Orders
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
,
decorations
Decoration may refer to:
* Decorative arts
* A house painter and decorator's craft
* An act or object intended to increase the beauty of a person, room, etc.
* An award that is a token of recognition to the recipient intended for wearing
Other ...
and
medal
A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...
s of
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
are regulated by the law on the Orders and Medals of the Republic of Bulgaria of 29 May 2003.
The
National Military History Museum of Bulgaria in
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
currently has over 150 Bulgarian Orders in the collection, which it has acquired over 85 years in co-operation with the Bulgarian State Mint, which are in the main part imperial, including Orders awarded to Knjaz Alexander,
Ferdinand
Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
and
Tsar Boris III
Boris III ( bg, Борѝс III ; Boris Treti; 28 August 1943), originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver (Boris Clement Robert Mary Pius Louis Stanislaus Xavier) , was the Tsar of the Kingdom of Bulgaria from 1918 until hi ...
along with other high-ranking military leaders of the Royal Bulgarian Army.
*Note: Awards shown without ribbons are/were worn in full at all times. Also, like most items which are created by the minting process, mint errors of awards do exist, some which were still issued despite the error (such as off-centred artwork) and some which were discarded (such as incorrect reverses). These mint errors add dimensions to the art of collecting such items. Main error types will also be listed here also. Numbers of Orders/Medals that were in use in both The Tsardom of Bulgaria and The People's Republic of Bulgaria show the number awarded during both regimes and not just under the single regime.
Principality of Bulgaria/Third Bulgarian Tsardom (29 April 1879 – 15 September 1946)
The decorations of the Principality of Bulgaria (29 April 1879 – 5 October 1908) and the Third Bulgarian Tsardom (5 October 1908 – 15 September 1946) were divided into orders, medals and honorary insignia. Orders were awarded to civilians and military personnel for particularly great merits in service of the state (For example, commanding an army to a victory). Honorary insignia (Badges) were awarded for a specific merit or achievement or due to a specific event (For example, being wounded in action) and medals were presented on the occasion of a political or historic event or for merit (For example, on the anniversary of independence). Most of the Imperial commemorative medals were only issued once, to participants at the commemorated event and only the highest level personnel could be expected to be at all these events during their term in high status society. No-one was issued every commemorative medal, as during the turbulence of coups, counter-coups and change of monarchs, the high level society was in near constant change.
The Principality of Bulgaria's first order was created with Article 59 of the
Tarnovo Constitution
The Tarnovo Constitution ( bg, Търновска конституция) was the first constitution of Bulgaria.
It was adopted on 16 April 1879 ( O.S.) by the Constituent National Assembly held in Veliko Tarnovo as part of the establishment of ...
, The Order of Bravery, which came into force on 1 January 1880 (The order itself shows the date 1879 on the reverse). The highest Tsardom of Bulgaria award was the
Order of Saint Cyril And Saint Methodius awarded to those who brought outstanding excellence to the culture of the Tsardom of Bulgaria (The People's Republic of Bulgaria also created an Order of the same title in three classes but that was a far lower level award for merit in education and science and is not to be confused).
Orders
Medals
Table Medals
Unofficial Medals
These "medals" were "issued" or "awarded" by various groups and organisations including government departments but were/are not fully recognised as officially awarded medals and were/are not authorised for official wear on official uniforms. That being so this does not mean by any means that these medals were simply just for sale to all comers and were/are still often held in high respect by those who were given them.
People's Republic of Bulgaria (16 September 1946 – 10 November 1989)
*Note: Wider ribbons indicate 3 sided imperial type suspension/Narrower ribbons indicate 4/5 sided soviet type suspension.
With the exile of Tsar Simeon II all Imperial Bulgarian awards were discontinued and banned (Other than those created after the pro-soviet coup of 4 September 1944), including the wear of such awards. Traces of the Imperial award system were left in the following ways;
*Until 13 December 1950 various awards were issued with male and female type ribbons.
