The Ordre des Palmes Académiques (Order of Academic Palms) is an order of knighthood of France for academics and cultural and educational figures. The early Palmes académiques was instituted on 17 March 1808 and was only awarded to teachers or professors. In 1850 the decoration was divided into two known classes:Paul Hieronymussen, Orders, Medals and Decorations of Britain and Europe in colour (2nd ed.), London: Blandford Press, 1970, p.162. Officier de l'Instruction Publique (Golden Palms); Officier d'Académie (Silver Palms).

Since 1955 the Ordre des palmes académiques has comprised three grades: Commandeur (Commander) — medallion worn on necklet; Officier (Officer) — medallion worn on ribbon with rosette on left breast; Chevalier (Knight) – medallion worn on ribbon on left breast.

In 1866, the scope of the award was widened to include major contributions to French national education and culture made by anyone, including foreigners. It was also made available to any French expatriates making major contributions to the expansion of French culture throughout the world.

The following is an incomplete list of foreign recipients of the Ordre, with sources of information as indicated:

Argentina

Chevalier

Olga Fernández Latour de Botas (2004), educator, folklorist and writer

Armenia Chevalier Marie Lou Papazian (2019), CEO at Tumo Center for Creative Technologies Aram Barlezizyan (2006), Armenian academic specialising in the French Language.

Australia Officier Evelyn Temple Emmett (1923), 'Father of Tasmanian Tourism'. Henry Tardent (1929), Swiss-born journalist and writer His Honour Judge Warren C Fagan, QC (2006), former president of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal of Victoria, former president de L'alliance Francaise de Melbourne, chevalier de Légion d'Honneur Chevalier Edward Duyker (2000), Australian historian of French voyages to the Indian Ocean and Pacific in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Jane Zemiro (2000), Australian academic and author. Gretchen Bennett (2002), Australian teacher of the French language. Dr. Anthony Adames (2013), Australian teacher of the French language, honour conferred in Hong Kong. Jason McKenzie (2023), entrepreneur, former president of Alliance Française de Brisbane, former board director of the Alliance Française French Film Festival

Azerbaijan Officier Vazeh Asgarov (2021), earned the degree of doctor at the University of Strasbourg (2012), the executive director at French-Azerbaijani University (UFAZ) (from 2016).

Bangladesh Officier A. Majeed Khan, Bangladeshi educator and diplomat.

Belgium Officier Derrick Gosselin (2015) Member of the Royal Academy of Belgium.

Belarus Officier Vladimir Perlin (2003) – cellist, professor Chevalier Galina Toumilovitch Charco (2004), formerly dean of Languages at European Humanities University, Minsk

Brazil Chevalier João Cruz Costa, Brazilian philosopher who taught in France after temporarily fleeing the military dictatorship in Brazil. Marilena Chauí (1992), Brazilian philosopher, professor at Universidade de São Paulo.

Canada Chevalier Roseann Runte (1985), vice-chancellor and president of Carleton University Charles Gonthier (1988), Puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Canada. Dyane Adam (1998), Canadian Govt Official Languages Commissioner responsible for promoting bilingualism. Robert (Robin) Inglis (1988) Maritime Historian, Director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum. A.J.B. Johnston (2008), historian Edward Langille (2004), professor of Modern Languages at St. Francis Xavier University.Canada Gazette, Part I, 26 July 2003 Paulette Collet (2007), professor emerita of French at University of St. Michael's College Robert Boily (2013), scientist (2013), professor of French Studies, University of Winnipeg Guy Berthiaume (2015), Librarian and Archivist of Canada at Library and Archives Canada Ruby Heap (2017), Canadian historian at the University of Ottawa Linda Cardinal (2013), political scientist Donald Ipperciel (2017), professor of philosophy Jean-Douglas Comeau (2017), Dean, French Immersion Program, Université St. Anne Edith Dumont (2018), 30th Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario Lace Marie Brogden (2019), Dean – Faculty of Education, St. Francis Xavier University Hatem Zurob (2024), professor of material sciences and engineering, McMaster University

Colombia Chevalier

Belisario Ruiz Wilches (1937), engineer, astronomer, geographer, and founder of the Geographic Institute Agustín Codazzi

Costa Rica

Officier Arturo Agüero Chaves (1963), philologist Victor Brenes Jiménez (date unknown), philosopher

Croatia Commandeur Guido Nonveiller (1989), entomologist and professor of the University of Belgrade.

