Known for a long time as the President’s medal, the Honour medal of Foreign Affairs (french: "médaille d’honneur des affaires étrangères") is a state decoration bestowed by the

French Republic France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in the form of an honour medal for work. It was originally created by a Royal decree of 28 July 1816 as a single grade medal to reward acts of courage displayed by French nationals on foreign soil. An 1861 Imperial decree saw it be split into the silver and gold grades. The year 1887 saw the addition of swords to the medal for award to both French or allied military personnel for acts of courage in favour of the French in time of war. Although still bestowed in wartime for courage, the modern award is now aimed at rewarding civil servants of the ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Award statute

Currently, the Honour medal of Foreign Affairs is intended to reward honorable service by French diplomats and civil servants stationed outside of France. It can also be awarded to French nationals and foreigners for exceptional service to France or that have accomplished acts of courage in assistance to French nationals either in peace or wartime. Military awards are often bestowed on order of the French president, hence the common practice of calling it the President’s medal. President

Raymond Poincaré Raymond Nicolas Landry Poincaré (, ; 20 August 1860 – 15 October 1934) was a French statesman who served as President of France from 1913 to 1920, and three times as Prime Minister of France. Trained in law, Poincaré was elected deputy in 1 ...

bestowed many such medals to French and foreign nationals during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The Honour medal of Foreign Affairs is currently divided into three grades, bronze, silver and gold. When awarded for service, the bronze grade is awarded for no less than 20 years of service, the silver grade may be awarded a minimum of eight years later, the gold grade, seven years after the silver. The Honour medal of Foreign Affairs may be exceptionally awarded regardless of seniority and set quotas to reward bravery and dedication. It can be awarded, also regardless of seniority and set quotas, if the recipient was wounded or killed in the line of duty. The wartime award with swords is bestowed as follows: *In bronze to privates; *In silver to

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

s; *In gold (silver-gilt prior to 2010) to

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

Award description

The Honour medal of Foreign Affairs, a design of engraver Daniel Dupuis, is a 27mm in diameter circular medal in bronze, silver or gold. The

obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''o ...

bears the relief effigy of the

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

surrounded by the relief inscription "RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE" ( en, "FRENCH REPUBLIC") along the left and right circumference. The reverse bears a crown of half laurel and half oak leaves with the relief inscription "AFFAIRES ÉTRANGÈRES" ( en, "FOREIGN AFFAIRS") with a bare center destined to receive the recipient’s name and year of award. The medal hangs from a silk moiré tricolour ribbon composed of three equal blue-white-red vertical stripes. The wartime award includes a wreath of oak leaves with two crossed swords on the suspension ring.

Partial recipients' list for acts of courage and devotion

Gold grade: *Mr Mohamed Salem ABDOU *Mrs Isabelle DUMONT *Mr. Alain REMY *Mr Frédéric de TOUCHET Silver grade: *Mr Walter ARNAUD *Mr Richard BEAUX *Mr Philippe BERJONNEAU *Mr Francky BLANDEAU *Mrs Isabelle du BOIS de MEYRIGNAC *Mr Vincent CORBEAU *Mr Vincent FALCOZ *Mr Jean-Marc FIORENTINI *Mrs Julie FORT *Mr François GARCIA *Mrs Mathilde de GERMAIN *Mr Cédric GRAS *Mrs Sophie LAFITTE *Mr Jérôme MALLARD *Mr Guillaume NARJOLLET *Mrs Agnès NKAKE *Mr Pascal NOJAC *Mrs Sylvie NOJAC *Mr Gérard NOUBEL *Mr Cédric PELTIER *Mr Eric TOSATTI Bronze grade: *Mr Serge BESANGER
Arrêté du 24 mars 2021 conférant la médaille d’honneur des affaires étrangères pour actes de bravoure et de dévouement
'. French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. *Mr Thierry BINOIST *Mrs Marie-Amélie DELAROCHE *Mrs Annick DORIS *Mrs Françoise DUBREUIL-KRIKORIAN *Mr Emmanuel FABRY *Mr Daniel FARBAT *Mr Jorge FERNANDEZ *Mr Pascal GEHANT *Mr Thierry MAIRE *Mrs Claire MALANDAIN *Mr Yann MILLET *Mr Frédéric PECH *Mr Marc RASTOLL *Mrs Corinne SIDIBE *Mrs Martine THEMIN *Mr Jean-Christophe THIABAUD

