Order of Merit of the Italian Republic

The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second president of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi.Sainty, Guy Stair. World Orders of Knighthood and Merit (pp. 1233–4). Buckingham: Burke's Peerage and Gentry, 2006.

The highest-ranking honour of the Republic, it is awarded for "merit acquired by the nation" in the fields of science, literature, arts, economy, public service, and social, philanthropic and humanitarian activities and for long and conspicuous service in civilian and military careers.

The order effectively replaced national orders such as the Civil Order of Savoy (1831), the Order of the Crown of Italy (1868), the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (1572) and the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation (1362).

Grades Investiture takes place twice a year – on 2 June, the anniversary of the foundation of the Republic, and on 27 December, the anniversary of the promulgation of the Italian Constitution. However, those awards on Presidential , related to termination of service or granted to foreigners, may be made at any time.

The badge, modified in 2001, bears the inscription encircling the national coat of arms on the obverse and the Latin (for the union of the country) and (for the liberty of the citizens) encircling the head of Italia turrita on the reverse.By Decree of the President of the Republic No. 173 of 30 March 2001 The six degrees with corresponding ribbons are as follows (with numbers to 2 June 2020):

Ribbon(1951–2001) Ribbon(since 2001) Class (English) Full title in Italian Awards Knight Grand Cross with Collar 201 1st Class / Knight Grand Cross 9,178 2nd Class / Grand Officer 24,830 3rd Class / Commander 48,184 4th Class / Officer 33,442 5th Class / Knight 146,390 The order is bestowed by decree of the President of the Italian Republic, as head of the orders of knighthood, on the recommendation of the President of the Council of Ministers. Except in exceptional circumstances, no one can be awarded for the first time a rank higher than Knight. The minimum age requirement is normally 35.

The Knight Grand Cross with Collar is awarded only to heads of state.

Recipients Grand Cross with Collar Presidency of Luigi Einaudi (12 May 1948 – 11 May 1955): DateRecipient 28 December 1952 – King Paul I (1947–1964)11 March 1953 – President Getúlio Vargas (1930–1945; 1951–1954)30 May 1953 – Prince Rainier III (1949–2005)16 July 1953 – President Camille Chamoun (1952–1958)6 October 1953 Venezuela – President Marcos Pérez Jiménez (1953–1958)16 November 1953 – President Juan Domingo Perón (1946–1955; 1973–1974)31 December 1953 – President Theodor Heuss (1949–1959)13 February 1954 – President Paul Magloire (1950–1956)31 July 1954 – President Rafael Trujillo (1930–1938; 1942–1952)6 September 1954 – President Carlos Ibanez del Campo (1927–1931; 1952–1958)17 November 1954 Sovereign Order of Malta – Lieutenant Grand Master Fra' Antonio Hercolani Fava Simonetti (1951–1955)6 December 1954 – President René Coty (1954–1959)12 February 1955 – President Óscar Osorio (1950–1956)

Presidency of Giovanni Gronchi (11 May 1955 – 11 May 1962):

DateRecipient 11 May 1955 – Former President Luigi Einaudi (1948–1955)21 October 1955 – Emperor Haile Selassie (1930–1974)16 January 1956 – President Juscelino Kubitschek (1956–1961)5 June 1956 – Former President Enrico De Nicola (1946–1948)20 September 1956 – President William Tubman (1944–1971)15 November 1956 – President Manuel Prado Ugarteche (1939–1945; 1956–1962)18 January 1957 – President José Figueres Ferrer (1948–1949; 1953–1958; 1970–1974)6 March 1957 Order of Malta – Lieutenant Grand Master Fra' Ernesto Paternò Castello di Carcaci (1955–1962)11 March 1957 — President Seán T. O'Kelly (1945–1959)13 May 1957 – President Celal Bayar (1950–1960)11 June 1957 – President Ernesto de la Guardia (1956–1960)26 August 1957 – Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1941–1979)1 October 1957 – President José María Lemus (1956–1960)9 May 1958 – Queen Elizabeth II (1952–2022)16 June 1959 – President Charles De Gaulle (1959–1969)11 June 1960 – President Arturo Frondizi (1958–1962)8 September 1960 – President Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (1956–1982)22 September 1960 – King Bhumibol Adulyadej (1946–2016)29 November 1960 – President Benito Nardone (1960–1961)6 April 1961 – President Eduardo Víctor Haedo (1961–1962)

