Order of Military Merits ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=/, Orden za vojne zasluge, Орден за војне заслуге, sl, Red za vojaške zasluge, mk, Орден на Воени заслуги) was a

state decoration A state decoration is an object, such as a medal or the insignia of an Order (distinction), order, that is awarded by a sovereign state to honor the recipient. The term includes: *Civil awards and decorations *Military awards and decorations See ...

awarded in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, divided into three classes. It was awarded to commanders of units and civilians serving in the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska a ...

, as well as individuals in

trade unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

or other organizations with outstanding contributions and accomplishment of tasks of special immediate importance for national defense.

History

The order was established by the Presidium of the

National Assembly of Yugoslavia The Parliament of Yugoslavia was the legislature of Yugoslavia. Before World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia it was known as the National Assembly (''Narodna skupština''), while in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia the name was c ...

on 29 December 1951 together with the

Medal for Military Merits 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 ...

and awarded until the

breakup of Yugoslavia The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

in 1992. The number of times it was awarded has last been documented on 31 December 1985. The three classes of the order ranked as following in their importance, per the Law on Decorations of the

FPR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

from 1 March 1961: * Order of Military Merits with Great Star – Class I, 16th in order of importance, awarded 2,609 times * Order of Military Merits with Golden Swords – Class II, 26th in order of importance, awarded 24,141 times * Order of Military Merits with Silver Swords – Class III, 34th in order of importance, awarded 94,684 times After the breakup of SFR Yugoslavia, the new union of

Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

, formally Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, established an equivalent Order of Merit in the Field of Defense and Security ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Орден за заслуге у области одбране и безбедности, Orden za zasluge u oblasti odbrane i bezbednosti) on 4 December 1998. It looked the same, but the red star was replaced with the

Coat of arms of Serbia and Montenegro The coat of arms of Serbia and Montenegro consisted of a shield with the Serbian eagle (a white double-headed eagle adopted from the Nemanjić dynasty) and the shield with a quartering the Serbian cross (or cross with firesteels) and the Monten ...

and torches behind the shield were removed.

Gallery

References

Literature

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Order of Military Merits Orders, decorations, and medals of Yugoslavia Awards established in 1951 1951 establishments in Yugoslavia 1992 disestablishments in Yugoslavia Awards disestablished in 1992