List of Légion d'honneur recipients by name (A)

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 among 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]

List of Légion d'honneur recipients by name

• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• Q
• R
• S
• T
• U
• V
• W
• X
• Y
• Z

Recipient	Dates (birth–death)	General work & reason for the recognition	Award category (date)
Nils Waltersen Aasen	1878–1925	A Norwegian arms inventor, known for developing the modern hand grenade and land mine.	Knight (1915)[9]
Claudio Abbado	1933–2014	Italian conductor	Knight (TBA) Officer (TBA) Commander (TBA) Grand Officer (TBA) Grand Cross (1986)[10]
Louise Abbéma	1853[11]–1927[12]	French painter, sculptor, and designer of the Belle Époque.	Knight (1906)
Antoine Samuel Adam-Salomon	1818–1881[13]	French sculptor and photographer	Knight (decree: 9 August 1870)[14][15]
Isabelle Adjani	1955–present	French actress and singer of Algerian and German descent. Recognised for her contribution to the arts.	Knight (14 July 2010)
Arnaud de Borchgrave	1926–2015	Belgian-American journalist who specialized in international politics.	Knight (July 2014)[16]
Alfred Agache	1843–1915	French academic painter	Knight (decree: 10 August 1899; declaration: 24 August 1899)[17] Officer (decree: 16 May 1910; declaration: 25 June 1910)[18]
Akihito	1933–present	Emperor of Japan (125th). Known for presiding over the Heisei era, an expression of achieving peace worldwide.	Knight (TBA) Officer (TBA) Commander (TBA) Grand Officer (TBA) Grand Cross (TBA)[citation needed]
Ekrem Akurgal	1911–2002	Turkish archaeologist	Knight (TBA) Officer (1987)[citation needed]
Azzedine Alaïa (turned down)	1935–2017	Tunisian couturier and shoe designer	Knight (2008) .[19][20][21]
Pierre Albaladejo	1933–present	French rugby union player	Knight (TBA) Officer (TBA)[citation needed]
Albert II, Prince of Monaco	1958–present	Prince of Monaco	Knight (TBA) Officer (TBA) Commander (TBA) Grand Officer (TBA) Grand Cross (8 November 2005)[22][23]
Helene Aldwinckle	1920–2020	Bletchley Park codebreaker (World War II)	Knight (Ceremony: 19 July 2019)[24][25][26]
Jean Alesi	1964–present	French former Formula 1 driver	Knight (2006)[27]
Alexander I of Yugoslavia
Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis
Hossein Alizâdeh
Jean Francois Allard	1785–1839	French soldier and adventurer	Knight (decree: 27 February 1814) Officer (decree: 15 November 1832) Commander (decree: 20 October 1835)[28][29]
Henry Allingham
Auguste Jean Ameil
Dimitri Amilakhvari
Jacques Ancel
Władysław Anders
Alfred Anderson
Colonel (later Brigadier General) AT Anderson
Alexander E Anderson USS General A. E. Anderson (AP-111)
Constantine Andreou		Sculptor & painter
Charles Paget, 6th Marquess of Anglesey
Albert Anker
Gregory Annenberg Weingarten[30]
Regina Annenberg Weingarten[30]
David Annoussamy			Nominated: 2006 Received: 2007
Jacques Anquetil
Admiral Mohammad Anwar Mohammad Nor
Chief of Defence Force of Malaysia (2007)
Senedu Araya-Sellassie[31]		Founder of Vision on Africa, VoA
Geoffrey Arbuthnot
Denys Arcand
Alphonse Areola		World Cup winning footballer
Mohammed Arkoun
Elizabeth Arden
Dombasle Arielle	1953–present	French actress, singer, producer
Giorgio Armani		Italian fashion designer
Edwin Howard Armstrong
Gladys Arnold
Henry "Hap" Arnold
Yann Arthus-Bertrand		Photographer, journalist, reporter and environmentalist
Bahram Aryana	1906–1985	Former Chief of Staff of the Shah's Armed Forces	Grand Officier (TBA)
Sir Frederick Ashton		Founding choreographer of The Royal Ballet
Szymon Askenazy
Olivar Asselin
Celal Atik
Vera Atkins
Charley Attali	1930-2006	Israeli aerospace engineer, in charge of the Diamant[32]
Richard Attenborough
Pierre Augereau
Aung San Suu Kyi
Jacqueline Auriol
Charles Aznavour

See also

• France portal

• Legion of Honour
• List of Legion of Honour recipients by name
• List of foreign recipients of Legion of Honour by name
• List of foreign recipients of the Legion of Honour by country
• List of British recipients of the Legion of Honour for the Crimean War
• Legion of Honour Museum
• Ribbons of the French military and civil awards
• War Cross (France)

