Former army chief General J J Singh (retd) was on Monday conferred with the highest French civilian distinction, Officer of the Legion of Honour.

Singh was chosen for the honour in recognition of his 'stellar role' in modernising the Indian Army and initiating robust exchanges between the Indian and French armies leading to 'unprecedented' levels of cooperation and inter-operability and creation of enduring ties and promotion of mutual understanding between the two countries, the French Embassy said.

'Officier de l'Ordre national de la Legion d'Honneur' is the highest civilian award given by the French Republic for outstanding service to France, regardless of the nationality of the recipients.

Singh was conferred the honour by French Ambassador to India Francois Richier. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy and holder of a master's degree in Defence Science, Singh was commissioned into the 9th Maratha Light Infantry on August 2, 1964.

In January, 2003, he was appointed as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Army Training Command and took over as Army Commander - Western Command in January, 2004.

On January 31, 2005, Singh assumed the office of Chief of Army Staff.