The Grand Chancellor

The Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honor is a high dignitary of the French Republic. He is ranked 17^th in the French order of precedence.

Selected by the President of France among recipients of the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, the Grand Chancellor is appointed to head the Institution for a renewable six-year term.

An individual of either a civilian or a military background may hold the position. In actual fact, save the first Grand Chancellor under Napoleon, the Count of Lacépède, and his short-lived successor appointed during the Hundred Days, this honorary mission has always been entrusted to marshals and generals.

Since February 2023, Army General François Lecointre has directed the Institution. He is the 34^rd Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honor.

See the Grand Chancellor's biography

Learn more about the Grand Chacellor's missions

The 34 Grand Chancellors to date

August 14, 1803	Bernard de la Ville-sur-Illon, Count of Lacépède
April 6, 1814	Monsignor Dominique Dufour, Baron Pradt
February 13, 1815	Lieutenant General, Count Louis de Bruges
March 13, 1815	Bernard de la Ville-sur-Illon, Count of Lacepede
July 2, 1815	Jacques Marshal MacDonald, Duke of Tarentum
September 11, 1831	Marshal Edouard Mortier, Duke of Treviso
February 4, 1836	Marshal, Count Maurice Gérard
March 17, 1839	Marshal Charles Oudinot, Duke of Reggio
October 22, 1842	Marshal, Count Maurice Gérard
March 19, 1848	Major General, Baron Jacques Subervie
December 23, 1848	Marshal, Count Gabriel Molitor
August 15, 1849	Marshal, Count Rémy Exelmans
August 13, 1852	Major General, Count Philippe d'Ornano
March 26, 1853	Major General Charles Lebrun, Duke of Plaisance
July 23, 1859	Marshal Aimable Pelissier, Duke of Malakoff
November 24, 1860	Admiral, Baron Ferdinand Hamelin
January 27, 1864	Major General, Count Auguste de Flahaut de la Billarderie
April 6, 1871	Major General Joseph Vinoy
February 28, 1880	Major General Louis Faidherbe
October 10, 1889	Major General Victor Février
December 5, 1895	Major General Leopold Davout, Duke of Auerstaedt
September 23, 1901	Major General Auguste Florentin
June 14, 1918	Major General Yvon Dubail
January 8, 1934	Major General Charles Nollet
November 12, 1940	Major General Charles Brécard
August 25, 1944	Army General Paul Dassault
October 1, 1954	Army General Georges Catroux
February 15, 1969	Admiral Georges Cabanier
February 15, 1975	Army General Alain de Boissieu Déan de Luigné
June 4, 1981	Army General André Biard
June 5, 1992	Army General Gilbert Forray
June 4, 1998	Air Force General Jean-Philippe Douin
June 4, 2004	Army General Jean-Pierre Kelche
June 9, 2010	Army General Jean-Louis Georgelin
September 1, 2016	Army General Benoît Puga
February 1, 2023	Army General François Lecointre