- Former public protector Thuli Madonsela has been awarded the highest French honour, the Knight of the Legion of Honour.
- The award was bestowed on her for her "remarkable fight against corruption".
- The honour, established in 1802, has only been awarded to a few foreign nationals.
Former public protector Thuli Madonsela has been awarded the highest French order of merit – the Chevalier de la légion d'honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) on Monday.
French ambassador to South Africa, Aurélien Lechevallier, bestowed the honour on her on behalf of the French Presidency at L'Avenir Wine Estate in Stellenbosch.
The Legion of Honour is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil, and it was established in 1802. The order is conferred to entrepreneurs, high-level civil servants, scientists, artists and sports champions. While membership in the legion is technically restricted to French nationals, foreign nationals who have served France or the ideals it upholds may receive the honour.
Madonsela is a multiple award-winning legal professional who has more than 50 national and global awards, as well as eight honorary Doctor of Law degrees.
The French Embassy said in a statement:
Madonsela was not the only South African honoured by the French Presidency.
On Tuesday, South African crime fiction author and screenwriter Deon Meyer will be handed the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters).
Meyer has published 15 novels and three short story collections, and his work has been translated into 27 languages and published in more than 40 countries. Meyer has received several international awards for his books, the French Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière (2003) and Le Prix Mystère de la critique (2004).
The embassy said:
The Order of Arts and Letters is a French order established in 1957 and awarded to recognise significant contributions to the enrichment of the arts and literature in France and abroad.
South African citizens who have received the order include Johnny Clegg (1991), William Kentridge (2013), Gregory Maqoma (2017), Zanele Muholi (2017) and Jonathan "Zapiro" Shapiro (2019).