On the National Independence Day, at a ceremony in Warsaw, Prof. Norman Davies received the highest state decoration –  the Order of the White Eagle.

The award was granted by the President of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski, in recognition of the Professor's great services rendered to Poland, especially in the field of disseminating knowledge about Poland and its culture, building up the positive image of Poland in Europe and across the world and supporting the devopment of democracy in Poland.

Norman Davies was born in 1939 in Bolton, northern England. He was educated at Bolton School, Magdalen College, Oxford, the University of Sussex and at several continental universities including Grenoble, Perugia and Kraków. His PhD thesis, prepared at the Jagiellonian University, was devoted to Polish-Soviet war and it gave rise to the White Eagle, Red Star: the Polish-Soviet War, London 1972. Norman Davies' fascination with Poland also resulted in other books, such as: God's Playground, Heart of Europe, Microcosm and  Rising '44.