Nguyen Thi That Peel was born in 1940 in the southern province of Ben Tre and resettled in France in 1959. In the 1980s, she brought many teams of French doctors to Vietnam for humanitarian activities and collected medicines and medical equipment to send to her homeland, particularly Ben Tre.

During her time working as a representative of the EU in Vietnam, Mrs That Peel greatly helped to promote relations between Vietnam and France as well as the EU.

As a Chairwoman of the France-Vietnam Cultural Association, Mrs That Peel is continuing with her efforts to boost cultural cooperation between the two countries.

The National Order of the Legion of Honour, initiated by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, is the highest award the French State can given to those who have made a special contribution to the country.

Currently, only 100,000 out of 65 million French people have been honoured with the distinctive award.