The National Order of Merit ( ro, Ordinul Național Pentru Merit) is an order which is part of the National System of Decorations of

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

. A medal of merit also exists, but does not confer membership in the order.

History

The current order continues a tradition going back well over a century.

Composition of the order

The National Order of Merit is awarded in five grades in civil and military divisions, as well as a wartime division. It may be awarded to Romanians, foreign citizens, and military units. Its number is limited to 7,500 members. Members of the order are referred to as Knights of the Order for Merit, regardless of grade. Awards to foreigners, awards to military units, and awards in the wartime division are not figured in the total number under the order's limits. Awards are limited by grade and division as follows: *

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...

150 civilian and ROU_Order_For_Merit_2000-war-ribbon_GCross_BAR

50 military *Grand Officer, ROU Order For Merit 2000 GOfficer BAR

300 civilian and ROU Order For Merit 2000-war-ribbon GOfficer BAR

100 military *Commander, ROU Order For Merit 2000 Comm BAR

675 civilian and ROU Order For Merit 2000-war-ribbon Comm BAR

225 military *Officer, ROU Order For Merit 2000 Officer BAR

1,500 civilian and ROU Order For Merit 2000-war-ribbon Officer BAR

500 military *Knight, ROU Order For Merit 2000 Knight BAR

3,000 civilian and ROU Order For Merit 2000-war-ribbon Knight BAR

1,000 military *Medal: ROU Medal For Merit 2000 BAR

Civil and

Military Merit Medal

Criteria

The National Order of merit recognizes important civil or military services rendered to Romania. Qualifying important services may include: *Safeguarding the independence, sovereignty, territorial unity and integrity of the Romanian State *Developing the national economy *Accomplishments in the fields of science, art, or culture *Contribution to the development of relationships between Romania and other countries or international organizations *Meritorious military service organizing and managing military operations *Deeds committed on the battlefield or during military conflicts

Notable recipients

Historical form

Moses Gaster Moses Gaster (17 September 1856 – 5 March 1939) was a Romanian, later British scholar, the ''Hakham'' of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish congregation, London, and a Hebrew and Romanian linguist. Moses Gaster was an active Zionist in Romani ...

(1856–1939), "For Merit" National Order of the first class (1891)

Current form

* Nineta Barbulescu *

Marek Belka Marek Marian Belka (; born 9 January 1952 in Lódź) is a Polish professor of economics and politician who has served as Prime Minister of Poland and Finance Minister of Poland in two governments. He is a former Director of the International M ...

* Valentina Butnaru * Ion Caramitru * Franz, Duke of Bavaria * Mircea Hava *

Keith Hitchins Keith Arnold Hitchins (April 2, 1931 – November 1, 2020) was an American historian and a professor of Eastern European history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, specializing in Romania and its history. He was born in Schenect ...

* Ion Jinga * Mark A. Meyer * Mihnea Motoc *

Raymond T. Odierno Raymond Thomas Odierno (8 September 1954 – 8 October 2021) was an American military officer who served as a four-star general of the United States Army and as the 38th chief of staff of the Army. Prior to his service as chief of staff, Odiern ...

* Mircea Răceanu * Prince Radu of Romania *

Iancu Țucărman Iancu Țucărman (30 October 1922 – 8 January 2021) was a Romanian Jewish agricultural engineer and survivor of the Holocaust and the Iași pogrom. He was the penultimate survivor of the "Death's Train" () that was used to deport Jews from t ...

References

External links

* * * {{Romanian National Decorations System Orders, decorations, and medals of Romania Orders of merit National Order of Merit (Romania)