The French government gives out the Legion of Honour awards, to both French [1] and foreign [2] nationals, based on a recipient's exemplary services rendered to France, or to the causes supported by France. This award is divided into five distinct categories (in ascending order [3] ), i.e. three ranks: Knight, Officer, Commander, and two titles: Grand Officer and Grand Cross. Knight is the most common and is awarded for either at least 20 years of public service or acts of military or civil bravery. [3] The rest of the categories have a quota for the number of years of service in the category below before they can be awarded. The Officer rank requires a minimum of eight years as a Knight, and the Commander, the highest civilian category for a non-French citizen, requires a minimum of five years as an Officer. The Grand Officer and the Grand Cross are awarded only to French citizens, and each requires three years' service in their respective immediately lower rank. [4] The awards are traditionally published and promoted on 14 July. [5]
The following is a non-exhaustive list of recipients of the Legion of Honour awards, since the first ceremony in May 1803. [3] 2,550 individuals can be awarded the insignia every year. [5] The total number of awards is close to 1 million [6] (estimated at 900,000 in 2021, [5] including over 3,000 Grand Cross recipients [7] ), with some 92,000 recipients alive today. [8] Only until 2008 was gender parity achieved amongst the yearly list of recipients, with the total number of women recipients since the award's establishment being only 59 at the end of the second French empire and only 26,000 in 2021. [5]
Recipient | Dates (birth – death) | General work, and reason for the recognition | Award Category (Date) |
---|---|---|---|
Haakon VII of Norway | 1872 – 1957 | King of Norway (1905 - 1957) | Grand Cross [9] |
Otto von Habsburg | 1912 – 2011 | European politician and the last crown prince of Austria-Hungary | Grand Cross (31 October 2008) [10] [11] [12] |
Otto Hahn | 1879 – 1968 | German chemist (radioactivity and radiochemistry) | Officer (1959) [13] |
Oskar Halecki | 1891 – 1973 | Polish historian, social and Catholic activist. | Knight[ citation needed ] |
Arthur Halestrap | 1898 – 2004 | British soldiers. Known for being one of the last surviving British soldiers of the First World War. | TBA (1988)[ citation needed ] |
Vahid Halilhodžić | 1952 – present | Former Bosnian football player and football manager (Paris Saint Germain F.C.) | Knight (14 July 2004) [14] |
John Hall | 1795 – 1865 | British military surgeon of the Crimean War | TBA[ citation needed ] |
Harriet Hallowell | 1872 – 1943 | An American painter (Moret-sur-Loing, France). Recognised for her relief work caring for soldiers during and after World War I | TBA (1930) [15] |
Alphonse Halimi | 1932 – 2006 | French Boxer | TBA[ citation needed ] |
Józef Haller de Hallenburg | 1873 – 1960 | Polish Army soldier (lieutenant general) | Grand Officer[ citation needed ] |
Lionel Halsey | 1872 – 1949 | Royal Navy officer and courtier. | Officer (15 September 1916) [16] Commander (20 April 1917) [17] [18] |
Edward S. Hamilton | 1917 – 2006 | American army officer (World War II) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative (China, East Germany and Turkey). | TBA (2005)[ citation needed ] |
Alexander Hamilton-Gordon | 1859 – 1939 | TBA[ citation needed ] | |
Thomas T. Handy | 1892 – 1982 | United States Army four-star general | Commander[ citation needed ] |
Mohamed Haniff | 1937 – present | Deputy Mayor of Pondicherry during the French rule in India | Knight (Decree of 11 Juin 1937 attested on 5 Jan 1981) [19] |
Tom Hanks | 1956 – present | American actor and filmmaker. Recognised for his presentation of World War II and support of World War II veterans | TBA (2016) [20] [21] |
Hector Hanoteau | 1823 – 1890 | French landscape painter | Knight (18 June 1870) [22] |
Yuko Harayama | Japanese government administrator of science and technology support | Knight (2011) [23] | |
John Hardress Lloyd | 1874 – 1952 | Anglo-Irish soldier and polo player. Recognised for his service in the British Army during the World War I. | Knight [24] |
Moses Hardy | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Saad Hariri | TBA [25] | ||
David A. Harris | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Walter Burton Harris | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Wesley Hart | TBA [26] | ||
Arthur A. Hartman | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Stanley Harcki | 1898 – 2001 | Bridge engineer and United States veteran of World War I and World War II. | Knight (October 1999) [27] |
