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Haiti - Diplomacy : Michaëlle Jean received the highest distinction of the Legion of Honor
14/03/2014 10:36:40

Thursday at the Hotel de Salm in Paris, Michaëlle Jean, former Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, and currently the UNESCO Special Envoy for Haiti, was solemnly decorated with the rank of Grand-Cross, the highest order of the Legion of Honour of the French Republic, in the presence of many dignitaries and guests and French and Canadian whose among other : Irina Bokova, the Director General of UNESCO, former French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, lyricist Luc Plamondon, the writer Amin Maalouf and former host Bernard Pivot.

This is the great Chancellor of the Legion of Honor, General Jean-Louis Georgelin, who presented the insignia to Ms. Jean "Your life, from birth in Haiti until your elevation to Governor General of Canada, and today your role as special envoy of UNESCO, is marked with values and commitments that France can only welcome: you are indeed fundamentally committed to human rights, that you defend on all fronts for over thirty years," declared General Georgelin.

Ms. Jean, who lived the moment with emotion and humility, expressed his appreciation for being honored : "
Mr. Chancellor, other Canadians were decorated with the Legion of Honor before me and I'm very touched. I think to the first Quebec Ministers Jean-Adolphe Chapleau and Louis-Alexandre Tashereau, to one of my predecessors Governor General Georges P. Vanier, the Prime Minister of Canada William McKenzie King and more recently the Honourable Paul Desmarais. All have passed away. I am still alive and well. You give me wings ! [...]"

In her speech, Ms. Jean thanked France for its values of liberty, equality and fraternity, "three words that have transformed the world and that woke up with my ancestors in their struggle for emancipation." She said that quality education, culture and sustainable development are "bulwarks against turbulence and destruction." Referring to her visit to Haiti with the Director-General of UNESCO, she said "we crossed the country together, we know its will, its beauty and its potential."

Learn more about the rank of Grand Cross :
Granted to 75 "legionnaires" at maximum, the rank of Grand Cross (Grand-Croix or Grand’Croix) is the highest of the Legion of Honor. If a few hundred Canadians and Quebecers have received the Legion of Honor, we count on the fingers of the hand those who have attained this highest grade.

HL/ HaitiLibre