*Until 13 December 1950 male ribbons were still issued as a trifold, some medals such as the medal for "Participant in the Anti-Fascist Struggle" continued to have a trifold ribbon until the award was discontinued with the collapse of the People's Republic.
*Two new orders were created with the same name as imperial orders, The
Order "(Saint) Cyril And (Saint) Methodius" and the Order "For Bravery".
*The Order of Civil Merit ribbon was used for the new Order of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (which had similar award criteria).
Honorary Titles
Orders
Medals
Republic of Bulgaria (10 November 1989 – 29 May 2003)
With the collapse of The People's Republic of Bulgaria their award system was discontinued (Officially on 5 April 1991) with the exception of orders bestowed on foreign nationals. All communist and imperial awards were allowed to be worn. The soviet style 5 sided suspension was dropped, with the exception of the medal 50th Anniversary of Victory Over Hitler's Fascism, which had a 5 sided enamel suspension and the Imperial tradition of different ribbons for different sexes were reintroduced for certain awards. Between 5 April 1991 and the introduction of The Order For Loyal Service Under The Banner in 1994 there were no official state awards for Bulgarian citizens. As of 29 May 2003 a totally new award system was introduced and as of the 9 June 2003 the previous system was officially abolished.
Titles
Orders
Medals
Republic of Bulgaria (since 29 May 2003)
Legal organisation of the current Bulgarian Honours System is contained in the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
and the Decree on Intellectual Stimulation. Orders are established by the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
and are awarded by the
President of the Republic. The nomination of a foreign person is made by the Ministry of External Affairs, whereas Bulgarian nominees are selected by the
Council of Ministers
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
.
Titles
Orders
Medals
Table Medals
Badges
Recipients
;Grand Crosses
*
Souphanouvong
Prince Souphanouvong (13 July 1909 – 9 January 1995; ), nicknamed the Red Prince, was along with his half-brother Prince Souvanna Phouma and Prince Boun Oum of Champasak, one of the " Three Princes" who represented respectively the communist (p ...
*
Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden
Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland (Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée; born 14 July 1977) is the heir apparent to the Swedish throne, as the eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf. If she ascends to the throne as expecte ...
;Cordons
*
Valdas Adamkus
Valdas Adamkus (; born Voldemaras Adamkavičius; 3 November 1926) is a Lithuanian-American politician, diplomat and civil engineer. He served as the 5th and 7th President of Lithuania from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2009.
Adamkus' ...
*
Akihito
is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide.
Bo ...
*
Albert II of Belgium
, house = Belgium
, father = Leopold III of Belgium
, mother = Astrid of Sweden
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Stuyvenberg Castle, Laeken, Brussels, Belgium
, death_date =
, death_place =
, signature = Albert II of Belgium Signat ...
*
List of titles and honours of Beatrix of the Netherlands
Beatrix of the Netherlands has held numerous titles and honours, both during, before, and after her reign, including a number of historical titles.
Titles and styles
* 31 January 1938 – 30 April 1980: ''Her Royal Highness'' Princess Beatrix o ...
*
Carl XVI Gustaf
Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. He ascended the throne on the death of his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf, on 15 September 1973.
He is the youngest child and only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Du ...
*
Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca
Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, (born 7 December 1958) is a Maltese politician who served as President of Malta from 2014 to 2019. She has been president of Eurochild since 2019.
Previously, as a member of the Labour Party, Coleiro Preca was a Me ...
*
Emil Constantinescu
Emil Constantinescu () (born 19 November 1939) is a Romanian professor and politician, who served as the President of Romania, from 1996 to 2000.
After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, Constantinescu became a founding member and vice president ...
*
Jean-Luc Dehaene
Jean Luc Joseph Marie "Jean-Luc" Dehaene (; 7 August 1940 – 15 May 2014) was a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1992 until 1999. During his political career, he was nicknamed "The Plumber" and "The Minesweep ...
*
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 ...
*
Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway
Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway (; Haakon Magnus; born 20 July 1973) is the heir apparent to the Norwegian throne. He is the only son of King Harald V and Queen Sonja.
