Meritorious Service Cross
- Awarded on: July 18, 1995
- Invested on: July 25, 1995
Rank: Lieutenant-General
Lieutenant-General Guillaume de Sauville de LaPresle, Inspector General of the French Army, was the commanding general of the United Nations Force in the former Yugoslavia from March 1994 to February 1995. He was a key figure in all the major negotiations, decisions and actions involving the Force, the governments of the belligerent parties, the United Nations Organization and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. On two occasions in 1994, through his personal intervention, he played a vital role in securing the release of numerous soldiers of the Canadian 2nd Battalion who had been taken hostage by the Bosnian Serb Army at Ilijas. His professionalism and the encouragement he gave the members of the Canadian Forces under his command spurred them on in achieving their mission.
