Legion of Honor 2009 – Grand Cross of the Order of Merit Pro Merito Melitensi of the sovereign Order of Malta 2010 – Orden wider den tierischen Ernst (Order against dead seriousness) 2010 – Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau 2015 – Commander Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Honorary degrees 2007 – Honorary doctorate from Waseda University 2008 – Honorary Professor of Ben Gurion University 2014 – Honorary Professorship of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn References Ministers-President of North Rhine-Westphalia Members of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia Members of the Bundestag for North Rhine-Westphalia Members of the Bundestag 1998–2002 Members of the Bundestag 1994–1998 Education ministers of Germany German Roman Catholics Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians University of Cologne alumni Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Politicians from Cologne 1951 births Living people