Partial recipients' list for service to civil servants

Gold grade: *Mr Arnaud BALNER *Mrs Mathilde de CALAN *Mrs Christine FAGES *Mrs Leslie GOLDLUST *Mrs Catherine HYVER *Mr Bertrand LE ROUX *Mr Alain RICHEZ *Mr Christophe SCHMITT *Mr Mounir SLIMANI *Mr Clément TARON-BROCARD *Mr Guillaume VELUT Silver grade: *Mr Nicolas BARNAUD *Mr Rémi COTTIN *Mrs Pauline DELAPORTE *Mr Rémi DROUIN *Mr Julien MARIANI *Mr Jean-Baptiste POHL *Mr Odoric PORCHER *Mrs Candice VERLOT Bronze grade: *Mrs Marie Noelle LANDAZURI *Mr Smaïl CHAOUI *Mr Dimitri DEMIANENKO *Mr Guillaume GRELAUD *Mr Fabrice GROSSIR *Mr Rodolphe MONNET *Mr Guillaume PEGHAIRE *Mr Mickaël PITHON *Mr Arnaud ROLLAND *Mr Gwenn VALLEE *Mr Philippe VUYLSTEKE

Partial recipients' list to foreign military personnel

Médaille d’honneur des affaires étrangères militaire 1917

In October 1917, the design of the crossed swords on two sprays of oak leaves changed. The medal ranked after the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

and several were awarded to service members of Allied forces, including personnel from: ; (partial list) Driver George Lang Gordon Royal Field Artillery Bronze grade with swords date awarded unknown * Lance Corporal (Acting Sergeant) John Henry Cory (mounted Military Police). Bronze grade with swords awarded 14 July 1919. * Sergeant-Observer William James Middleton,

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. Silver grade with swords awarded 22 August 1919. * Private Albert Weickers. Bronze grade with swords awarded 22 August 1919. *

Air Mechanic 1st Class The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

Clarence Harold Cobden, Royal Air Force. Bronze grade with swords awarded 22 August 1919. * Cpl Herbert Reginald Verrall GS/2779, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent) Regiment (8th Bn). Bronze grade with swords awarded 21 November 1918 ; (partial list) *Vice Admiral

Joel T. Boone Joel Thompson Boone (August 29, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a United States Navy officer who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during World War I. In addition to the Medal of Honor, Boone received the Army's Distinguished Service Cross ...

, USN. Gold grade. *

Arley Munson Hare Arley Isabel Munson Hare, MD (1871 - c. 1941) was an American physician, surgeon, author, and lecturer. As a young woman in the early 20th century, Munson was a pioneer in the field of medical mission work with the Wesleyan Methodist Mission in ...

; (7 Gold, 26 Silver, 16 Bronze) * A. A. Shambler, bronze with swords * Corporal (Later Brigadier) Lionel H. Lemaire, Silver-Gilt grade with swords for actions in the Battle of the Somme ; (2 Gold, 4 Silver, 6 Bronze) ; Newfoundland *Sgt Ernest Gullicksen,

Royal Newfoundland Regiment The Royal Newfoundland Regiment (R NFLD R) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of the 5th Canadian Division's 37 Canadian Brigade Group. Predecessor units trace their origins to 1795, and since 1949 Royal N ...

, Bronze with swords for actions during the German Spring Offensive of 1918. ; (partial list) *Lieutenant Joseph-Hector-Ernest Allen, 22nd battalion CEF, Silver-gilt grade with swords awarded 15 April 1915 *Lieutenant-colonel Hugues-Lemoyne De Martigny, 22nd battalion CEF, Silver-gilt grade with swords awarded 27 October 1914 *Private Alphonse Marcotte, 22nd battalion CEF, Silver grade with swords awarded 15 June 1915 *Private Raoul Ouimet, 22nd battalion CEF, Silver grade with swords awarded 2 July 1915 *Private Georges Marcoux, 22nd battalion CEF, Bronze grade with swords awarded 13 January 1917 ; (partial list) * Risaldar-major Thakur Mul Singh, 26th King George’s Own Light Cavalry, Silver-gilt grade with swords *

Subedar-major Subedar Major is the senior-most rank of junior commissioned officer in the Indian and Pakistani Armies, formerly known as the Viceroy's commissioned officer in the British Indian Army. History During the British Raj, Subedar-Major was the hi ...

Chandrapal Singh,

7th (Duke of Connaught's Own) Rajputs 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, ...

, Silver-gilt grade with swords *

Acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

Lance naik Mohamed Shaffi Khan, 32nd Lancers, Bronze grade with swords *

Sepoy ''Sepoy'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its oth ...

Fazal Hussain, 46th Punjabis, Bronze grade with swords *

Havildar Havildar or havaldar ( Hindustani: or (Devanagari), (Perso-Arabic)) is a rank in the Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese armies, equivalent to sergeant. It is not used in cavalry units, where the equivalent is daffadar. Like a British sergeant, ...

Appaya Kumbi, 101st Grenadiers, Bronze grade with swords

References

External links

{{French medals Civil awards and decorations of France Military awards and decorations of France Courage awards Awards established in 1816 1816 establishments in France Long service medals Diplomatic awards and decorations