Haakon represents the fourth generation of the sitting Norwegian royal famil ...
*
Harald V of Norway
Harald V ( no, Harald den femte, ; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway. He acceded to the throne on 17 January 1991.
Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the lin ...
*
Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark
Prince Henrik of Denmark (; born Henri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat; 11 June 1934 – 13 February 2018) was the husband of Margrethe II of Denmark. He served as her royal consort from Margrethe's accession on 14 January 1972 unt ...
*
Thomas Klestil
Thomas Klestil (; 4 November 1932 – 6 July 2004) was an Austrian diplomat and politician who served as President of Austria from 1992 to his death in 2004. He was elected in 1992 and re-elected into office in 1998.
Biography until 1992
Born ...
*
Margrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark. Having reigned as Denmark's monarch for over 50 years, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and the world's only incumbent femal ...
*
Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway
Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway (born Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, , on 19 August 1973) is the wife of Crown Prince Haakon. Haakon is the heir apparent to the throne, which means that should he ascend to the throne, she will automaticall ...
*
Queen Paola of Belgium
Paola (born Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria;AlthougThe Belgian Monarchy websiteattributes the title of "Princess" to Queen Paola prior to marriage, Burke's Peerage 1973, The Descendants of Louis XIII 1999, ''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels'' 200 ...
*
Dilma Rousseff
Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil, holding the position from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the first w ...
*
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012.
Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
*
Queen Silvia of Sweden
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...
*
Queen Sonja of Norway
Sonja (born Sonja Haraldsen on 4 July 1937) is Queen of Norway since 17 January 1991 as the wife of King Harald V.
Sonja and the then Crown Prince Harald had dated for nine years prior to their marriage in 1968. They had kept their relations ...
*
Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Hamad bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani ( ar, حمد بن خليفة الثاني; born 1 January 1952) is a member of the ruling Al Thani Qatari royal family. He was the ruling Emir of Qatar from 1995 ...
*
Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden
Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland (Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée; born 14 July 1977) is the heir apparent to the Swedish throne, as the eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf. If she ascends to the throne as expecte ...
*
Zhelyu Zhelev
Zhelyu Mitev Zhelev ( bg, Желю Митев Желев; 3 March 1935 – 30 January 2015) was a Bulgarian politician and former dissident who served as the first non-Communist President of Bulgaria from 1990 to 1997. Zhelev was one of the mos ...
;1st Class with Swords (Military)
*
Kliment Boyadzhiev
Kliment Boyadzhiev ( bg, Климент Бояджиев; 15 April 1861 – 15 July 1933) was a Bulgarian general during the Balkan Wars and First World War.
Biography
Born in Ohrid, he studied in an elementary school there. After the liberatio ...
*
Radko Dimitriev
Radko Dimitriev ( bg, Радко Димитриев) (24 September 1859 in Gradets, Sliven Province, Gradets – 18 October 1918 near Pyatigorsk) was a Bulgarians, Bulgarian general, Chief of the Defence (Bulgaria), Head of the General Staff ...
*
Ivan Fichev
Ivan Fichev ( bg, Иван Фичев) (born on 15 April 1860 in Tarnovo, died on 13 November 1931 in Sofia) was a Bulgarian general, Minister of Defense, military historian and academician.
Biography
Ivan Fichev was born in 1860 in Tırnova (n ...
*
Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark
Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, (Frederik André Henrik Christian; born 26 May 1968) is the heir apparent to the Danish throne. He is the elder son of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik.
Early life
Crown Prince Freder ...
*
Georgi Ivanov (cosmonaut)
Major general Georgi Ivanov Kakalov ( bg, Георги Иванов Какалов; born July 2, 1940) is a Bulgarian former military officer who was the first Bulgarian cosmonaut. He was a member of the National Assembly of Bulgaria in 1990.
E ...
*
Prince Joachim of Denmark
, father = Henri de Laborde de Monpezat
, mother = Margrethe II of Denmark
, house = Glücksburg (official) Monpezat (agnatic)
, religion = Church of Denmark
, occupation = Military Attaché, Royal Danish Embassy in ...
