The White House on 10 February 2012 named India's Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen the receipient of the 2011 US National Humanities Medal. Amartya Sen, who retains his Indian citizenship, is the first Indian to be honored with the medal that is typically awarded to US nationals. While Indian scholars and experts of Indian-origin had previously won White House recognition in science and engineering in the form of National Medals, this is a first in humanities.