The (; ) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ministerial orders previously awarded by the ministries; and to create an award that can be awarded at a lower level than the Legion of Honour, which is generally reserved for French citizens. It comprises about 185,000 members; 306,000 members have been admitted or promoted in 50 years.

History The comprises about 185,000 members; 306,000 members have been admitted or promoted in 50 years. Half of its recipients are required to be women.

Defunct ministerial orders The replaced the following ministerial and colonial orders:

Colonial orders (Order of the Star of Anjouan, 1874) (Order of Nishan-e-Anuar or Order of Light, 1887) (Order of the Black Star, 1889)

Special ministerial orders of merit

(Order of Societal Merit, 1936) (Order of Public Health, 1938) (Order of Commercial and Industrial Merit, 1939) (Order of Artisanal Merit, 1948) (Order of Tourism Merit, 1949) (Order of Combatant Merit, 1953) (Order of Postal Merit, 1953) (Order of the National Economy, 1954) (Order of Sports Merit, 1956) (Order of Work Merit, 1957) (Order of Military Merit, 1957) (Order of Civil Merit, 1957) (Order of Saharan Merit, 1958)

Organisation Statutes French citizens as well as foreign nationals, men and women, can be received into the order for distinguished military or civil achievements, though of a lesser level than that required for the award of the Legion of Honour. The President of the French Republic is the Grand Master of the order and appoints all its members by convention on the advice of the Government of France. The order has a common Chancellor and Chancery with the Legion of Honour. Every Prime Minister of France is made a Grand Cross of the order after 6 months of service. Jacques Chirac, who would later serve as president, was the first prime minister to receive the Grand Cross of the order ex officio.

Classes The Order has five classes, the same as the Legion of Honour: Three ranks: Commander (): minimum of 5 years in the rank of Officer (for active duty commissioned officers, this is achieved after five years in the rank of Officer) Officer (): minimum of 5 years in the rank of Knight (for active duty commissioned officers, this is achieved after seven years in the rank of Knight) Knight (): to be of a minimum age of 35, have a minimum of 10 years of public service (although, in practice, 15 years is the minimum commonly needed to be conferred the rank of Knight), and "distinguished merits" (for active duty commissioned officers, this is achieved after fifteen years of meritorious service) Two additional dignities: Grand Cross (): minimum 3 years in the rank of Grand Officer Grand Officer (): minimum 3 years in the rank of Commander

Insignia Knight – wears the Medal on the left chest (bow form for women in dress) Officer – wears the Medal with rosette on the left chest (bow form for women in dress) Commander – wears the necklet on the neck for men and women (left shoulder in bow form for women in dress) Grand Officer – wears the Medal with rosette on the left chest, plus the Star on the right side of the stomach; Grand Cross – wears the Sash on the right shoulder to the left hip and the Star on the left side of the stomach.

The medal and the plaque of the Order were designed by the French sculptor Max Leognany. The medal of the order is a six-armed Maltese asterisk in gilt (silver for chevalier) enamelled blue, with laurel leaves between the arms. The obverse central disc features the head of Marianne, surrounded by the legend ('French Republic'). The reverse central disc has a set of crossed tricolores, surrounded by the name of the order and its foundation date. The badge is suspended by a laurel wreath. The star (plaque) is worn by (in gilt on the left breast) and (in silver on the right breast) respectively; it is a twelve-armed sunburst, with rays (formerly plain, now in blue enamel) between the arms. The central disc features the head of Marianne, surrounded by the legend and the name of the Order, and in turn surrounded by a wreath of laurel. The ribbon for the medal is a solid blue field. For the grade of and above, a rosette is centered in the field. For the grades of , , and , the rosette is centered bar of silver; silver and gold, and a solid gold respectively.

RibbonsKnightOfficerCommanderGrand OfficerGrand Cross

Buttonhole KnightOfficerCommanderGrand OfficerGrand Cross

Notable recipients

The individuals listed below have been admitted as members of the National Order of Merit:

French citizens

Charles Aznavour, actor, composer, songwriter and singer Marcel Barrére, rocket scientist Sophie Béjean, University president Jean-Paul Belmondo, actor Marie-Paule Belle, singer Arnaud Beltrame, gendarme officer Juliette Benzoni, novelist Claude Bessy, dancer Françoise Cachin, art historian and curator Droupgyu Wangmo, Buddhist nun and writer Marie-Lise Chanin, physicist Jacques Charpentier, composer René Clair, writer and filmmaker Yves Coppens, anthropologist Jacques Cousteau, oceanographer Jean Delay, psychiatrist and author Alain Delon, actor Gérard Depardieu, actor and filmmaker Georges Descrières, actor Catherine Destivelle, rock climber and mountaineer Christian Dumas, biologist Laurent Fabius, former Prime Minister of France, politician Isabelle Dhordain, journalist and music critic Erol Gelenbe, rank of Commander, computer scientist and professor President Charles de Gaulle, statesman Jacques Gounon, CEO of Groupe Eurotunnel Christine Guillemot, computer scientist Philippe Gurdjian, racing driver and motorsport promoter Aline Heitaa-Archier, educator and Marquesan language advocate Isabelle Huppert, actress Catherine Jeandel, scientist Jean-Baptiste Kempf, software developer/entrepreneur (chevalier) Patrick Kron, corporate executive General André Lalande, military officer Robert Lecou, politician Héloïse Adélaïde Letissier, singer and musicianDécret du 24 novembre 2021 portant promotion et nomination dans l'ordre national du Mérite (in French) Retrieved 14 March 2023 Thierry Lhermitte, actor and comedian Sarah Maldoror, filmmaker and activist Marcel Marceau, actor and mime Frédéric Mazzella, entrepreneur President François Mitterrand, statesman Cécile Pelous, philanthropist Cathérine Picart, biophysicist and bioengineer Francis Pollet, general officer Madeleine Riffaud, poet and war correspondent Teddy Riner, World and Olympic champion judoka Jean-Pierre Rives, sculptor Jean-Marc de La Sablière, diplomat José-Alain Sahel, ophthalmologist and scientist Alice Saunier-Seité, geographer, politician Sylvie Tellier, television personality, businesswoman, and beauty pageant titleholder Sylvie Vartan, singer Dominique Meyer, médical researcher Cédric Villani, mathematician Emmanuelle Wargon, politician Claire Wyart, neuroscientist (chevalier) Michèle Bellon, former President of the Directorate ERDF (chevalier) Sabine Aubert, conductor Marième Badiane, olympic silver medalist basketball player Mathias Lessort, olympic silver medalist basketball player Victor Wembanyama, olympic silver medalist basketball player Jean-Philippe Mateta, olympic silver medalist football player Sophie Lavaud, mountaineer Henriette Gascuel, pediatrician

Foreign nationals

See also List of Foreign recipients of the Ordre national du Mérite Order (decoration) Ribbons of the French military and civil awards State decoration

References Citations

Sources

External links

France Phaléristique