The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only
federal decoration of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellectual or honorary fields. It was created by the first
President of the Federal Republic of Germany
The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...
,
Theodor Heuss
Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a German liberal politician who served as the first president of West Germany from 1949 to 1959. His cordial nature – something of a contrast to the stern character of chancellor K ...
, on 7 September 1951. Colloquially, the decorations of the different classes of the Order are also known as the Federal Cross of Merit ().
It has been awarded to over 200,000 individuals in total, both Germans and foreigners. Since the 1990s, the number of annual awards has declined from over 4,000, first to around 2,300–2,500 per year, and now under 2,000, with a low of 1752 in 2011. Since 2013, women have made up a steady 30–35% of recipients.
Most of the
German federal states (''Länder'') have each their own
order of merit as well, with the exception of the
Free and
Hanseatic
The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=German language, Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Norther ...
Cities of
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
and
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
, which reject any orders (by old tradition their citizens, particularly former or present senators, will refuse any decoration in the form of an order, the most famous example being former
Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
Helmut Schmidt
Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; 23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982.
Before becoming Cha ...
).
History
The order was established on 7 September 1951 by the decree of Federal President
Theodor Heuss
Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a German liberal politician who served as the first president of West Germany from 1949 to 1959. His cordial nature – something of a contrast to the stern character of chancellor K ...
. Signed by Heuss, German
Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a Germany, German statesman who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the fir ...
, and
Minister of the Interior
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
Robert Lehr
Robert Lehr (20 August 1883 – 13 October 1956) was a German politician (DNVP, CDU). He served as Federal Minister of the Interior from 1950 to 1953 under chancellor Konrad Adenauer.
Early life
Robert Lehr was born on 20 August 1883 in Celle ...
, the decree states:
In 2022 Federal President
Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Frank-Walter Steinmeier (; born 5 January 1956) is a German politician serving as President of Germany since 19 March 2017. He was previously Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2017, as well as Vice Chan ...
introduced a gender quota which demands a minimum of 40% of nominees to the order to be women.
Classes
The Order comprises four groups with eight regular classes and one special (medal) class (hereafter enumerated in English):
* Grand Cross (german: Großkreuz)
** Grand Cross special class (); the highest class of the Order reserved for heads of state.
** Grand Cross 1st class, special issue (); equivalent to Grand Cross 1st class, but with laurel wreath design (awarded only twice in history, to
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a Germany, German statesman who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the fir ...
and
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longes ...
)
** Grand Cross 1st class (); Grand Cross
* Great Cross of Merit ()
** Grand Cross (); Great Cross with Star and Sash
** Knight Commander's Cross (); Great Cross with Star
** Commander's Cross (); Great Cross of Merit
* Cross of Merit ()
** Officer's Cross (); Cross of Merit 1st Class
** Cross (); Member
* Medal of Merit ()
** Medal ()
The President of the Federal Republic holds the ''Grand Cross special class''
ex officio
An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...
. It is awarded to him in a ceremony by the
President of the Bundestag
The president of the Bundestag (german: Präsident des Deutschen Bundestages or ) presides over the sessions of the Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany, with functions similar to that of a speaker in other countries. In the German orde ...
, attended by the
Chancellor of Germany
The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the Ge ...
, the
President of the Bundesrat
In Germany, the President of the Bundesrat or President of the Federal Council (German: ''Bundesratspräsident'') is the chairperson (speaker) of the Bundesrat (Federal Council). The president is elected by the Bundesrat for a term of one year ...
, and the
Supreme Court President. Other than the German president, only a foreign
head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
and their spouse can be awarded with this highest class. There is also the provision of awarding the ''Grand Cross 1st class'' in a "special issue" with laurel wreath design (), in which the central medallion with the black eagle is surrounded by a stylized
laurel wreath
A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a s ...
in relief. This ''Grand Cross 1st class, special issue'' has been awarded so far only twice, to former German chancellors
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a Germany, German statesman who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the fir ...
and
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longes ...
.
Insignia
![Comparison of Bundesverdienstkreuz stars](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Comparison_of_Bundesverdienstkreuz_stars.png)
Except for the lowest class, the medal, the badge is the same for all classes, but with slightly different versions for men and women (slightly smaller badge and ribbon for women):
The badge for the Member and Officer classes however are only enamelled on one side, and flat on the reverse. The ''badge'' of the Order is made up of a golden four-armed
cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...
enamelled in red, with a central gold disc bearing a black enamelled German federal eagle (
Bundesadler).
