National Order of Merit (France)

National Order of Merit

Officer of the National Order of Merit (obverse)
Awarded by  France
Type Order of Merit with five degrees
Awarded for Distinguished civil and military achievements
Status Active
Statistics
Established 3 December 1963
Precedence
Next (higher) Military Medal
Next (lower) Croix de guerre
Knight of the Order
Star and riband of a Grand-Croix

The National Order of Merit (French: Ordre national du Mérite) is an Order of State with membership (about 187,000 members) awarded by the President of the French Republic. It was 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 Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honour), which is generally reserved for French citizens.[1]

Statute of the Order

French citizens as well as foreign nationals, men and women, can be received into the Order, for distinguished civil or military achievements, though of a lesser level than that required for the award of the Légion d'honneur. The President of the French Republic is the Grand Master of the Order and appoints all other members of the Order, by convention, on the advice of the Government. The Order has a common Chancellor and Chancery with the Légion d'honneur. Every Prime Minister of France is made a grand cross of the order after 24 months of service.[1]

Award criteria The Order has five classes, the same as the Légion d’honneur:[1]

Defunct ministerial orders

The Ordre National du Mérite replaced the following ministerial and colonial orders:[1]

Colonial orders
Special ministerial orders of merit

Insignia and wear

Reverse of the Knight's insignia of the Order

The medal and the plaque of the Order were designed by the French sculptor Max Leognany.[1]

Undress ribbons
Chevalier
Officier
Commandeur
Grand Officier
Grand-Croix

Notable members

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

The individuals listed below have been admitted as members of the Ordre national du Mérite:

French citizens

Foreign nationals

Commandant Jacques Cousteau, a Grand-Croix of the Ordre national du Mérite. 
Actor, director and writer Jacques Weber, a Chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite. 
US Navy Admiral Frank Bowman, an Officier of the Ordre national du Mérite 

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Battini, Jean; Zaniewicki, Witold (2003). Guide pratique des décorations françaises actuelles. Paris: LAVAUZELLE. pp. 37–48. ISBN 2-7025-1030-2. External link in |publisher= (help)

Sources

External links

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