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

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 & reason for the recognition Award category (date)
Samuel Umtiti 1993 – Present French professional footballer (La Liga club Barcelona / France national football team) Knight (2018)[9]
Józef Unrug 1884 – 1973 Polish admiral. Known for helping reestablish Poland's navy after World War I.
  • Knight (TBA)
  • Officer (TBA)
  • Commander (TBA)
  • Grand Officer (TBA)
  • Grand Cross (TBA)[citation needed]
Luis Ureta Sáenz Peña 1944 – Present Argentine businessman and diplomat
  • Knight (TBA)
  • Officer (TBA)[10]
Arturo Uslar Pietri 1906 – 2001 Venezuelan intellectual, historian, writer, television producer and politician.
  • Knight (TBA)
  • Officer (TBA)
  • Commander (TBA)
  • Grand Officer (TBA)
  • Grand Cross (1990)[citation needed]

See also

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. ^ a b c "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. ^ a b c d "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. ^ "Décret du 31 décembre 2018 portant promotion et nomination" [Decree of 31 December 2018 on promotion and appointment]. Official Journal of the French Republic (in French). 2019 (1). 1 January 2019. PRER1835394D. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  10. ^ "France Granted the Placet to the New Argentine Ambassador" (in French). 18 January 2021. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2021.