Legion of Honour

The National Order of the Legion of Honour (French: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur [ɔʁdʁ nɑsjɔnal də la leʒjɔ̃ dɔnœʁ]), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour (Ordre royal de la Légion d'honneur), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, it has been retained (with occasional slight alterations) by all later French governments and regimes.

National Order of the Legion of Honour Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur
Current version of the Grand Cross of the order given by President René Coty to Dutch Prime Minister Willem Drees
Awarded by President of France
Type	Order of merit
Established	19 May 1802
Country	France
Motto	Honneur et patrie ("Honour and Fatherland")
Eligibility	Military and civilians
Awarded for	Excellent civil or military conduct delivered, upon official investigation
Founder	Napoleon Bonaparte
Grand Master	President of France
Grand chancelier	Benoît Puga
Classes	00,0  1  Grand-maître 00,067  Grand(s)-croix 00,314  Grand(s) officier(s) 03,009  Commandeur(s) 17,032  Officier(s) 74,384  Chevalier(s)
Statistics
First induction	14 July 1804
Precedence
Next (higher)	None
Next (lower)	Order of Liberation (ceased 24 January 1946)[1]
Order's streamer Grand-croix Grand-officier Commandeur Officier Chevalier Ribbon bars of the order

The order's motto is Honneur et Patrie ("Honour and Fatherland"); its seat is the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur next to the Musée d'Orsay, on the left bank of the Seine in Paris.[lower-alpha 1]

The order is divided into five degrees of increasing distinction: Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), Commandeur (Commander), Grand officier (Grand Officer) and Grand-croix (Grand Cross).