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]
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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 was 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sitiveni Rabuka [9] | 1948 – Present | Former Prime Minister of Fiji. Recognised for saving a French officer during an attack on the UN Headquarters in Lebanon in 1980. | TBA (1980) |
| Edson Raff [10] | 1907 – 2003 | United States Army officer | |
| Maryse Rageul | 1898 – 1952 | French Air Corp Captain | Commander |
| Rainier III, Prince of Monaco [11] | 1949 – 2005 | Prince of Monaco | Grand Cross |
| Joseph Ralston [12] | 1943 – Current | ||
| Seewoosagur Ramgoolam | 1900 – 1985 | ||
| Adil Rami | 1900 – 1985 | World Cup winning footballer | |
| Fidel Valdez Ramos [13] | 1928 – Present | Filipino general and politician | |
| Charlotte Rampling | |||
| Bertram Ramsay | |||
| Axel Rappe | 1838 – Present | ||
| Jean Raspail | 1838 – Present | Novelist and journalist | TBA (1983) |
| Satyajit Ray | Film maker and artist from India. | ||
| Robert Redford | American actor | ||
| Richard Redgrave | British artist and administrator | ||
| William Hoey Kearney Redmond | |||
| Pierre-Joseph Redouté | 1759 – 1840 | French painter | |
| Major Gordon Michael Reeves | 1912 – 2003 | Major in British Army during World War II, liaison officer on General Koenig's staff in North Africa | |
| William Edward Moyses Reilly | |||
| Jean Rémy | 1899 – 1955 | French colonel, Companion of the Liberation during World War II | Grand Officier |
| Ernest Renan | |||
| Louis Renault | |||
| Rosalie Rendu | |||
| Géraud Réveilhac | 1851 – 1937 | Général de division of World War I | Grand Officier |
| Òscar Ribas Reig | 1936 – 2020 | Former Prime Minister of Andorra | |
| Jacqueline de Ribes | 1929 – Present | French socialite and fashion designer | |
| Patrick Ricard | 1945 – 2012 | Entrepreneur | Commander (13 July 2007) |
| Robert C. Richardson Jr. | |||
| Frances "Rusty" Rice | 1920 – Present | American US Army Nurse in Bastogne, France during the "Bulge" WWII | Knight (27 December 2014) |
| William Thomas Rickard | 1828 – 1905 | QMS British Royal Navy. Recognised for his gallantry in Crimea | Knight (1854 - 1856) |
| Edward Vernon Rickenbacker | 1890 – 1973 | American captain. Recognised for his U.S. Army Air Service during World War I | |
| René Riffaud | 1898 – 2007 | Tunisian veteran of World War I | |
| Antoine Rigaudeau | |||
| Frédéric Rimbaud | 1814 – 1878 | Captain of Chasseurs, father of the poet, Arthur Rimbaud | |
| Eric Ripert | |||
| Jean-Pierre Rives | Captain of the national rugby union team, sculptor | ||
| Jeanne Robert | Member of the French Resistance | ||
| William Roberts (veteran) | |||
| Thomas Bilbe Robinson | |||
| Russell M. Robinson | WWII B-24 Pilot, 8th AF. Awarded Roanoke, VA USA, by the French Gen. Military Attache US | TBA (5 June 2019) | |
| Yves Rocard | |||
| David Rockefeller | |||
| John D. Rockefeller Jr. | |||
| Henryk Rodakowski | |||
| Auguste Rodin | |||
| George Rodocanachi | |||
| Pierre Louis Roederer | |||
| Jacques Rogge | |||
| William Allen Rogers (W.A. Rogers) | 1854 – 1931 | American Illustrator (famous for Uncle Sam cartoons in the New York Herald during WWI) | |
| Felix Rohatyn | |||
| Paul Rohmer | 1876 – 1977 | French physician, Officier of the Légion d'honneur | |
| Manfred Rommel | 1928 – Present | German politician | |
| Maurice Rose | |||
| Charles Rosenthal | 1875 – 1954 | Australian World War 1 general | |
| Marie-Thérèse Rossel | |||
| Gioachino Rossini | |||
| Claudia Roth | |||
| Alphonse James de Rothschild | |||
| Alfred de Rothschild | |||
| James Mayer de Rothschild | |||
| Marie-Hélène de Rothschild | |||
| Col. Richard de Roussy de Sales | 1905 – 1994 | Recognised for his service with the French Resistance in World War II. | |
| Joseph Rovan | |||
| Alex Rowe | 1966 – Present | British national serving in the French Foreign Legion | |
| Stefan Rowecki | |||
| JK Rowling | |||
| Norman Richard Rudd | 1922 – Present | Recognised for his military service in the defence of France and French territories (1939 - 1945). | |
| James Earl Rudder | |||
| Sir Edward Ruggles-Brise, 1st Baronet | |||
| Bruce Ruxton | |||
| Nano Ružin | |||
| Edward Rydz-Śmigły |
