Order of the White Eagle (Serbia)
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King Milan I of Serbia instituted the Order of the White Eagle on 23 January 1883, concurrently with the Order of St. Sava. Serbia was proclaimed a Kingdom on 22 February (Old Style, in Gregorian calendar 5 March) 1882.
| Order of the White Eagle | |
|---|---|
  Order of the White Eagle, War Merit |
|
| Awarded by Serbia/Kingdom of Yugoslavia | |
| Type | Medal |
| Eligibility | unknown |
| Awarded for | unknown |
| Status | discontinued |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 1883 |
| First awarded | 1883 |
| Last awarded | 1945 |
| Total awarded | unknown |
The white eagle with wings displayed was reestablished as the State Arms of Serbia, symbol descended from the Emperors of Byzantium.
After his accession to the Throne in 1903, King Peter I of Serbia continued awarding the Order of the White Eagle, but the reverse of the medallion had the year of the proclamation of the Kingdom (1882) instead of the cipher of Milan I.
The order had a War Merit Division, with crossed swords between the Royal Crown and eagle's heads, that was introduced in 1915, and conferred for conspicuous bravery of the officers in the field.
The Order was organized in five classes, and was awarded to Serbian citizens and foreign nationals, for peace or wartime merit or services rendered to the Crown or State. Between 1883 and 1898 this was the senior Order of Serbia; in 1898 the Royal Order of Milos the Great got precedence over it, and in 1904 the Order of the Star of Karageorge became the senior award.
The Order is conferred by the Crown. Recent awards include last Grand Master of the Sovereign Order of St. John (Fr. Angelo de Moiana da Cologna), as well as posthumous conferment upon three Crown Council Members.
The order was disestablished in 1945, with the end of the monarchy but the status of a decoration continued in SFRY[1] for the War Merit Division of this decoration.
[edit] References
- ^ Zakon o osnovnim pravima lica odlikovanih Ordenom Karađorđeve zvezde s mačevima, Ordenom Belog orla s mačevima i Zlatnom medaljom Obilića ("Službeni list SFRJ", br. 67/72, 22/73, 33/76, 39/77 (Prečišćeni tekst), 53/82, 75/85, 87/89).
