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Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez today named former FTC Chairman Janet Dempsey Steiger the 2014 recipient of the Miles W. Kirkpatrick Award for Lifetime FTC Achievement, honoring her steadfast commitment to public service and her many significant contributions to the agency.

“Chairman Steiger was an extraordinary public servant who provided inspiring leadership during her tenure at the FTC,” Ramirez said. “As the first woman to lead the FTC, she reinvigorated the agency’s law enforcement, developed its international advisory role, and fostered deep working relationships with state enforcers. And above all, she created an esprit de corps that has made the FTC not just a workplace but a community.”

At the request of Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton, Steiger, who passed away in 2004, served as Commissioner and Chairman of the Postal Rate Commission, then as Chairman of the FTC from August 1989 to April 1995, and as Commissioner of the agency until September 1997.

Among her major accomplishments as FTC Chairman, Steiger obtained congressional reauthorization of the agency in 1994. Under her leadership, the FTC, jointly with the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, issued several groundbreaking policy statements, including the 1992 DOJ/FTC Horizontal Merger Guidelines, the 1994 DOJ/FTC Statements of Antitrust Enforcement Policy in Healthcare, and the 1995 DOJ/FTC Antitrust Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property. Steiger also began the FTC’s international program to protect consumers and promote competition around the world.

The Kirkpatrick Award was established in 2001 to honor the commitment and talent of individuals who have made lasting and significant contributions to the FTC throughout their public and private careers. It is named after former Chairman Miles Kirkpatrick, who is noted for his distinguished legal career and leadership advocating for FTC revitalization and reform. Previous recipients of the award include Basil J. Mezines, Robert Pitofsky, Jodie Bernstein, Caswell O. Hobbs, III, Calvin J. Collier, Thomas B. Leary, Mary Gardiner Jones, Timothy J. Muris, and William E. Kovacic.

The Federal Trade Commission is celebrating 100 years of promoting competition and protecting consumers through law enforcement, policy and research initiatives, and consumer and business education. File a consumer complaint online or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). To inform the Bureau of Competition about questionable business practices, write to antitrust@ftc.gov or call 202-326-3300. Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.