The US ambassador was presented with the award at a ceremony staged as part of a political forum organised in Dayton on the tenth anniversary of the peace agreement.
The award given for outstanding contribution to the reconstruction of societies ravaged by war was previously presented to former US President Bill Clinton and philanthropist George Soros.
Holbrooke told the press the main achievement of the Dayton agreement initialled in Dayton on 21 November 1995 was stopping the war in Bosnia. The problems the agreement has caused in the functioning of Bosnia and Herzegovina are now being solved at the initiative of Washington, which supports constitutional changes that will transform Bosnia into a centralised, functioning democracy.
Holbrooke said that after four years of neglecting the problems in the Balkans, the George W. Bush administration had turned to that region and initiated the settlement of the Kosovo issue and the functioning of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The renewed engagement has led to defence reforms which have integrated the three armies in Bosnia, united the police and somewhat strengthened the central authority.
The ambassador was hopeful the initiative to change Bosnia's Dayton constitution would further strengthen the central authority and presidency, and that commissions on truth and reconciliation might be set up like in South Africa.
Holbrooke estimated that 10 years after the Dayton agreement, Bosnia and its neighbours might be on the verge of joining the European Union.
Recalling the weeks-long negotiations at Wright-Patterson airbase and the agreement they produced, he said it was thought at the time that expectations were too ambitious.
People were saying that we wanted too much and would not succeed, he said. They were saying we were dividing the country, that war would break out again and that NATO would have victims, he added.
Looking back, Holbrooke said he thought they were not ambitious enough. We should have tried to achieved more, he said, adding that one country should not have been allowed to have three armies.
Holbrooke said he was satisfied with what was achieved although the Dayton agreement was not perfect.
We achieved peace and ended the war and that is the most important achievement, he said speaking of the war in which over 200,000 people were killed and more than one million were displaced.