7 October 2022 – The GPM has appointed Leoluca Orlando, former mayor of Palermo, Italy, as Honorary Member of the GPM. The Honorary Membership is awarded to mayors that have shown consistent and outstanding support to the GPM and distinguish themselves by meritorious service to the furtherance of the GPM through significant and ongoing participation in the Association’s activities and responsibilities.
Leoluca Orlando was one of the founding members of the GPM in 2016, winner of the first Benjamin Barber Global Cities Award and member of the Executive Committee since 2017. At his appointment as GPM Honorary Member, the former mayor said, “I had the privilege to join the GPM since the beginning with my unforgettable friend and philosopher dr. Benjamin Barber. I am honored to receive this honorable position and to go forward with the commitment to advocate for human rights and peace starting at the local level.”
Since 2017, the GPM has awarded the honorary membership to the former Mayors van Aartsen (The Hague, the Netherlands), de Lille (Cape Town, South Africa), Johnson (Asbury Park, USA), Termont (Ghent, Belgium), Mugasa (Hoima, Uganda) and Wolusmal (Kandahar, Afghanistan).