References

1. Légion Code, article 16.
2. Les étrangers qui se seront signalés par les services qu’ils ont rendus à la France ou aux causes qu’elle soutient, Légion Code, art. 128.
3. "France train attack: Chris Norman awarded Legion d'honneur". BBC News. 24 August 2015. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
4. DM, Florey (29 March 2017). "Michelle Yeoh receives France's highest civilian honour". Cinema Online. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021. Alt URL
5. "The Grand Chancellery is co-producing a film on women and the Legion of Honor". The Grand Chancellery of the Legion of Honour. Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
6. "Legion of Honour". Australian Government–Department of Veteran's Affairs. 31 January 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
7. Wattel, Michel; Wattel, Béatrice (2009). "Les Grand Croix de la Légion d'honneur. De 1805 à nos jours, titulaires français et étrangers". Archives & Culture.
8. Benoist, Chloé (18 December 2020). "Explained: Sisi, Macron and the dubious history of France's Legion of Honour". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
9. Rasmus Falck (29 December 2016). "Innovation history: Norway's arms magnate". Norwegian American (www.norwegianamerican.com). Retrieved 22 November 2022.
10. "Claudio Abbado". Encyclopedia of World Biography. Gale. 2004. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
11. Register of Births of the town of Étampes, quoted by the local scholar Bernard Gineste, "Acte de naissance de Louise Abbéma", in Corpus Etampois.
12. Aurora: The Journal of the History of Art. Aurora. 2002. p. 62.
13. "Antoine-Samuel Adam-Salomon". Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
14. "Salomon, Adam – Certificate Registration No 2450". France's National Archives – Léonore Database (in French). France. 9 August 2022. p. 1. Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
15. Turner, Jane Shoaf (1996). "Adam-Salomon, Antoine-Samuel". The Dictionary of Art. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
16. "Arnaud de Borchgrave Awarded the Legion of Honor". France in the United States (wwww.franceintheus.org). French Embassy in United States (Washington, D.C.). 21 July 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
17. "Alfred Pierre Joseph – Certificate Registration No 58,722". France's National Archives – Léonore Database (in French). France. 10 August 1899. p. 14. Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
18. "Agache, Alfred Pierre Joseph – Certificate Registration No 18,722". France's National Archives – Léonore Database (in French). France. 16 May 1910. p. 1. Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
19. Gaied Chortane, Soraya (19 November 2022). "Remembering Azzedine Alaïa: 7 Defining Moments That Shaped The Designer's Career". ES Magazine (www.standard.co.uk/esmagazine). Archived from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
20. Cowles, Charlotte (7 July 2011). "Azzedine Alaïa Turned Down the Légion d'Honneur Medal Because He Dislikes Decorations". The Cut (www.thecut.com). Archived from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
21. Leitch, Luke (9 March 2018). "Carla Sozzani and Azzedine Alaïa". Vogue (www.vogue.it). Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
22. "Première visite officielle de S.A.S. le Prince Souverain en France". Journal of Monaco (www.journaldemonaco.gouv.mc). 18 November 2005. p. 2151. Archived from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022. Alt URL
23. "H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco". World Economic Forum (www.weforum.org). Archived from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022. Alt URL
24. OSullivan, Kevin (24 July 2019). "Scots wartime codebreaker receives France's highest civilian and military honour". FutureScot. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
25. Drysdale, Neil. "Genius code-cracker Turing celebrated on 80th anniversary of breaking Enigma". Press and Journal. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
26. "Bletchley Park codebreaker and player of a small but important role in the special relationship between Britain and the US – Helene Aldwinckle". The Times. 8 May 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
27. "Jean Alesi, Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur". GP Update (www.gpupdate.net) (in French). 16 July 2011. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
28. "Dossier: Allard, Jean François". National Archives - Léonore Database (in French). France. 1836. p. 1. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
29. Brown, Kerry. "Sikh art and literature". p. 43 ff.
30. "Gregory Weingarten" (PDF). National Park Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
31. "A Determined Soul: Senedu Araya-Sellassie of VoA". Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Association of Women in Business. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
32. "לגיונר של כבוד שהניח את התשתית לתעשיית המטוסים". הארץ (in Hebrew). 10 May 2006. Archived from the original on 29 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.

External links

• legiondhonneur.fr/en
• Léonore database, census of recipients of the Legion of Honor (deceased before 1977), on the French Ministry of Culture website (in French)
• Code of the Legion of Honor and the Military Medal, Légifrance (in French)