The National Order of Merit ( pt, Ordem Nacional do Mérito) is a decoration created to reward Brazilian citizens over 25 years of age who have rendered services relevant to the Brazilian nation, and foreigners who, according to the government, are worthy of this distinction.

History

The order was created during the government of President Eurico Gaspar Dutra through Decree-Law Number 9.732 of 4 September, 1946, whose regulations were approved by Decree Number 21.854 of 26 September, 1946, and later consolidated by Decree Number 203 of 30 August, 1991. The

President of Brazil The president of Brazil ( pt, Presidente do Brasil), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil) or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head o ...

is its grand master, and the necklace is always transferred to their successor. The Council of the Order is based in the

Planalto Palace Planalto (Portuguese for "plateau") may refer to: Buildings * Palácio do Planalto, Brasília, the official seat of the President of Brazil ** The staff and offices of the executive branch of the Brazilian Government, by metonymy Places *Brazilia ...

and is composed of the

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 ...

, the President of the Permanent Commission of the Book of Merit (the Chancellor of the Order), the Ministers of State for Justice and

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy a ...

, the Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic, and the Chief of the Military Office of the Presidency of the Republic.

Features

Insignia

The insignia of the Order consists of a gold star with six beams, enamelled in white enameled with a wreath of roses, with the center of the obverse the armillary sphere, also of gold, in a blue field, and, on the reverse, the caption: "National Order of Merit". The necklace consists of two chains alternately ornamented with armillary and pink spheres, allegorical elements of the decoration, and from it hangs the insignia. The Grand Cross consists of the insignia pendant of a strip of scarlet color with two white lists, passed by the shoulder strap, from right to left, plus a gold plaque with the same insignia and placed to the left of the chest. The insignia of the Grand Officer and Commander hang from a ribbon around the neck, and the insignia of the Grand Officer is accompanied by a silver plaque. The insignia of Officers and Knights are pending of a ribbon tied to the left side of the chest, being that the insignia of Officers has a rosette placed on the tape. The design was inspired by the Imperial Order of the Rose, created by

Jean-Baptiste Debret Jean-Baptiste Debret (; 18 April 1768 – 28 June 1848) was a French painter, who produced many valuable lithographs depicting the people of Brazil. Debret won the second prize at the 1798 Salon des Beaux Arts. Biography Debret studied at th ...

in 1829 at the request of Emperor D. Pedro I to celebrate his marriage with D. Amélie of Leuchtenberg. The monogram of the emperors was replaced by the armillary sphere and the color of the ribbon (

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

) changed to scarlet.

Grades

The five grades are Grand Cross, Grand Officer, Commander, Officer, and Knight. The number of awards to citizens are limited to the number shown (members of the Council and awards to foreigners are not included in these limits).

Recipients

* Cristian Barros *

Fernanda Montenegro Arlette Pinheiro Esteves Torres ONM (née da Silva; born 16 October 1929), known by her stage name Fernanda Montenegro ( /feʁˈnɐ̃dɐ mõtʃiˈnegɾu/), is a Brazilian stage, television and film actress. Considered by many the greatest Brazi ...

Marcos Pontes Marcos Cesar Pontes (born 11 March 1963) is a Brazilian Air Force pilot, engineer, AEB astronaut, politician and author. He became the first South American and the first Lusophone to go into space when he docked onto the International Space Sta ...

Heley de Abreu Silva Batista Heley de Abreu Silva Batista (12 August 1974 – 5 October 2017) was a Brazilian teacher. She gained notability after giving her own life in an act of courage to save children in the Tragedy of Janaúba. She saved at least 25 children, being cons ...

Mário Soares Mário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares, GColTE, GCC, GColL (; 7 December 1924 – 7 January 2017) was a Portuguese politician, who served as prime minister of Portugal from 1976 to 1978 and from 1983 to 1985, and subsequently as the 17th pres ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merit Orders, decorations, and medals of Brazil Awards established in 1946 1946 establishments in Brazil