Bill Clinton gets a hug from daughter Chelsea as he accepts father of the year award in New York

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Former president received the long-running accolade at luncheon for Save The Children in New York
Bill Clinton said that his daughter Chelsea 'still makes me happier than anything else in the world'

Published: 00:43 EDT, 12 June 2013 | Updated: 13:00 EDT, 12 June 2013

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Bill Clinton grinned with pride on Tuesday as he accepted an award for Father of the Year, presented by his beaming daughter Chelsea.

The former president looked delighted as his 33-year-old daughter awarded him the statue and hugged him tightly at a New York luncheon to benefit charity Save The Children.

And to top off the achievement, Clinton announced that he even had a text from wife Hillary, which read: 'Congratulations. I think you deserve this.'

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Thanks, dad: Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is congratulated by his daughter Chelsea as he receives an award for Father of the Year on Tuesday

Here's to you: Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and daughter Chelsea grin she presents him with the Father of the Year award at the New York luncheon

Clinton told Parade magazine: 'In our family, that's a very big deal.'

Chelsea, 33, lavished praise on her 66-year-old father, saying that he had 'set the bar high' for her husband Marc Mezvinsky whom she married in August 2010.

The former President also gushed about his daughter, now a special correspondent for NBC, saying that she 'still makes me happier than anything else in the world'.

Hillary Clinton did not attend the event at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York. Famous guests at the luncheon included Tony Bennett, Sherri Shepard, New Orleans Saints player Drew Brees and singers John Legend and Estelle.

Close bond: Clinton said that his daughter 'made him happier than anything else in the world'

Moved: Clinton listened as his daughter Chelsea said that he had set the bar high for her husband Marc

The National Father's Day Council cited Clinton's philanthropy work through the William J. Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative, both started after he left the White House in 2001.

Clinton, as well as Macy's Inc Chief Executive Terry Lundgren, was honored for 'their success in balancing accomplished careers and the demands of fatherhood,' the council said in a statement.

Since the Father of the Year award was first bestowed in 1941, the citation has gone to Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, Generals Douglas MacArthur, Colin Powell and Norman Schwarzkopf, and sports stars Shaquille O'Neal and George Foreman.

Years after leaving the White House, as he prepared for his daughter's 2010 wedding to investment banker Marc Mezvinsky, Bill Clinton said he was preparing for what he called the most important job he would ever do: 'Walking Chelsea down the aisle.'

Glowing: The former president and first daughter joined famous faces including Tony Bennett, John Legend and Sherri Shepard at the charity benefit in the Grand Hyatt, New York

Success! Chelsea Clinton posed alongside other famous Save The Children supporters

Success! Save The Children supporters including (left to right) Drew Brees, Jimmie Johnson, Marisol Thomas, Rob Thomas, Tony Bennett, Robin Thicke, Sherri Shepard, Global CEO of Samsung Electronics BK Yoon, Estelle, John Legend, Chelsea Clinton, CEO of Samsung Electronics America YK Kim, president of Samsung Electronics America Tim Baxter and Boomer Esiason

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