John F. "Jack" Hasey | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Ahmad Y. al-Hassan | 1925 – present | Historian of Arabic and Islamic science and technology | TBA [ citation needed ] |
João Havelange | 1916 – 2016 | Brazilian ex-president of FIFA | Knight [28] |
Václav Havel | 1936 – 2011 | Czech statesman, writer and former dissident. Known as the first President of the Czech Republic (1993 - 2003). | Grand Cross (March 1990) |
Baron Haussmann | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Jean-Joseph Ange d'Hautpoul | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Major General Mian Hayaud Din | 1910 – 1965 | Royal Indian Army officer. Known for commanding British troops supporting the French Army in Indochina (1945 – 1946) | TBA [ citation needed ] |
Michael Heidelberger | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Paul César Helleu | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Ray Henault | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Edward Henry | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Thierry Henry | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Pierre Hermé | 1961 | Pastry chef | TBA[ citation needed ] |
Daniel Hernández (painter) | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Lucas Hernandez | World Cup winning footballer | TBA[ citation needed ] | |
Major General Mark L. Hersey | U.S. Army | TBA[ citation needed ] | |
Jacques-Léopold Heugel | Music publisher | TBA[ citation needed ] | |
H. Kent Hewitt | 1887 – 1972 | American Admiral. Known for commanding the amphibious landings in North Africa, Italy, and Southern France during World War II. | TBA[ citation needed ] |
Paul Hewson, aka "Bono" | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
René Alphonse Higonnet | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Pierre Hinzelin, Colonel | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Gustave-Adolphe Hirn | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Stanley Ho | 1922 – 2020 | Casino Mogul. Recognised for his generous philanthropic dononations. Known for laying the foundation for Macau's emergence as the world's biggest gambling destination. | Knight (1984) [29] |
Lewis Hodges | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Frans van der Hoff | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Lucius Roy Holbrook | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Wilhelmina Holladay | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Sekai Holland | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Bruce K. Holloway | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
James L. Holloway III | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Hans Reidar Holtermann | 1895 – 1966 | Recognised for his allied service in World War II | TBA[ citation needed ] |
Yvette Horner [30] | French accordionist | TBA[ citation needed ] | |
Gérard Houllier | 1947 – present | Football manager | TBA[ citation needed ] |
Angus Houston | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Clark Howell | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Clarence R. Huebner | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Tom Hughes | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Victor Hugo | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Husain Bey, Crown Prince of Tunisia | TBA[ citation needed ] | ||
Francis Huster | 1947 | Actor | TBA[ citation needed ] |
James Hutchison | 1893 – 1979 | Principal British liaison officer with the French Resistance during World War II | TBA[ citation needed ] |
Robert Hutchison | 1st Baron Hutchison of Montrose | TBA[ citation needed ] | |
Joris-Karl Huysmans | TBA[ citation needed ] |
The French government gives out the Legion of Honour awards, to both French and foreign nationals, based on a recipient's exemplary services rendered to France, or to the causes supported by France. This award is divided into five distinct categories, i.e. three ranks: Knight, Officer, Commander, and two titles: Grand Officer and Grand Cross. Knight is the most common and is awarded for either at least 20 years of public service or acts of military or civil bravery. The rest of the categories have a quota for the number of years of service in the category below before they can be awarded. The Office rank requires a minimum of eight years as a Knight, and the Commander, the highest civilian category for a non-French citizen, requires a minimum of five years as an Officer. The Grand Officer and the Grand Cross each require three years' service in their respective immediately lower rank. The awards are traditionally published and promoted on 14 July.