Muhammad Ali was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an honor given by the President of the United States to those who have made an extraordinarily outstanding contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, international peace, cultural or other major public or private efforts. The Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal is the United States' highest civilian honors. The medal is not limited to citizens of the United States, and while it is a civilian award, it can also be given to military troops and worn on their uniforms. President John F. Kennedy introduced it in 1963, succeeding President Harry S. Truman's Medal of Freedom, which was established in 1945 to commemorate civilian service during World War II. There are no specified criteria for getting the award with distinction; Executive Order 11085 only states that the honor should come in two degrees, and so the choice to give the higher degree is entirely at the president's discretion.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian decoration in the United States, whereas the Medal of Freedom was inferior in precedence to the Medal for Merit; the Medal of Freedom was awarded by any of three Cabinet secretaries, whereas the Medal for Merit, like the Presidential Medal of Freedom, was awarded by the president.

President Bill Clinton honored Muhammad Ali with the Presidential Citizens Medal on January 8, 2001. In November 2005, Muhammad Ali was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush, and on December 17, 2005, he received the Otto Hahn Peace Medal in Gold from the UN Association of Germany (DGVN) in Berlin for his work with the civil rights movement and the United Nations.