The Republic of France on Thursday officially held a ceremony at the Consulate General of France in Ho Chi Minh City to grant the Knight medal of the Legion of Honor (Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur) to Dr. Bui Tran Phuong – the principal of the HCMC-based Hoa Sen University.

The prestigious medal was granted to Dr. Phuong by Mr. Emmanuel Ly-Batallan, Consul General of France, who represents the French government in the southern economic hub.

Dr. Phuong was one of the main backers behind the establishment of Hoa Sen University back in 1991 with the founding of the Hoa Sen School of Information Technology and Management with support from HCMC government and the chamber of commerce and industry Versailles, among other partners.

She became the principal of Hoa Sen College in 1999 after the school was upgraded into a college, and the principal of Hoa Sen University in the 2006-2007 school year, a position she has held to this day.

Ms. Phuong began her teaching career at Marie Curie High School and then the HCMC University of Pedagogy.

As Ms. Phuong is interested in education reform, she has been involved in many forums and organized exchange programs, as well as talks between students and artists and intellectuals at Hoa Sen University, said Consul General Ly-Batallan.

At the end of last August, Mr. Jean-Noel Poirier, Ambassador of the Republic of France in Vietnam, sent a letter to inform and congratulate her after the President of the French Republic signed a decree awarding the Knight medal of the Legion of Honor to her.

This ordinance was signed on July 1 to honor the Ms. Phuong’s contributions to promoting cooperation between France and Vietnam in the field of culture - education, and her active role in boosting cooperation between French and Vietnamese universities.

The Knight medal of the Legion of Honor of France, initiated by Napoleon Bonaparte on May 19, 1802, honors individuals who have made a special contribution to the development of the French Republic, as well as for the friendship between other countries and France.

The title has five main levels, including the 5th grade Knight ranking - Chevalier de la Legion d'level honneur - the highest grade.

On March 30, 2012, Dr. Phuong also received the Knight medal of the National Order of Merit after the President of the French Republic signed a decree granting it to her for her contribution to the development of the French language and culture.

Dr. Phuong graduated from Sorbonne University in France with a bachelor’s degree in history and a PhD degree in history from Lyon II University, also in France.

She is the sixth Vietnamese woman to be awarded this prestigious medal, after Ton Nu Thi Ninh (1997, 2013); Tran To Nga - former principal of Marie Curie high school (2004); Dr. Nguyen Thi Kim Tien - the Minister of Health (2009); Nguyen Thi Xuan Phuong – a former war correspondent (2011); and associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Hoi, former deputy Director of the Institute Pasteur HCMC (March-2014).

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