Presidency of Antonio Segni (11 May 1962 – 6 December 1964):

DateRecipient 25 May 1962 – President Habib Bourguiba (1957–1987)2 October 1962 – President Léopold Sédar Senghor (1960–1980)8 October 1962 Order of Malta – Prince and Grand Master Fra' Angelo de Mojana di Cologna (1962–1988)27 November 1962 – Crown Prince Constantine 25 September 1963 – President Kwame Nkrumah (1960–1966)2 October 1963 – President Aden Adde (1960–1967)20 April 1964 – King Frederik IX (1947–1972)18 June 1964 – President Luis Giannattasio (1964–1965)

Presidency of Giuseppe Saragat (29 December 1964 – 29 December 1971):

DateRecipient 16 June 1965 – President Fernando Belaúnde Terry (1963–1968; 1980–1985)20 June 1965 – President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz (1964–1970)21 June 1965 – King Olav V (1957–1991)2 July 1965 – President Eduardo Frei Montalva (1964–1970)8 August 1965 – President Heinrich Lübke (1959–1969)8 September 1965 Venezuela – President Raúl Leoni (1964–1969) – President Arturo Umberto Illia (1963–1966) – President Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco (1964–1967)21 October 1965 – Chairman of the Council of State Edward Ochab (1964–1968)11 June 1966 – King Baudouin (1951–1993)14 June 1966 – King Gustaf VI Adolf (1950–1973)28 November 1966 – President Julio Adalberto Rivera Carballo (1962–1967)20 March 1968 – Former Vice President General Mohamed Kaid Saif Qubaty (1963–1964)8 August 1969 – President Félix Houphouët-Boigny (1960–1993)2 October 1969 – President Josip Broz Tito (1953–1980)

Presidency of Giovanni Leone (29 December 1971 – 15 June 1978):

DateRecipient 30 December 1971 – President Franz Jonas (1965–1974)23 November 1972 – President Suharto (1968–1998)21 March 1973 – President Gustav Heinemann (1969–1974)8 May 1973 – President Mobutu Sese Seko (1965–1997)21 May 1973 – President of the State Council Nicolae Ceaușescu (1967–1989)8 June 1973 – King Faisal (1964–1975)1 October 1973 – President Georges Pompidou (1969–1974)23 October 1973 – Queen Juliana (1948–1980) – Prince Bernhard (1948–1980)26 October 1973 – Grand Duke Jean (1964–2000)21 November 1973 – President Omar Bongo (1967–2009)8 February 1974 – President Luis Echeverría (1970–1976)22 April 1974 – Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said (1970–2020)15 December 1974 – Prince Reza Pahlavi – Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi (1961–1979)6 April 1976 – President Anwar Sadat (1970–1981)17 November 1976 – President Carlos Andrés Pérez (1974–1979; 1989–1993)8 November 1977 – Queen Margrethe II (1972–2024)29 April 1978 – President Fahri Korutürk (1973–1980)

Presidency of Sandro Pertini (9 July 1978 – 29 June 1985):