The ''star'' is a golden star with straight rays, its size and points vary according to class, with the badge superimposed upon it. An interesting fact about the stars, of which no less than four grades use one, is that they all have the same basic shape as various other breast stars from German history.
* 8-pointed golden Star: Grand Cross special class - the same shape as the Prussian Order of the Black Eagle
* 6-pointed golden Star: Grand Cross 1st class (and ''special issue'' design if golden oak crown between the cross branches around the medallion) - the same shape as the Third Reich Order of the German Eagle
* 4-pointed golden Star: Grand Cross (Grand Cross of Merit with Star and Sash) - the same shape as the Third Reich Social Welfare Decoration
* silver Square-upon-point: Knight Commander (Grand Officer) - the same shape as the Grand Cross of the Pour le Mérite
The reasoning behind this is not clear. It is not known if this is deliberate or coincidence, as the tools used to make the stars were in short supply after the war, and using stamping dies that were readily available and could be reused or acquired from other manufacturers would have been a good way of cutting costs and simplifying production in a Germany only just starting to experience the ''
Wirtschaftswunder
The ''Wirtschaftswunder'' (, "economic miracle"), also known as the Miracle on the Rhine, was the rapid reconstruction and development of the economies of West Germany and Austria after World War II (adopting an ordoliberalism-based social marke ...
''. It is of course possible that this could have been deliberate, and a way to celebrate German history in the design of the new honour for the Federal Republic. This is unlikely however as two stars represent decorations awarded during the
Third Reich
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, and the other two are of Prussian origin. Prussia itself had only been recently
abolished and the legacy of so called "
Prussian militarism
Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...
" was not something openly celebrated in the new
Federal Republic of Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...
.
The ''
riband
A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mater ...
'' of the Order is made up of the colours of the German flag. The pattern is a large central band of red, edged on both sides in a smaller band of gold-black-gold.
[Hieronymussen, P. O., ''Orders and Decorations of Europe in Color'' (]London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
: Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...
, 1967).
Gallery
File:German order merit with special sash.jpg,
File:German Order of Merit Grand Cross First Class.jpg,
File:Bundesverdienstkreuz mit Schulterband.jpg,
File:Bundesverdienstkreuz Stern.jpg,
File:Saksan liittotasavallan ansioristikunnan suurristin rintataähti.png,
File:Gr Verdienstkreuz BVK.jpg,
File:Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.jpg,
File:OĞUZ MADALYA 003.jpg,
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 199-1992-089-29, Britische Königin Elisabeth II. in Brühl.jpg,
File:Bundesadler on the inner lid of the German Order of Merit.png, The gold foil German Bundesadler found on the inner lid of the Order
File:Bundesverdienstkreuz Grand Cross with Star and Sash.png, Grand Cross with Star and Sash
File:Bundesverdienstkreuz Grand Cross badge.png, Grand Cross with badge
File:Bundesverdienstkreuz Grand Cross with Star and Sash in case.png, Grand Cross with Star and Sash in case
File:Bundesverdienstkreuz Grand Cross with Star and Sash set.png, Grand Cross with Star and Sash set
File:Bundesverdienstkreuz Grand Cross Star.png, Grand Cross Star
File:Bundesverdienstkreuz Commander Class.png, Commanders Cross set
File:Bundesverdienstkreuz Commander.png, Commanders Class in case
File:Commander Class set of the German Bundesverdienstkreuz.png, Commanders Class
Recipients
See also
*
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...
*
Order of Karl Marx
The Order of Karl Marx () was the most important order in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The award of the order also included a prize of 20,000 East German marks.
The order was founded on May 5, 1953 on the occasion of Karl Marx's 135th ...
*
Pour le Mérite
The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by Frederick the Great, King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Or ...
*
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II.
The Knight' ...
*
Awards and decorations of the German Armed Forces
The Awards and decorations of the German Armed Forces are decorations awarded by the German Bundeswehr, the German government, and other organizations to the German military and allied forces. Modern era German military awards have been presented s ...
References
External links
*
Classes of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany with their official French, English, Spanish and Russian translationsOrder of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany brochure
{{DEFAULTSORT:Order Of Merit Of The Federal Republic Of Germany
1951 establishments in West Germany
Awards established in 1951
Civil awards and decorations of Germany
Orders, decorations, and medals of Germany
Merit Of The Federal Republic Of Germany, Order of
Orders of merit