Ex-ISRO chairman AS Kiran Kumar awarded France's highest civilian honour

New Delhi: Former ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar was Thursday conferred with France’s highest civilian award – Chevalier de l’Ordre national de la Lgion d’Honneur – for his contribution to India-France space cooperation.

According to an official statement, on behalf of the President of France, Ambassador of France to India, Alexandre Ziegler conferred Kumar with the highest civilian honour of France.

Jean-Yves Le Gall, Chairman of CNES, the French space agency, was present at the special investiture ceremony held at the Residence of France here, it said.

“France’s highest civilian honour comes in recognition of A S Kiran Kumar’s invaluable contribution to the development of India-France space cooperation,” the statement said.

Throughout his career at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), including as its chairman from 2015 to 2018, Kumar fostered the historic and ambitious space cooperation between India and France.

He directly contributed to making it cooperation of peoples as well as one of the cornerstones of Indo-French strategic partnership, it said.

Created in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, the Ordre national de la Lgion d’Honneur (National Order of the Legion of Honour) is the highest civilian award given by the French for outstanding service to France, regardless of the nationality of the recipient.

The President of the French Republic is the Grand Master of the Ordre national de la Lgion d’Honneur.