DateRecipient 18 September 1979 – President Karl Carstens (1979–1984)14 May 1980 – President António Ramalho Eanes (1976–1986)26 May 1980 Spain – King Juan Carlos I (1975–2014)18 November 1980 – President Konstantinos Karamanlis (1980–1985; 1990–1995)17 December 1980 – President Cvijetin Mijatović (1980–1981)30 March 1981 – President José López Portillo (1976–1982) – President Rodrigo Carazo Odio (1978–1982)1 April 1981 – President Julio César Turbay Ayala (1978–1982)14 October 1981 – President Samora Machel (1975–1986)30 January 1982 Egypt – President Hosni Moubarak (1981–2011)9 March 1982 – Emperor Hirohito (1926–1989)5 July 1982 – President François Mitterrand (1981–1995)26 November 1983 – King Hussein (1952–1999)20 June 1984 – President Luis Alberto Monge (1982–1986)11 March 1985 – President Raúl Alfonsín (1983–1989)27 March 1985 – Queen Beatrix (1980–2013) – Prince Claus (1980–2002)

Presidency of Francesco Cossiga (3 July 1985 – 28 April 1992):

DateRecipient 24 April 1986 – President Richard von Weizsäcker (1984–1994)25 July 1986 – President Patrick John Hillery (1976–1990)5 October 1987 – President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (1980–1996)6 June 1988 Venezuela – President Jaime Lusinchi (1984–1989)16 June 1988 – President Corazon Aquino (1986–1992)5 April 1989 – President Mario Soares (1986–1996)12 May 1989 – President Wojciech Jaruzelski (1989–1990)22 May 1990 Order of Malta – Prince and Grand Master Fra' Andrew Bertie (1988–2008)11 June 1990 – Captain Regent Ottaviano Rossi (1990) – Captain Regent Aldemiro Bartolini (1990)8 April 1991 – King Carl XVI Gustav (1973–incumbent)17 April 1991 – President Patricio Aylwin (1990–1994)15 July 1991 – President Árpád Göncz (1990–2000)18 September 1991 – President Censu Tabone (1989–1994)19 December 1991 – President Boris Yeltsin (1991–1999)28 April 1992 – President Francesco Cossiga (1985–1992) self-awarded

Presidency of Oscar Luigi Scalfaro (25 May 1992 – 15 May 1999):

DateRecipient 5 October 1992 – President Carlos Menem (1989–1999)27 January 1993 – President Thomas Klestil (1992–2004)14 September 1993 – President Mauno Koivisto (1982–1994)3 May 1995 – President Leonid Kuchma (1994–2005)24 June 1995 – President Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995–2002)29 June 1995 Venezuela – President Rafael Caldera (1994–1999)19 July 1995 – President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle (1994–2000)21 July 1995 – President Julio María Sanguinetti (1985–1990; 1995–2000)16 November 1995 – President Ugo Mifsud Bonnici (1994–1999)26 March 1996 – President Ernesto Zedillo (1994–2000)23 April 1996 – President Sali Berisha (1992–1997)28 May 1996 – President Aleksander Kwaśniewski (1995–2005)7 October 1996 – President Süleyman Demirel (1993–2000)28 January 1997 – President Martti Ahtisaari (1994–2000)20 April 1997 – President Roman Herzog (1994–1999)2 May 1997 – President Islam Karimov (1991–2016)4 May 1997 – President Nursultan Nazarbayev (1990–2019)20 May 1997 – President Algirdas Brazauskas (1992–1998)21 May 1997 – President Guntis Ulmanis (1993–1999)22 May 1997 – President Lennart Meri (1992–2001)19 July 1997 – King Fahd (1982–2005)5 November 1997 – President Elias Hrawi (1989–1998)13 November 1997 – President Michal Kovac (1993–1998)3 March 1998 – Captain Regent Marino Zanotti (1998) – Captain Regent Luigi Mazza (1998)12 April 1998 – Emperor Akihito (1989–2019)12 May 1998 – King Albert II (1993–2013)19 January 1999 – President Leonel Fernández (1996–2000; 2008–2012)19 February 1999 – President Yasser Arafat (1994–2004)23 February 1999 – President Valdas Adamkus (1998–2003; 2004–2009)

Presidency of Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (18 May 1999 – 15 May 2006):