The Ramon Magsaysay Award | Asia's Premier Leadership Award

The 2026 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees

We are proud to announce this year’s recipients of Asia’s premier prize and highest honor.

Tommy Koh

A career diplomat and public servant advancing peace, cooperation, and justice

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Runa Khan

A humanitarian innovator bringing opportunity and dignity to Bangladesh’s remote communities

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Bo Kyi

A former political prisoner defending political prisoners and human dignity in Myanmar

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The Award

The Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia’s premier prize and highest honor, recognizes greatness of spirit shown in selfless service to the peoples of Asia.

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The Center

The Ramon Magsaysay Center is envisioned to be Asia’s Center of Inspiration and Hope.

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Asia’s premier prize
and highest honor

The Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia’s premier prize and highest honor, celebrates greatness of spirit and transformative leadership in Asia. Since 1958, the Ramon Magsaysay Award has been bestowed upon over three hundred outstanding individuals and organizations whose selfless service has offered their societies, Asia, and the world successful solutions to some of the most challenging problems of human development.

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The 2026 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees

Tommy Koh

SINGAPORE

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Runa Khan

BANGLADESH

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Bo Kyi

MYANMAR

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Each year, transformative leaders working in Asia are added to the roster of distinguished Ramon Magsaysay Laureates

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Quick facts
on the
Ramon
Magsaysay
Award

Rockefeller Brothers Fund

The trustees of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) established the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation in 1957 to honor the memory and perpetuate the example of integrity in public service of Pres. Ramon Magsaysay.

1958

The first Ramon Magsaysay Awards were given on August 31, 1958 to a Philippine-based organization and five outstanding individuals working in India, Indonesia, Philippines, Republic of China (Taiwan) and Sri Lanka.

24 Countries and Territories

Since 1958, the Award has been given to individuals and organizations working in Asia—regardless of race, nationality, creed or gender—who address issues of human development in Asia with courage and creativity, and in doing so have made contributions which have transformed their societies for the better.

Republic Act No. 3676

The Philippine Congress in 1959 made a gift of land to the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) equivalent in value to the original RBF grant. This is where the Ramon Magsaysay Center continues to reside today. In 1963, a subsequent legislation gave RMAF full tax exemption.

6 Categories

Until 2008, the award was given in each of the six fields of activity: Government Service; Public Service; Community Leadership; Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts; Peace and International Understanding; and Emergent Leadership.

Emergent Leadership

The Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership is conferred to outstanding young individuals who are 40 years old or below, and to organizations not more than 10 years old that are engaged in exceptionally worthy work. It is supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation.

359 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees

As of 2026, 331 individuals and 28 organizations from 24 countries and territories across Asia have been elected to receive Asia’s premier prize and highest honor.

Ramon Magsaysay Transformative Leadership Institute (RMTLI)

Created in 2009, RMTLI was established as a major program of the RMAF, to further expand the impact of the Ramon Magsaysay Award and the transformative work of the Magsaysay laureates

ABOUT RAMON MAGSAYSAY

Ramon Magsaysay Transformative Leadership Institute

In 2009, the Ramon Magsaysay Transformative Leadership Institute (RMTLI) was established as a major program of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, to further expand the impact of the Ramon Magsaysay Award and the transformative work of Magsaysay laureates.

RMTLI presents an avenue for creative collaboration; a hub for sharing and connecting the solutions of Magsaysay Laureates across sectors and borders. So that more lives can become full and productive.

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