*
Stiliyan Kovachev
Stiliyan Kovachev ( bg, Стилиян Ковачев) (born on 26 February 1860 in Yanbolu (Yambol), died on 11 July 1939 in Sofia) was a Bulgarian general. During the First Balkan War he commanded the Rodopi Detachment and later 4th Army. He w ...
*
Vasil Kutinchev
Vasil Ivanov Kutinchev ( bg, Васил Иванов Кутинчев) (born 25 February 1859 in Rusçuk; died 30 March 1941) was a Bulgarian officer. He began his military career in 1879 after graduating from the Military School in Sofia . On 13 ...
*
Mihail Savov
Mihail Georgiev Savov ( bg, Михаил Савов) (14 November 1857 in Stara Zagora - 21 July 1928 in Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey, France) was a Bulgarian general, twice Minister of Defence (1891–1894 and 1903–1907), second in command of the Bul ...
*
Georgi Todorov (general)
Georgi Stoyanov Todorov ( bg, Георги Тодоров) (born on 10 August 1858 in Bolgrad (contemporary Ukraine); died on 16 November 1934 in Sofia) was a Bulgarian general who fought in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), Serbo-Bulgarian Wa ...
*
Stefan Toshev
Stefan Toshev ( bg, Стефан Тошев) (18 December 1859 – 27 November 1924) was a Bulgarian general, from World War I. His mother was a teacher from the period of the National Revival. He volunteered in the Bulgarian Opalchentsi Cor ...
;1st Class (Civilian)
*
Aleksandr Panayotov Aleksandrov
Aleksandr Panayotov Aleksandrov ( bg, Александър Панайотов Александров) (born December 1, 1951) is a retired Bulgarian cosmonaut. He is the second Bulgarian to have flown to space, behind Georgi Ivanov (cosmonaut), G ...
*
Cécilia Attias
Cécilia María Sara Isabel Attias ( Ciganer-Albéniz, formerly Martin and Sarkozy; born 12 November 1957) was the second spouse of French president Nicolas Sarkozy until October 2007.
Background
Cecilia Attias was born Cécilia María Sara Is ...
*
Irina Bokova
Irina Georgieva Bokova ( bg, Ирина Георгиева Бокова; born 12 July 1952) is a Bulgarian politician and the former Director-General of UNESCO (2009–2017). During her political and diplomatic career in Bulgaria, she served, a ...
*
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
Jakob Gijsbert "Jaap" de Hoop Scheffer ; born 3 April 1948) is a Dutch politician and diplomat of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Secretary General of NATO from January 2004 to August 2009.
De Hoop Scheffer ...
*
Ignat Kaneff
Ignat Kaneff ( bg, Игнат Христов Кънев; 6 October 1926 – 12 July 2020) was a Bulgarian Canadians, Bulgarian-Canadian business magnate and philanthropist.
Biography
Ignat Hristov Kaneff was born on 6 October 1926 in Gorno A ...
*
Krzysztof Krajewski
*
Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark
Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat, (born Mary Elizabeth Donaldson; 5 February 1972) is the wife of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark. Frederik is the heir apparent to the throne, which means that should he succeed, Mary ...
*
Louis Michel
Louis Michel (born 2 September 1947) is a Belgian politician. He served in the government of Belgium as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2004 and was European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid from 2004 to 2009. From 20 ...
*
Alois Mock
Alois Mock (10 June 1934 – 1 June 2017) was an Austrian politician and member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). He was Vice Chancellor of Austria from 1987 to 1989. As foreign minister, he helped take Austria into the European Union.
Life ...
*
Bujar Nishani
Bujar Nishani (; 29 September 1966 – 28 May 2022) was an Albanian politician. He served as President of Albania from 24 July 2012 to 24 July 2017.
Nishani was the youngest person to have been chosen as president of Albania, taking office at t ...
*
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...
