Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The French Order of Arts and Letters and Portuguese Order of Merit bestowed upon Professor G. Wedell

France, Fifth Republic, Order of Arts and Letters, Chevalier’s breast badge, silver and enamel, unmarked; Portugal, Republic, Order of Merit, Commander’s neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel, unmarked, with neck riband; together with three Presentation Medallions, one engraved ‘Mr. George Wedell, 21.10.1994’, minor enamel damage to both orders, otherwise good very fine (5) £100-£140

George Wedell was born in Düsseldorf on 4 April 1927; although his family had converted to Protestantism in 1914, the fact that his grandfather had been Chief Rabbi of Hanover meant that his family were viewed with suspicion by the Nazi authorities. In 1938 he moved with his mother and brothers to England, and was educated at the London School of Economics.

In 1950 he joined the Department of Education, and in 1958 he was appointed Secretary of the newly created Independent Television Authority. After a period working at the European Commission, he founded the European Institute for Media (E.I.M.) in 1982. Consistent with his ideals, the E.I.M. was not merely a centre of academic research but a driver for the positive role of media in social change, particularly the democratisation of former communist countries in which Wedell was significantly involved.

For his services in the fields of Education and the Media, Wedell was a elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and was created a Chevalier of the French Order of Arts and Letters, and a Commander of the Portuguese Order of Merit. He died on 23 February 2020, after a ‘lifelong commitment to communication, education, development, and international co-operation that has helped to fashion a world where the horrors of his childhood hopefully are less likely to recur.’