Gov. Ron DeSantis awarded the posthumous Governor’s Medal of Freedom to five Floridians on Aug. 20, including Miami Lakes’ Bob Graham.
Daniel Robert “Bob” Graham, a Democrat, was a member of the town’s founding family. He served as a state representative and senator; as the 38th governor and in the U.S. Senate, from 1987 – 2005. There he chaired the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence from 2001 – 2003 and co-chaired the congressional inquiry into the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Graham’s causes included public education and the environment, especially the Florida Everglades. After his service in Tallahassee, he left with an 83% approval rating.
As a U.S. senator, he pushed the FBI to release more information about the 9/11 terrorists’ activities.
At his alma mater, the University of Florida, he established in 2006 The Bob Graham Center for Public Service to promote civic engagement, public leadership and public service, its website says. He died at 87 of natural causes on April 16, 2024.
Other recipients of the Medal of Freedom include Graham’s friend, singer/songwriter and businessman Jimmy Buffett. The men shared a passion for protecting nature, especially manatees. Buffett's hits included the song "Margaritaville." He died in 2023, and is the lone artist and cultural figure among the men recognized by DeSantis.
Also honored:
-U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, a Cuban-American attorney who represented South Florida in Congress 1993 – 2011 and also was a state representative and senator. A Republican, he wrote legislation including law in 1996 that codified the U.S. embargo against the Cuban dictatorship, DeSantis said. Diaz-Balart died in 2025.
-Attorney Kenneth Hood “Buddy” MacKay, Jr., a citrus farmer and Fla. Lt. Governor and 42nd Governor, the last Democrat to hold the office. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he also served as a state representative, state senator and U.S. congressman. President Bill Clinton appointed him as Special Envoy for the Americas to work on trade and human rights and security in Latin America. He died in 2024.
--Attorney John Thrasher was a U.S. Army captain and Vietnam veteran who served as president of Florida State University, from which he graduated. He also was a state representative and elected speaker of the house, served as a state senator and chaired the Republican Party of Florida. He died in 2025.
“I’m proud to recognize the legacies of these great Floridians,” DeSantis said Aug. 20 in a press release. “Our state is better for their contributions, and we’re proud they called Florida home…”