding health security for millions of Americans, restoring diplomatic relations with Cuba and leading a landmark international accord to combat climate change."

The award, created in 1989, is given to a public official or group of public servants from any level of government each year "whose actions demonstrate the qualities of politically courageous leadership in the spirit of 'Profiles in Courage,' President Kennedy's 1957 Pulitzer prize-winning book," according to the Profile in Courage award website.

Obama isn't the only president who has been so honored; former Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush have also received the award.