Denmark Chevalier Asta Mollerup (1930s), modern dance teacher and director of the Danserindeskole (Girls Dancing School) in Copenhagen Marie-Louise Nosch, archaeologist specialising in prehistoric textiles

Egypt Commandeur Hussein Sobhy (1977), Mayor of Alexandria (1952–1966) and founder of the Biennale of Alexandria in 1954.

Chevalier Sherif Delawar (2012), Thinker in Economic Development and Visiting Professor of managerial Sciences.

El Salvador Chevalier

Ana María Ábrego Figueroa (2023)

Finland Commendeur (1984) Marja-Riitta de la Chapelle (1986) Jarmo Anttila (1988) Christoffer Taxell (1988), politician Heikki Kirkinen (1992) (1996)

Raija Kallinen

Chevalier Tuomo Melasuo (2002), professor in Tampere Peace Research Institute

Gambia Chevalier Saihou Bah (2002) Principal French teacher (Alliance Francaise) and Promoter of French culture Commandeur Sedat Jobe (....) Former Minister, Former UN officer, Lecturer at Dakar University (UCAD)

Germany Chevalier Iring Fetscher (1993), academic, political scientist and professor of the Goethe University Frankfurt.

Greece Chevalier

Konstantinos (Kostis) Katsakioris (2016) Creator of the Exhibition "50 ans Asterix" with French Institute of Greece & Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki Dionysis Simopoulos (2006), director of Evgenidio Foundation Planetarium. Eugenia Bezirtzoglou (2006), professor of microbiology, Medical School, Democritus University of Thrace

Officiers

Eugenia Bezirtzoglou (2017), Professor of Microbiology, Medical School, Democritus University of Thrace

India Chevalier Y. K. Sohoni (1975), professor at Poona University and CIEFL, Hyderabad; founder, Indian Association for French Teachers (1953). Manohar Rai Sardesai (1988), Konkani poet and translator. Neelima A. Raddi (1992), professor Fergusson College, Pune; translator; co-author of En Échanges (first Indian textbook for French); student of Prof. Y.K. Sohoni. Govindan Rangarajan (2006), professor, Department of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Science (IISc). Sampat Kumar Tandon (2009), geologist, former Pro-vice chancellor of Delhi University, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate. Chinmoy Guha (2010), Bengali intellectual, author, translator and professor of Calcutta University. Basabi Pal (2016), Associate Professor of French in West Bengal Education Service at Chandernagore College (Formerly College Dupleix), West Bengal. Meeta Ghosh (2019), Former Director of Alliance Française de Lucknow & Professor of French, Era University, Lucknow Nalini J.Thampi (2022), Professor of the Department of French at Pondicherry Central University, Puducherry and English and Foreign Language University, Hyderabad. Vasumathi Badrinathan (2023), Professor of French, Department of French Studies, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi Dr. Navis Sybil Abarna Roy Morais (2023), HoD and Assistant Professor in French dept at Loyola College, Chennai. she is from Vembar.Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu. Officier Kalya Jagannath Rao (2006), physical chemist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate.

