State Medal of Distinguished Service () is one of the three 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, as well as military awards and decorat ...

s of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. The medal was established on October 24, 1983 with the Law on Medals and Orders, Act No. 2933. It is rewarded to Turkish citizens, foreigners and organizations for distinguished service in contribution to the emerge of Turkish State through generous action, self-sacrifice, accomplishment or merit at home or abroad. The medal is bestowed by the

President of Turkey The president of Turkey, officially the president of the Republic of Türkiye (), is the head of state and head of government of Turkey. The president directs the executive branch of the national government and is the commander-in-chief of the ...

upon cabinet's approval of the proposal of a government minister, the speaker of the

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

or the chief of general staff. To the medal belong a lapel pin and a certificate.

Design

The medal has an oval form and is long. It is of gold plated metal. The medal's front depicts the Turkish moon and crescent with the initials "T.C." (abbreviation of "Türkiye Cumhuriyeti" for "Turkish Republic") in relief. The reverse depicts relevant symbols and motifs with the inscription "T.C. Devlet Şeref Madalyası" (Turkish Republic Medal of Distinguished Service). The medal is attached to a ribbon The medal's lapel pin is in a rectangular form of . It depicts a composition in red and white with the initials "T.C." made of enamel on gold plate. The medal and the lapel pin are minted at the national mint and printer ().

Notable recipients

* İzzet Baysal Vakfı, foundation – 1996 *

Sakıp Sabancı Sakıp Sabancı (7 April 1933 – 10 April 2004) was a Turkish business tycoon and philanthropist. Biography He was the second son of a cotton trader and worked in his father's business without completing high school. He was the head of Turkey's ...

, businessman – 1997 *

Rahmi Koç Mustafa Rahmi Koç (born 9 October 1930) is a Turkish businessman. In 2016, Forbes ranked him No. 906 richest person in the world with a net worth of US$2.6 billion. In 2013, Koç was the single highest taxpayer in Turkey, totalling 37.5&nb ...

, businessman – 1997 *

Ahmet Çalık Ahmet Çalık (born 1 March 1958) is a Turkish billionaire businessman who is the chairman of Çalık Holding. As of September 2024, ''Forbes'' estimated his net worth at US$1.5 billion. Business Çalık established Ortadogu Tekstil in 1981. ...

, businessman – 1999 *

Aydın Doğan Aydın Doğan (born 15 April 1936) is a Turkish business magnate and investor. He is the founder of Doğan Holding, one of Turkey's largest conglomerates. Biography Born in 1936 as a member of a well-known family in Kelkit, Doğan went to el ...

, businessman – 1999 *

Gazi Yaşargil Mahmut Gazi Yaşargil (6 July 1925 – 10 June 2025) was a Turkish medical scientist and neurosurgeon. He collaborated with Raymond M. P. Donaghy M.D at the University of Vermont in developing microneurosurgery. Yaşargil treated epilepsy and b ...

, medical scientist and neurosurgeon – 2000 * Galatasaray football team – 2000 *

Turkey national basketball team The Turkey men's national basketball team () represents Turkey in international basketball tournaments. They are governed by the Turkish Basketball Federation. Their nickname is the ''12 Dev Adam'', meaning 12 Giant Men. Turkey has competed a ...

– 2001 *

Turkey national football team The Turkey national football team (), recognized as Türkiye by FIFA and UEFA, represents Turkey in men's international Association football, football matches. The team is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation (), the governing body for ...

– 2002 *

Şenol Güneş Şenol Güneş (, born 1 June 1952) is a Turkish football manager and former player who is currently the director of professional football for Süper Lig club Trabzonspor. His most notable managerial achievements to date include coaching the T ...

, footballer and coach of the national team – 2002 *

Haluk Ulusoy Haluk Ulusoy (born 6 May 1958 in Trabzon) is the former president of Turkish Football Federation. His initially held the post between 1997 and 2004, but was re-elected for a second spell in 2006. Awards *2002 Turkish State Medal of Distinguishe ...

, President of

Turkish Football Federation The Turkish Football Federation (; TFF) is the governing body of association football in Turkey. It was formed on 23 April 1923, and joined FIFA the same year and UEFA in 1962. It organizes the Turkey national football team, the Turkish Foo ...

– 2002 *

Şakir Eczacıbaşı Şakir Eczacıbaşı (3 December 1929 – 24 January 2010), a second generation member of the notable Turkish Eczacıbaşı family, was a pharmacist, photographer and businessman. He was awarded with the Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des ...

, businessman and photographer – 1997

References

Civil awards and decorations of Turkey Awards established in 1983 Orders, decorations, and medals of Turkey {{Orders-medals-stub

Design

Notable recipients

See also

References