1970 John Spicer, UK
1971 Mabel Strickland, Malta
1972 Eugene Watson, UK (Ulster)
1973 Sir Harry Brittain, UK: founder of the Commonwealth Press Union
1974 Sir Vincent Fairfax, Australia: for distinguished service to the Commonwealth Press
1975 Sepala Gunasena, Sri Lanka: for his notable contribution to Freedom of Information in his homeland
1976 St Clair Balfour, Canada: for distinguished service to the Commonwealth Press
1977 C R Irani, India: for distinguished service in the cause of Press Freedom both in India and globally
1978 Derek Ingram, UK: for his outstanding contribution to Commonwealth understanding
1979 Donald Tyerman: UK, for distinguished service to the Commonwealth Press
1980 J F W Hardingham: New Zealand, for distinguished service to the Commonwealth Press
1982 Glanvill Benn, UK: for his outstanding contribution to Commonwealth understanding
1983 Hon. Leslie Ashenheim, Jamaica: for distinguished services to the Commonwealth Press
1984 Lyle Turnbull, Australia: for distinguished services to the Commonwealth Press
1985 Kenneth Gordon, Trinidad & Tobago: for distinguished service in the cause of Press Freedom
1986 Sir Edward Pickering, UK: for distinguished services to the Commonwealth Press
1987 Terry Pierce-Goulding, Canada: for devoted service to the Commonwealth Press 1970-1987 (Presented posthumously)
1988 Patsy Robertson, Jamaica: for her outstanding contribution to Commonwealth understanding
1989 Arun Shourie, India: for distinguished service in the cause of Press Freedom
1992 David de Caires, Guyana: for his notable contribution to Commonwealth Press Freedom
1993 Arnold Raphael. UK: for distinguished service to the Commonwealth Press
1994 Bayo Onanuga, Nigeria: for his outstanding contribution to Commonwealth Press Freedom
1996 Fred M’membe, Zambia: for his outstanding contribution to Commonwealth Press Freedom
1998 Sano Malifa, Samoa: for his outstanding contribution to Press Freedom in the Pacific Islands
2000 Gilbert Ahnee, Mauritius: for his committment to press freedom in his home island
2003 Kuldip Nayar, India: legendary journalist and activist in the field of press freedom
2005 Gavin Ellis, New Zealand: for an outstanding committment to press freedom in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands
2016 Human Rights Network for Journalists – Uganda: for their unstinting support of media freedom in their country
2017 Pakistan Press Foundation, Pakistan: for its five decades fight for press freedom in Pakistan.
2018 Daphne Caruana Galizia, Malta: for her courageous and inspiring fight against corruption (Presented posthumously)
2021 Professor Robert Pinker, UK: for his outstanding contribution to press freedom across the Commonwealth
2023 Khabar Lahariya, India: honouring their contribution to media freedom and investigative journalism, and their commitment to diversity and equality