Indonesia Chevalier Ganjar Kurnia, Indonesian academist, Rector of Padjadjaran University (2007-2015), Educational and Cultural Attache Embassy of Indonesia, Paris Mahmud Syaltout, Indonesian lecturer-researcher on Western Europe Comparative Politics, Geopolitics, Cyberspace and Digital Diplomacy and Methodology of International Relations and Economic Intelligence at the University of Indonesia and Paramadina Graduate School of Diplomacy. He is also an activist of Gerakan Pemuda Ansor and LAKPESDAM Nahdlatul Ulama and currently working as a member of experts team of Ministry of Religious Affairs, H.E. Yaqut Cholil Qoumas. In 2020, Syaltout, a French political expert at the University of Indonesia, dared to speak bluntly about Macron not being anti-Islam. In 2017, on the orders of Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, Chairperson of Ansor Youth Movement, Syaltout led research on the massacre of the Rohingya ethnic group in Rakhine State, Myanmar, explaining that the conflict was a geopolitical conflict over natural resources, not a religious conflict and not just a violation of human rights, and at the same time offered the best scenarios for resolving the conflict based on the Game Theory approach. Also in 2017, Mahmud Syaltout together with Muhammad Zulkarnain and Alfon Satria Harbi, representing ANP-INSIGHT, a Business and Economic Intelligence company, won an academic poster competition in the field of Mixed-Methods at the 2017 MQIC Conference organized by MAXQDA in Berlin, Germany.

Iran Commandeur Ali-Akbar Siassi, Iranian intellectual, psychologist and politician during the 1930s and 1960s, government minister and Chancellor of Tehran University.

Chevalier

Ahmad Kamyabi Mask, professor of Fine Arts in the University of Tehran during the 1980s and 1990s, writer, translator, publisher and scholar of French avant-garde theatre, influential in the study of Eugène Ionesco and Samuel Beckett. Javad Tabatabai, thinker and historian of Iranian modernity. Siamak Yassemi, professor of Mathematics at the University of Tehran. Reza Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, Professor of Industrial Engineering at the College of Engineering, University of Tehran.

Ireland Officier Henri O'Kelly, organist, choir director, music teacher Janie McCarthy, resistance worker during World War II in Paris, and language teacher

Chevalier James J. Browne, former President of NUI Galway Michael O'Dwyer, Head of Dept of French, Maynooth University, for his services to French Literary Studies. John Ringwood (2017), professor of Electronic Engineering in Maynooth University, for his contributions to marine renewable energy Louise Curtin (2017), teacher at Belvedere College, Dublin for her contribution to French debating Tony Lewis (2017), professor of Energy Engineering in University College Cork, for his contributions to marine renewable energy

Israel Commandeur Itamar Rabinovich, president of Tel Aviv University

Officier Menachem Banitt, Tel Aviv University Yirmiyahu Yovel, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, founder of International Spinoza Institute

Chevalier Hossam Haick, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

Ivory Coast Officier Jacqueline Oble

Japan Chevalier Tomoko M. Nakanishi, chemical scientist, the University of Tokyo

Kenya Chevalier Dorothy Wanja Nyingi, Head of Ichthyology, National Museums of Kenya

Lebanon Raymonde Abou, Director (1965–1999), Collège Louise Wegmann. Tiba Geha-Villard (2008), Director (2000–present), Collège Louise Wegmann. Chafic Maalouf, Lycee Franco Libanais 1977 Marie-Christine Mogabert Mourani (2019), Vice-Présidente Sénior (1998-2017) International College Khalil Chalfoun (2019), Rector (2017–present), Université La Sagesse

Officier Dr Hassan Chalabi, Director (1996-2015), Islamic University of Lebanon

Lesotho 'Masenate Mohato Seeiso (2018), Queen consort of Lesotho (2000–present)Her Majesty receives French award

Malawi Chevalier Boston Jaston Soko, African Literature (1990), University of Malawi.

Malaysia Officier Tengku Zatashah (2024), princess of Selangor and the president of Alliance Française de Kuala Lumpur.

Mexico Efraín Huerta (1945), Mexican poet. Luz María Arteaga Machorro (2007), educator and founder of CESSA Universidad.

Monaco Commandeur