Ghosn awarded a British Knighthood

Ghosn honorary knighthood was held at the British Embassy in Japan. The investiture was conducted by Britain's Ambassador in Japan in the presence of more than 100 distinguished guests.

The Knight Commander Award is one of the highest honors bestowed by Queen Elizabeth to foreign nationals. Mr. Ghosn is the second person at Nissan to receive an honorary Knighthood after being given to Takashi Ishihara who was chairman of Nissan when received the award in 1999.

"Mr. Ghosn has achieved a lot in the automotive industry since he took over at Nissan in 1999 and the recognition he has been receiving world-wide, from Tokyo to New York to the Middle East and now London is overwhelming" said Toru Hasegawa, managing director at Nissan Middle East. "Mr. Ghosn has turned Nissan into the most profitable automotive company in the world and one of the key companies supporting the growth of the automotive markets in several countries." added Hasegawa.

Nissan has invested $4.5 billion since 1984 to build the biggest car factory in Britain. The factory, in Sunderland, England, builds 60 percent of the Nissan vehicles sold in Europe and accounts for 20 percent of total British car production.

Ghosn commented on the honoring as being an acknowledgment for Nissan's 5600 employees in the UK.