Over the years Hamid Karzai has become a well-recognized figure. He has received a number of awards and honorary degrees from famous government and educational institutions around the world including an honorary doctorate in literature from Himachal Pradesh University in India, his alma mater, in 2003; an honorary British knight (Grand Cross, Order of St Michael and St George) in June 2003 and the Philadelphia Liberty Medal in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 2004. __