*
Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Anders Fogh Rasmussen (; born 26 January 1953) is a Danish politician who was the 24th Prime Minister of Denmark from November 2001 to April 2009 and the 12th Secretary General of NATO from August 2009 to October 2014. He became CEO of politi ...
;Other or Unknown Classes
*
Ivan Abadzhiev
*
Nicolae Ceaușescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu ( , ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He was ...
*
Benita Ferrero-Waldner
Benita Ferrero-Waldner (born 5 September 1948) is an Austrian diplomat and politician, and a member of the conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). Ferrero-Waldner served as Foreign Minister of Austria 2000–2004 and was the candidate of th ...
*
Gustáv Husák
Gustáv Husák (, , ; 10 January 1913 – 18 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak communist politician of Slovak origin, who served as the long-time First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1969 to 1987 and the president o ...
*
Islam Karimov
Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov ( uz, Islom Abdugʻaniyevich Karimov / Ислом Абдуғаниевич Каримов, italics=no; russian: link=no, Ислам Абдуганиевич Каримов; 30 January 1938 – 2 September 2016) was t ...
*
Jarosław Lindenberg
*
Tatyana Lolova
Tatyana Lolova ( bg, Татяна Лолова; 10 February 1934 – 22 March 2021) was a Bulgarian stage and film actress. She was best known for her comedy roles that she played for more than 40 years, bringing her the reputation as one of the m ...
*
Musa Manarov
Musa Khiramanovich Manarov ( lbe, Муса Хираманович Манаров; born March 22, 1951, in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR) is a former cosmonaut who spent 541 days in space.
He was a colonel in the Soviet Air Force and graduated from the Mos ...
*
Georgi Markov
Georgi Ivanov Markov ( bg, Георги Иванов Марков ; 1 March 1929 – 11 September 1978) was a Bulgarian dissident writer. He originally worked as a novelist, screenwriter and playwright in his native country, the People's Repub ...
*
Yordan Radichkov
Yordan Radichkov ( bg, Йордан Радичков; 24 October 1929 – 21 January 2004) was a Bulgarian writer and playwright.
Literary critics Adelina Angusheva and Galin Tihanov called him "arguably the most significant voice of Bulgarian ...
*
Wincenty Rzymowski
Wincenty Rzymowski (19 July 1883, in Kuczbork-Osada – 30 April 1950, in Warsaw) was a Polish politician and writer. Rzymowski was one of the many faces of Stalinism in postwar Poland.
Background
In the Second Polish Republic, Wincenty Rzymow ...
*
Viktor Savinykh
Viktor Petrovich Savinykh (born 7 March 1940) is a Soviet cosmonaut. Selected as a cosmonaut on 1 December 1978, he flew as Flight Engineer on Soyuz T-4, Soyuz T-13 and Soyuz TM-5, and has spent 252 days 17 hours 38 minutes in space. Savinykh reti ...
*
Anatoly Solovyev
Anatoly Yakovlevich Solovyev (russian: Анатолий Яковлевич Соловьёв; alternate spelling "Solovyov") is a retired Russian and Soviet cosmonaut and pilot. Solovyev was born on January 16, 1948, in Riga, Latvia (at that time ...
*
Vladimir Georgiyevich Titov
Vladimir Georgiyevich Titov (russian: Владимир Георгиевич Титов; born 1 January 1947 in Sretensk, Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia) is a retired Russian Air Force Colonel and former cosmonaut. He has participated in four spacefli ...
*
Rangel Valchanov
Rangel Valchanov ( bg, Рангел Вълчанов; 12 October 1928 – 30 September 2013) (also seen as Vulchanov) was a Bulgarian cinema actor and director.
He finished theater directing at the Krastyo Sarafov National Academy for Theatre an ...
References
External links
Law on the Orders and the Medals of the Republic of Bulgaria.
*
ttp://visit.vratza.com/index.php?r=about_botev/d3946&id=3946&lang=bu Information on the International Botev Prize.
{{Decorations by country