Sir Winston Churchill is to appear on a new British banknote, the Bank of England announced Friday. He will be the first politician of the modern era to be awarded the honor.

“Our banknotes acknowledge the life and work of great Britons. Sir Winston Churchill was a truly great British leader, orator, and writer,” said Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King according to Sky News, a UK television network.

“Above that, he remains a hero of the entire free world. His energy, courage, eloquence, wit, and public service are an inspiration to us all,” he added.

The image of Churchill will be accompanied by a quote from a famous speech he made in the House of Commons in 1940: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.”

“The spirit of those words remains as relevant today as it was to my parents’ generation who fought for the survival of our country and freedom under Churchill’s leadership,” said King.

The background of the five-pound note will include a picture of the Nobel Prize medal awarded to Churchill in 1953 for literature.

Churchill’s grandson, Conservative MP Nicholas Soames, said the wartime prime minister would have derived great pleasure from the honor.

“The design of the banknote, the quotation, and the whole idea behind it is so appropriate and fitting, and my grandfather would have been truly very proud,” Soames said.

The Duke of Wellington, who had two terms as prime minister between 1828 and 1934, is the only other prime minister to have featured on a banknote. He also appeared on the five-pound note which was introduced in 1971 and was in use for 20 years.

Churchill’s note is to be introduced in 2016. It will replace one that features 19th Century prison reformer Elizabeth Fry.