Announcing the Inaugural

Meridian Global Leadership Award for Space Diplomacy

2024 Recipient

In recognition of his visionary leadership and demonstrated ability to strengthen ties between nations on Earth by forging camaraderie and advancing progress on a range of celestial issues.

Meridian International Center honors Maj. Gen. Charles Bolden with the institution’s inaugural Global Leadership Award for Space Diplomacy at the 2024 Meridian Diplomacy Forum.

First as a Marine Corps Major General and then as NASA Administrator, Maj. Gen. Bolden has dedicated his life to the service of the United States, working to secure our nation’s security and prosperity and guiding efforts to explore our universe and better understand our fragile planet.  In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Maj. Gen. Bolden to be the 12th NASA Administrator, making him only the second astronaut to hold that position.  While heading NASA, he oversaw the transition from the Space Shuttle system to a new era of exploration, fully focused on the International Space Station (ISS) and aeronautics technology development.

Maj. Gen. Bolden led the development of the Space Launch System and the Orion Crew Capsule.  He also oversaw the shift toward commercial space initiatives handling resupply of the ISS.  He created NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, responsible for developing the technology that will make future exploration missions successful. Maj. Gen. Bolden’s tenure included the triumph of the Mars Curiosity Rover landing, the success of the Juno mission that is helping us understand the planet Jupiter more completely, increasing the number of satellites tasked with Earth observation tasks, and continuing progress toward the December 2021 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope.  Not forgetting that the first “A” in NASA stands for Aeronautics, he also focused his attention on NASA’s aeronautics programs and the agency’s goal of developing airplanes that can travel faster, farther, quieter and greener than ever before.

During his career as a NASA astronaut, Maj. Gen. Bolden flew on four Space Shuttle missions, logging over 680 hours in space.  He piloted Space Shuttle Columbia in 1986 (STS-61C) and Space Shuttle Discovery in 1990 (STS-31) – the mission that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope

Maj. Gen. Bolden was inducted into the U.S Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2006 and the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2016. He served as a U.S. Department of State Science Envoy for Space from 2018-2019.

Today, he serves as the Founder and CEO Emeritus of The Charles F. Bolden Group LLC, a veteran-owned small business specializing in space/aerospace exploration, national security, leadership, education (STEM+AD) and health initiatives.

2024 Recipient

In recognition of his numerous achievements on space democratization and his tireless efforts to make commercial space stations viable.

Meridian International Center honors Mr. Michael Suffredini with the institution’s inaugural Global Leadership Award for Space Diplomacy at the 2024 Meridian Diplomacy Forum.

Mr. Suffredini is a foremost authority on the development and operation of space stations. Founding Axiom Space, he assembled and heads a world-class team of experts to develop history’s first commercial space station, which will provide a seamless transition from the International Space Station (ISS).  

Mr. Suffredini finished a decorated 30-year career at NASA by serving as its International Space Station Program Manager from 2005 to 2015. In that time, he oversaw the development and operation of the 460-metric ton, permanently inhabited international orbiting laboratory. He led the transition of the 15-nation ISS Program, the largest international peacetime project in human history, from completion of assembly to research and commercial utilization. He previously held several ISS Program roles and, prior to that, was Assistant Manager of the Space Shuttle Program.

The list of numerous awards conferred upon him include the President of the United States’ Rank of Meritorious Executive and Rank of Distinguished Executive, NASA’s Distinguished Service and Outstanding Leadership medals, the National Air and Space Museum Trophy, and the Yuri Gagarin Medal. He is an aerospace engineering graduate of the University of Texas.

2024 Recipient

In recognition of his championing of the UAE space program during its meteoric rise over the past decade and for advancing the increasingly significant U.S.-U.A.E. space relationship.

Meridian International Center honors His Excellency Yousef Al Otaiba with the institution’s inaugural Global Leadership Award for Space Diplomacy at the 2024 Meridian Diplomacy Forum.

As the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United States and a UAE Minister of State. Amb. Otaiba’s time in Washington, D.C. has been marked by several bilateral accomplishments in the fields of security, aeronautics, civil nuclear energy, health, education, culture, equal human rights and more. Among his biggest successes include his involvement in the US-UAE 123 Agreement and the Abraham Accords normalization pact between the UAE and Israel in 2020. Shortly thereafter, TIME Magazine named him among the world’s top 100 most influential people.

During his tenure, the UAE-US relationship in space has flourished. He has spearheaded the UAE’s space diplomacy efforts, fostering the Emirates’ partnerships with US space institutions and the wider aeronautics industry. The UAE today collaborates with NASA on astronaut training and missions, and most recently announced its involvement in developing the Emirates Airlock for NASA’s “Gateway” – humanity’s first lunar space station. The country’s partnerships with US research institutions have also supported numerous achievements by the UAE space program, including the Emirates Mars Mission “Hope Probe” and the upcoming mission to the Asteroid Belt.

Among his other accomplishments, Amb. Al Otaiba helped bring the Emirates Leadership Initiative to Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership in 2014. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Special Olympics, where he’s worked to develop new opportunities for athletes with intellectual disabilities, including through the 2019 World Games in Abu Dhabi. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for the American University in Cairo and has been closely affiliated with New York University Abu Dhabi, Meridian International Center, Children’s National Medical Center and the UAE Embassy’s Community Soccer Program.

Before his ambassadorial appointment, he worked as the Director of International Affairs for then-Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and current UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He previously studied at Cairo American College, Georgetown University and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at the National Defense University.