The Order of Trujillo (''Orden de Trujillo'') was the second principal order of the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

, after the

Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella The Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella (''Orden al Mérito de Duarte, Sánchez y Mella'') is the principal order of the Dominican Republic. It was established on 24 February 1931 as the ''Juan Pablo Duarte Order of Merit'' (''Orden al M ...

. It was established on 13 June 1938 in honour of the then-President Generalissimo

Rafael Trujillo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( , ; 24 October 189130 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (, "The Chief" or "The Boss"), was a Dominican dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from February 1930 until his assassination in May 1961. He ser ...

. The

Head of State A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

conferred the order both to civilians and members of the military for distinguished services, regardless of Dominican Republic citizenship.

Division of the Order

The order was divided in seven grades: * Collar was awarded exclusively to President Trujillo. * Grand Cross with Gold Breast Star was awarded to the current president, foreign chiefs of state and Hereditary Princes. * Grand Cross with Silver Breast Star was awarded to former presidents, vice presidents or former vice presidents, members of legislatures and supreme court, ministers of state, ambassadors and the metropolitan archbishop. * Grand Officer was awarded to service chiefs and high officials of government and church, the Dean of the

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, Chief of the Army, Chief of the Navy. * Commander was awarded to governors of provinces, directors general of instruction, directors of academies, dean of universities, authors and others of similar importance. * Officer was awarded to professors and heads of schools, officers of the rank of colonel and above and civilians of equal importance. * Knight was awarded to others not in any of the above category.

References

* Law 1517 of the 13 June 1938, G. O. 22 June 1938 Duarte, Trujillo, Order of Awards established in 1938