Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung attended the ceremony to award the Legion of Honor to Professor Jean Tran Thanh Van and Professor Le Kim Ngoc.

Photo caption — Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung congratulated Professor Jean Tran Thanh Van and Professor Le Kim Ngoc at the ceremony. Photo: An Dang/VNA

The Legion of Honor, Officer Class, is a worthy honor for the two scientists ' special dedication, and at the same time demonstrates the French State's appreciation for their great contributions to the development of science, connecting the international research community, as well as promoting scientific cooperation and France-Vietnam friendship.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung presented flowers to congratulate Professor Jean Tran Thanh Van and his wife Le Kim Ngoc.

Ambassador Olivier Brochet, on behalf of the French State, presented the Legion of Honor, Officer (Officier) to Professor Tran Thanh Van - President of the Rencontres du Vietnam, Director of the International Center for Interdisciplinary Science and Education (ICISE), and Professor Le Kim Ngoc - President of the Association for the Support of Vietnamese Children in France (Aide à l'Enfance du Vietnam).

Previously, on July 11, 2025, on the occasion of the French National Day (July 14, 2025), President Emmanuel Macron signed a decree to promote the two Professors to the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honor. This is the only couple to be promoted on this occasion, at the age of 91, a special testament to their great and lasting contributions to science, education and social work.

On July 18, 2025, on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang sent a letter of congratulations to Professors Tran Thanh Van and Le Kim Ngoc.

Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang said that the promotion of this noble Medal is not only a worthy recognition for the two Professors' tireless dedication to science and the younger generation, but also a source of pride for the overseas Vietnamese community and the homeland of Vietnam.

Both Professors were awarded the Chevalier Order of the Legion of Honor by the French State: Professor Tran Thanh Van received it on February 23, 2000 and Professor Le Kim Ngoc on September 6, 2016 in Ho Chi Minh City, directly presented by French President François Hollande during his State visit to Vietnam.

The names of the two Professors are associated with four outstanding activities: The international conference series “Meeting Vietnam” (initiated in 1993), the ICISE Center in Quy Nhon (inaugurated in 2013), the Vallet Scholarship and SOS Children's Villages Vietnam - initiatives combining science, education and humanitarianism, aiming at sustainable development for the young generation.

In particular, the international conference series “Meeting Vietnam” over the past 30 years has gathered many of the world’s leading scientists in the fields of basic science: particle physics, astrophysics, cosmology, mathematics, chemistry, biology and a number of interdisciplinary sciences such as biophysics, materials informatics, biomechanics. The ICISE Center was built and put into operation in 2013 - today it has become an international scientific meeting place in Vietnam and the region, welcoming tens of thousands of scientists from 60 countries and territories, including 19 Nobel Prize-winning professors and many world-famous scientists in many fields.

Along with science, the two Professors also devoted their hearts to humanitarian work. In 1970, the two Professors founded the Vietnam Children's Support Association in France, collecting funds from Christmas cards sold in the freezing winter of Paris to later contribute to the construction of 3 SOS Children's Villages for orphans in Vietnam: SOS Children's Village Da Lat in 1974, SOS Children's Village Hue (formerly Thuy Xuan Children's Support Center) in 2000 and SOS Children's Village Dong Hoi in 2006.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/pho-thu-tuong-nguyen-chi-dung-du-le-trao-huan-chuong-bac-dau-boi-tinh-cho-gs-jean-tran-thanh-van-va-gs-le-kim-ngoc-20251003211803636.htm