The Order of the Golden Fleece ( ka, ოქროს საწმისის ორდენი, ''ok'ros sats'misis ordeni'') is an honor awarded by the government of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. It was established in 1998 and comes next in rank to the Order of Saint Nicholas. The Order is named after the mythical

Golden Fleece In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece ( el, Χρυσόμαλλον δέρας, ''Chrysómallon déras'') is the fleece of the golden-woolled,, ''Khrusómallos''. winged ram, Chrysomallos, that rescued Phrixus and brought him to Colchis, where P ...

, which was held in

Colchis In Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia (country), Georgia. Its population, the Colchians a ...

in what is now western Georgia.

Statute

The Order of the Golden Fleece is awarded to individuals with foreign citizenship and those holding no citizenship who have significantly contributed to Georgia's governmental improvement, national security interests, sovereignty and protection of territorial unity, formation of democratic and free society, development of useful bilateral relationships with foreign countries and international organizations, protection of rights of Georgian citizens living abroad, popularization of Georgian culture, and development of Georgian science and art. As the award is not given to Georgian nationals, it does not carry any monetary grant.

Notable recipients

Süleyman Demirel Süleyman Sami Demirel (; 1 November 1924 – 17 June 2015) was a Turkish people, Turkish politician, engineer, and statesman who served as the List of Presidents of Turkey, 9th President of Turkey from 1993 to 2000. He previously served as the ...

, 9th President of Turkey (1999) *

Gerhard Schröder Gerhard Fritz Kurt "Gerd" Schröder (; born 7 April 1944) is a German lobbyist and former politician, who served as the chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany ...

, 7th Chancellor of Germany (2000) *

Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev ( az, Һејдәр Әлирза оғлу Әлијев, italic=no, Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev, ; , ; 10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani politician who served as the third president of Aze ...

, 3rd President of Azerbaijan (2001) *

Juan Antonio Samaranch Juan Antonio Samaranch y Torelló, 1st Marquess of Samaranch (Catalan: ''Joan Antoni Samaranch i Torelló'', ; 17 July 1920 – 21 April 2010) was a Spanish sports administrator under the Franco regime (1973–1977) who served as the seventh Pre ...

, 7th President of the International Olympic Committee (2001) *

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, Queen of the United Kingdom (2002) * Islom Karimov, 1st President of Uzbekistan (2003) *

Rasul Gamzatov Rasul Gamzatovich Gamzatov ( av, ХӀамзатазул Расул ХӀамзатил вас, Ħamzatil Rasul Ħamzatil vas, ; russian: Расу́л Гамза́тович Гамза́тов, p=rɐˈsul ɡɐmˈzatəvʲɪtɕ ɡɐmˈzatəf, a=Rasu ...

, Avar poet (2003) *

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov (russian: link=no, Кирса́н Никола́евич Илюмжи́нов, ; Kalmyk: Үлмҗин Кирсән, ''Ülmcin Kirsən'', ; born 5 April 1962) is a Russian business oligarch, administrator and po ...

, 1st President of Kalmykia (2003) *

Bartholomew I Bartholomew I ( el, Βαρθολομαῖος Αʹ, , tr, I. Bartholomeos; born 29 February 1940) is the 270th archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch, since 2 November 1991. In accordance with his title, he is regarded as the '' ...

, Patriarch of Constantinople (2007) *

Toomas Hendrik Ilves Toomas Hendrik Ilves (; born 26 December 1953) is an Estonian politician who served as the fourth president of Estonia from 2006 until 2016. Ilves worked as a diplomat and journalist, and he was the leader of the Social Democratic Party in the ...

, 4th President of Estonia (2007) *

Kürşad Tüzmen Kürşad Tüzmen (born October 9, 1958) is a Turkish former civil servant and Minister of State of Turkey responsible for foreign trade. He held this position between 2002 and 2009. Personal life Kürşad Tüzmen was born to Nuray and his wife ...

, Minister of State of Turkey (2009) *

Gabriela von Habsburg Archduchess Gabriela von Habsburg (born 14 October 1956) is an abstract sculptor, working mainly in stainless steel as well as stone-printed lithography. She was the ambassador of Georgia to Germany from 2009 to 2013. She is the granddaughter o ...

, Ambassador of Georgia to Germany and abstract sculptor (2009) *

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...

, 3rd President of Armenia (2009) *

Allahshukur Pashazadeh Haji Allahshükür Hummat Pashazade ( az, Allahşükür Hümmət Paşazadə) is the Sheikh ul-Islam and Grand Mufti of the Caucasus which includes the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Georgia, and Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, Ingushetia, ...

, Grand Mufti of the Caucasus (2009) *

Matthew Bryza Matthew James Bryza (born February 16, 1964) is a former United States diplomat. His last post in the United States foreign service was the United States Ambassador to Azerbaijan. Education Bryza graduated from Stanford University with a Bache ...

, United States diplomat (2009) *

Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( uk, Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. As an informal leader of th ...

, 3rd President of Ukraine (2009) * Marie Anne Isler Béguin, French member of the European Parliament (2009) *

Javier Solana Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga (; born 14 July 1942) is a Spanish physicist and PSOE The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-dem ...

, Spanish politician and diplomat (2010) *

Strobe Talbott Nelson Strobridge Talbott III (born April 25, 1946) is an American foreign policy analyst focused on Russia. He was associated with ''Time'' magazine, and a diplomat who served as the Deputy Secretary of State from 1994 to 2001. He was president ...

, American foreign policy analyst (2010) *

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...

, Prime Minister of Turkey (2010) *

James F. Amos James F. "Jim" Amos (born November 12, 1946) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 35th Commandant of the Marine Corps. As a naval aviator, Amos commanded the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing during the Iraq War i ...

, 35th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps (2014) *

Ben Hodges Frederick Benjamin "Ben" Hodges III (born 16 April 1958) is a retired United States Army officer who served as commanding general, United States Army Europe. He is currently the Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies at the Center for European Poli ...

, U.S. lieutenant general (2015) * Juan Echánove, Spanish diplomat (2015) * Philip Breedlove, American Air Force General (2016) * John H. Costello, CNFA Europe Board of Directors Chairman and CNFA Board of Director (2016) * Lech Kończak, Polish diplomat (2021) *

Abdullah II of Jordan Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein ( ar, عبدالله الثاني بن الحسين , translit=ʿAbd Allāh aṯ-ṯānī ibn al-Ḥusayn; born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of t ...

King of Jordan (2022)

References

{{Reflist Orders, decorations, and medals of Georgia (country) *

Statute

Notable recipients

See also

References