Frank Wolf International Religious
Freedom Award

The Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Award recognizes outstanding champions who stand up to oppression in the pursuit of freedom of religion or belief. It identifies and honors those who embody the spirit of Congressman Frank Wolf who has worked tirelessly for decades to promote international religious freedom and who later served as Distinguished Senior Fellow at 21Wilberforce. Known as the "Champion of human rights" and the "Conscience of Congress," he served Virginia's 10th District for 17 terms from 1981 until January 2015.

When he took office in 1981, Congressman Frank Wolf had little intention of becoming the voice of religious freedom in the U.S. Congress. In 1984, he was invited on a humanitarian tour of Ethiopia, which at the time was experiencing a deadly famine. The trip changed his life; it imbued a fiery sense of purpose in the Virginia statesman.

Congressman Wolf traveled the globe extensively to better understand the plight of the poor and oppressed, including much of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. In Sudan, he led the first Congressional delegation to Darfur to bring attention to the genocide there. He also worked to call attention to the human rights abuses and religious persecution in the People's Republic of China, Tibet, Romania, Nagorno-Karabakh, Chechnya, Bosnia, Kosovo, East Timor, Nigeria, and the Middle East.

While in Congress, he was the co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, a bipartisan organization that works to raise awareness about international human rights issues.

He championed and co-authored the International Religious Freedom Act signed into law in 1998.  The Act sought to underscore America's commitment to the freedom of religion or belief and codify its importance within U.S. foreign policy. The IRF Act authorized U.S. actions in response to religious persecution worldwide;  established an Ambassador at Large on international religious freedom within the Department of State, a bipartisan, independent Commission on International Religious Freedom and a Special Advisor on international religious freedom within the National Security Council. In 2016 the original IRF Act was strengthened with additional tools and renamed the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2016.

After retiring from Congress in 2016, Congressman Wolf joined 21Wilberforce as Senior Distinguished Fellow. During the next six years he traveled with the 21Wilberforce team to Iraq and Nigeria and contributed to the reports produced about persecution of Christians and religious minorities for those countries. He continued to testify in Congress and to speak in churches throughout the U.S. Wolf had and continues to hold a high priority for training and encouraging the next generation of leaders on issues of faith and religious freedom.