 The order "Des Arts et des Lettres" - Knight classSabine Kirchmeier is currently president of the European Federation of National Language Institutions.
At a ceremony at the French Embassy in Copenhagen, Ambassador Christophe Parisot presented Kirchmeier with the Knight's Decoration of the Order of Arts et Lettres. She received the order in recognition of
her outstanding commitment to promoting multilingualism and language policy in Europe.
Kirchmeier became a Knight of the Order of Dannebrog on 8 May 2013.
The Order of Arts et Lettres was established by decree of 2 May 1957 and, like other ministerial French orders, is divided into three classes: commander, officer, knight. It falls under the Ministry of Culture.
The order is awarded for merits in the field of arts and culture. It survived President de Gaulle's reform of the order system in 1963, when a number of ministerial orders and colonial orders were merged into the
new national Order of Merit.
Among the Danish recipients in recent years we find the actor Mads Mikkelsen and the film director Thomas Vinterberg.
The old royal French Order of Saint Michael (1469-1830) can be seen as a predecessor to the Arts et Lettres, as this order was mainly awarded to artists, authors and architects in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Read more about the award at the French Embassy's facebook page.
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