Order of Liberty

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The Order of Liberty, or Freedom, (Portuguese: Ordem da Liberdade) is a Portuguese honorific civil order that distinguishes relevant services to the cause of democracy and freedom, in the defense of the values of civilization and human dignification. The order was created in 1976 after the Carnation Revolution of 1974 that deposed the quasi-fascist authoritarian Estado Novo regime of António de Oliveira Salazar and Marcello Caetano.

The order includes five classes; in decreasing order of seniority, these are:

Grand Collar (Grande Colar - GColL)
Grand Cross (Grã-Cruz - GCL)
Grand Officer (Grande-Oficial - GOL)
Commander (Comendador - ComL)
Officer (Oficial - OL)
Knight / Dame (Cavaleiro / Dama - CavL / DamL)

Like the other Portuguese orders, the title of Honorary Member (Membro Honorário - MHL) can be awarded to institutions and locals.

[edit] List of the Grand Collar of Freedom

François Mitterrand, former President of the French Republic (1987-10-28).
Juan Carlos I, King of Spain (1988-10-13).
Václav Havel, former President of the Czech Republic (1991-02-20).
António Mascarenhas Monteiro, former President of the Republic of Cape Verde (1992-04-15).
Miguel Trovoada, former Presidente of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe (1992-12-23).
Patricio Aylwin, former President of the Republic of Chile (1993-04-27).
Lech Wałęsa, former President of the Republic of Poland (1993-08-18).
Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former President of the Republic of Brazil (1996-03-08).
Mário Soares, former Prime Minister and former President of the Portuguese Republic (1996-08-29).
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of the Republic of Brazil (2003-10-17).
Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations (2005-10-11).