Washington, DC, Sept. 21, 2026 – The German-American Heritage Foundation is honored to announce that Ben Sasse, a former U.S. Senator from Nebraska and two-time university president, will receive the 2026 Distinguished German American of the Year Award at a formal gala on Thursday, Dec. 10 at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC.

This award from GAHF recognizes him for his deep commitment to the principles that have long characterized the German American experience: intellectual curiosity, personal responsibility, public engagement, and a dedication to strengthening democratic institutions. As an elected official representing Nebraska, Sasse earned national respect for his thoughtful approach to public policy, his willingness to engage difficult issues with utmost integrity, and a steadfast belief in the importance of civil discourse. His leadership in higher education further exemplified his commitment to cultivating the next generation of American citizens and leaders. Sasse was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December 2025, and has been very open about his courageous battle with the disease, which has led him to reconsider the meaning of life and death.  He completed his undergraduate degree at Harvard University, followed by graduate studies at St. John’s College, culminating in a Ph.D. in American History from Yale University. His deep familiarity with the history of our nation make him an especially poignant candidate for this semiquincentennial year.    

Sasse, a husband, father, Uber driver and football addict, is a self-described stoic, midwestern German American. “I’m more than a little sheepish about accepting this award. The real honor belongs to the folks who came before us and exemplified grit and integrity. I think about my grandparents Elmer and Elda Krebs, second-generation immigrant kids who scratched together the good life in rural Nebraska. When my grandpa left the farm to go fight in World War II, my grandmother—a woman who barely cleared four feet and had never driven a tractor—strapped a bassinet to the side of the John Deere because ‘it needed to be done.’ That’s the heritage of hard work and resilience that I was blessed to inherit. That’s the heritage so many of us hope to pass to our kids,” he said.

Sasse retired from the U.S. Senate in 2023, where he had set the all-time record for most votes in the Cornhusker state’s 157-year history. His political activities involved the intelligence, finance, and judiciary committees with a focus on the future of work, national security, and the First Amendment. Following his retirement as a politician, he became the 13th President of the University of Florida.  

As a historian, Professor Sasse has won teaching awards, while his dissertation, which focused on the evolution of modern American politics and culture along with the emergence of the secular left and the religious right, won both the Egleston and Theron Rockwell Field best dissertation prizes. Last but not least, Sasse is a two-time New York Times national bestselling author whose writing stresses the need to rebuild the anchor of local community and thicker Tocquevillian institutions as we navigate the simultaneously awesome and terrifying digital revolution.  He and his wife, Melissa, have two daughters and a 15-year-old son. 

Sasse joins an impressive list of German Americans, including former SpaceX engineer Dr. Hans-Jörg Königsmann, entrepreneur and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, U.S. Ambassador William R. Timken, Jr., the Nobel Prize winner in Medicine Dr. Günter Blobel, General H. Norman Schwarzkopf of Desert Storm fame, along with entrepreneur and philanthropist Philip Frederick Anschutz whose contributions have been recognized in the past. GAHF has been recognizing outstanding leadership and achievement by Americans of German-speaking ancestry in various fields and disciplines for many decades, and it is the only national society to present such an honor.

For sponsorship information or questions about the gala, please contact Katja Sipple at [email protected].