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Ordre national du Mérite

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The Ordre national du Mérite (French: [ɔʁdʁ nɑsjɔnal dy meʁit]; English: National Order of Merit) 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.[3] It comprises about 185,000 members; 306,000 members have been admitted or promoted in 50 years.[4]

Ordre national du Mérite
Sash, badge and star of a Grand Cross
Awarded by the President of France
TypeOrder of merit
Established3 December 1963
RibbonBlue
Awarded forDistinguished civil or military achievements
StatusActive [1]
Grand MasterPresident Emmanuel Macron
GradesGrand Cross
Grand Officer
Commander
Officer
Knight
Statistics
First induction1963
Precedence
Next (higher)Military Medal[2]
Next (lower)National Recognition Medal for Victims of Terrorism[2]
RelatedOrder of Agricultural Merit
Order of Maritime Merit

Grand-croix


Grand-officier

Commandeur


Officier

Chevalier
Ribbon bars of the order

History

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The Ordre national du Mérite comprises about 185,000 members; 306,000 members have been admitted or promoted in 50 years.[4] Half of its recipients are required to be women.[4]

Defunct ministerial orders

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The Ordre national du Mérite replaced the following ministerial and colonial orders:[3]

Colonial orders

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Special ministerial orders of merit

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Organisation

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Statutes

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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.[5] Jacques Chirac, who would later serve as president, was the first prime minister to receive the Grand Cross of the order ex officio.

Classes

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The Order has five classes, the same as the Legion of Honour:[3]

  • Three ranks:
    • Commander (Commandeur): minimum of 5 years in the rank of Office (for active duty commissioned officers, this is achieved after five years in the rank of Officer)
    • Officer (Officier): 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 (Chevalier): 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 (Grand-Croix): minimum 3 years in the rank of Grand Officer
    • Grand Officer (Grand Officier): minimum 3 years in the rank of Commander

Insignia

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  • 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.
 
 
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.[3]

  • 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 République française ('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 Grand-Croix (in gilt on the left breast) and Grand Officier (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 République française 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 Officier and above, a rosette is centered in the field. For the grades of Commandeur, Grand Officier, and Grand-Croix, the rosette is centered bar of silver; silver and gold, and a solid gold respectively.
Ordre national du Mérite Ribbons
 
Knight 		 
Officer 		 
Commander 		 
Grand Officer 		 
Grand Cross

Buttonhole

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Knight Officer Commander Grand Officer Grand Cross
         

Notable recipients

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Main category: Recipients of the Ordre national du Mérite
  •  
    Commandant Jacques Cousteau, a Grand-Croix of the Ordre national du Mérite.
  •  
    German Generalleutnant Franz Pöschl, a Commandeur of the Ordre national du Mérite.
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    US Navy Admiral Frank Bowman, an Officier of the Ordre national du Mérite
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    Actor, director and writer Jacques Weber, a Chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite.

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

French citizens

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Foreign nationals

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See also: List of foreign recipients of the National Order of Merit

See also

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ "Animation evangelist Biren Ghose awarded French National Order of Merit, knighthood by President of France". ANI News.
  2. ^ a b "National orders and decorations France's national decorations: The national system". Grand Chancery of the Legion of Honor. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Battini, Jean; Zaniewicki, Witold (2003). Guide pratique des décorations françaises actuelles. Paris: LAVAUZELLE. pp. 37–48. ISBN 2-7025-1030-2.
  4. ^ a b c "The National Order of Merit | La grande chancellerie". Legiondhonneur.fr. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
  5. ^ "Décret n°74-1119 du 24 décembre 1974 MODIFIANT LE DECRET 631196 DU 03-12-1963 PORTANT CREATION D'UN ORDRE NATIONAL DU MERITE – Légifrance". www.legifrance.gouv.fr.
  6. ^ "Commandeur de l'ordre national du Mérite" (in French). Linternaute.com. October 2018. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
  7. ^ "Education : Sophie Béjean,"La mixité est favorable pour des questions d'équité, mais aussi parce qu'elle est enrichissante" - Hérault Tribune". www.herault-tribune.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-04-06.
  8. ^ a b c d "Décret du 13 novembre 2009 portant élévation aux dignités de grand'croix et de grand officier". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French).
  9. ^ "Philippe Gurdjian, 1945 – 2014". The Official F1 Website. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  10. ^ "Aline Heitaa-Archier distinguée de l'ordre national du mérite" (in French). Polynesie 1. 11 September 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  11. ^ "Congratulations to Catherine Jeandel! – GEOTRACES". June 29, 2015. Retrieved 2021-09-11.
  12. ^ "943 personnes dans la nouvelle promotion civile de l'ordre national du Mérite" [943 people in the new civil promotion of the National Order of Merit] (PDF). La grande chancellerie (in French). Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  13. ^ Décret du 24 novembre 2021 portant promotion et nomination dans l'ordre national du Mérite (in French) Retrieved 14 March 2023
  14. ^ "Ce que la Légion d'honneur signifie pour les licornes". BFM BUSINESS.
  15. ^ "Sylvie Tellier décorée de l'Ordre National du Mérite par Marlène Schiappa". BFM TV (in French). 27 June 2023.
  16. ^ "Légifrance".
  17. ^ "Chief Joseph Pfeifer awarded with the National Order of Merit by France on September 12th, 2021". Consulate General of France in New York. 2021-09-12. Archived from the original on 2022-01-27. Retrieved 2022-01-27.

Sources

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