The Honorary Order of the Palm (

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

: ''Ere-Orde van de Palm'') is a military and civil

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 ...

of the

Republic of Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. Borders of Suriname, It is bordered by the Atlanti ...

. The Order was instituted in 1975 at the

independence of Suriname The early history of Suriname dates from 3000 BCE when Native Americans first inhabited the area. The Dutch acquired Suriname from the English, and European settlement in any numbers dates from the 17th century, when it was a plantation colony ...

and replaced the Dutch Order of Orange-Nassau. It is awarded to individuals for special service in the civil or military field. The order is also eligible for foreigners. The president of Suriname is the Grand Master of the order.

Classes

The Honorary Order of the Palm has two divisions, ''civil'' and ''military'', the latter denoted by crossed swords on both the badge and the star. The following five Classes exist, plus two medals: *''Grand Cordon'' (Grootlint), who wears the badge on a sash on the right shoulder, plus the star on the left side of the chest; *''Grand Officer'' (Grootofficier), who wears a badge on a necklet, plus a star on the left side of the chest; *''Commander'' (Commandeur), who wears the badge on a necklet; *''Officer'' (Officier), who wears the badge on a ribbon with rosette on the left side of the chest; *''Knight'' (Ridder), who wears the badge on a ribbon on the left side of the chest. *''Honorary Medals in Gold and Silver'' on a ribbon on the left chest

Insignia

The ''Badge'' of the order exists of a gold gilt five-pointed star topped with a small balls, and gold gilt rays between the arms, resulting in a badge with the shape of a

pentagon In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simpl ...

. The central disk shows the

green palm Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combina ...

of the Coat of arms of Suriname on white enamel, surrounded by a red enamel and gold edged ring displaying the motto in yellow (also from the Surinamese Coat of arms): JUSTITIA - PIETAS - FIDES ("Justice - Piety - Fidelity"). The military division has crossed swords placed on the badge. The ''Star'' of the Order is an eight-pointed gold gilt star with straight rays. The central disc is the same as that of the badge. The military division has crossed swords on the star. The ''Medal'' is round, with a gold or silver version. It shows the stylized palm surrounded by a circlet with the motto of the order. The ''Ribbon'' of the order is green with a central white stripe.

Recipients

Barryl Biekman Barryl Biekman (born 1950, Paramaribo) is a Surinamese-born Dutch politician. See also *List of Dutch politicians A list of most notable Dutch politicians, party affiliation given. A *Willem Aantjes - ARP / CDA * Gijs van Aardenne - ...

- a Surinamese-born Dutch politician and activist * Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld - the prince consort of Queen Juliana *

Gaius de Gaay Fortman Wilhelm Friedrich "Gaius" de Gaay Fortman (8 May 1911 – 29 March 1997) was a Dutch jurist and politician of the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP), which later merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party. De Gaay Fortman attended a ...

Roelof Nelissen Roelof Johannes Nelissen (4 April 1931 – 18 July 2019) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and businessman. Biography Nelissen attended a Gymnasium (s ...

* Joop den Uyl - a Dutch politician and Prime Minister of the Netherlands * Joris Voorhoeve * - a Surinamese activist * Grand Cordons **

Theo Bot Theodorus Hendrikus "Theo" Bot (20 July 1911 – 24 September 1984) was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist. Bot attended a Gymnasiu ...

** Hendricus Leopold - First Dutch ambassador. **

Antoine Joly Antoine Joly (16 July 1955) is a French politician who served as ambassador to Suriname, CARICOM and Guyana from 2017 until 2021. Biography Joly was born in Le Mans, and graduated from Sciences Po. He started his career for the City of Paris an ...

- French ambassador. **

Pierre Lardinois Pierre Joseph Lardinois (13 August 1924 – 16 July 1987) was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and agronomist. Lardinois applied at the Wa ...

** Jan Pronk - a Dutch politician and UN diplomatCurriculum Vitae
- official website of Jan Pronk **

Fons van der Stee Alphonsus Petrus Johannes Mathildus Maria "Fons" van der Stee (30 July 1928 – 9 September 1999) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) and later the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and economist. Van der S ...

** Max van der Stoel - a Dutch politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, and High Commissioner of the OSCE

References

{{Reflist Palm Awards established in 1975