Ordre national du Mérite

Ordre national du Mérite
Sash, badge and star of a Grand Cross
Awarded by the President of France
TypeOrder of merit
Established3 December 1963
RibbonBlue
Awarded forDistinguished civil or military achievements
StatusActive
Grand MasterPresident Emmanuel Macron
GradesGrand Cross
Grand Officer
Commander
Officer
Knight
Statistics
First induction1963
Precedence
Next (higher)Military Medal
Next (lower)National Recognition Medal for Victims of Terrorism
RelatedOrder of Agricultural Merit
Order of Maritime Merit

Grand-croix


Grand-officier

Commandeur


Officier

Chevalier
Ribbon bars of the order

The Ordre national du Mérite (French: [ɔʁdʁ nɑsjɔnal dy meʁit]; English: National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ministerial orders previously awarded by the ministries; and to create an award that can be awarded at a lower level than the Legion of Honour, which is generally reserved for French citizens. It comprises about 185,000 members; 306,000 members have been admitted or promoted in 50 years.

History

The Ordre national du Mérite comprises about 185,000 members; 306,000 members have been admitted or promoted in 50 years. Half of its recipients are required to be women.

Defunct ministerial orders

The Ordre national du Mérite replaced the following ministerial and colonial orders:

Colonial orders

Special ministerial orders of merit

Organisation

Statutes

French citizens as well as foreign nationals, men and women, can be received into the order for distinguished military or civil achievements, though of a lesser level than that required for the award of the Legion of Honour. The President of the French Republic is the Grand Master of the order and appoints all its members by convention on the advice of the Government of France. The order has a common Chancellor and Chancery with the Legion of Honour. Every Prime Minister of France is made a Grand Cross of the order after 6 months of service. Jacques Chirac, who would later serve as president, was the first prime minister to receive the Grand Cross of the order ex officio.

Classes

The Order has five classes, the same as the Legion of Honour:

Insignia

Reverse of the Knight's insignia of the Order

The medal and the plaque of the Order were designed by the French sculptor Max Leognany.

Ordre national du Mérite Ribbons

Knight
Officer
Commander
Grand Officer
Grand Cross

Buttonhole

Knight Officer Commander Grand Officer Grand Cross

Notable recipients

The individuals listed below have been admitted as members of the National Order of Merit:

French citizens

Foreign nationals

See also

References

Citations

  1. ↑ "Animation evangelist Biren Ghose awarded French National Order of Merit, knighthood by President of France". ANI News.
  2. 1 2 "National orders and decorations France's national decorations: The national system". Grand Chancery of the Legion of Honor. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Battini, Jean; Zaniewicki, Witold (2003). Guide pratique des décorations françaises actuelles. Paris: LAVAUZELLE. pp. 37–48. ISBN 2-7025-1030-2.
  4. 1 2 3 "The National Order of Merit | La grande chancellerie". Legiondhonneur.fr. Archived from the original on 2024-01-20. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
  5. ↑ "Décret n°74-1119 du 24 décembre 1974 MODIFIANT LE DECRET 631196 DU 03-12-1963 PORTANT CREATION D'UN ORDRE NATIONAL DU MERITE – Légifrance". www.legifrance.gouv.fr.
  6. ↑ "Commandeur de l'ordre national du Mérite" (in French). Linternaute.com. October 2018. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
  7. ↑ "Education : Sophie Béjean,"La mixité est favorable pour des questions d'équité, mais aussi parce qu'elle est enrichissante" - Hérault Tribune". www.herault-tribune.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-04-06.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Décret du 13 novembre 2009 portant élévation aux dignités de grand'croix et de grand officier". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French).
  9. ↑ "Fabienne Guillaume) - JORFSearch". jorfsearch.steinertriples.ch. Retrieved 2026-03-16.
  10. ↑ "Philippe Gurdjian, 1945 – 2014". The Official F1 Website. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  11. ↑ "Aline Heitaa-Archier distinguée de l'ordre national du mérite" (in French). Polynesie 1. 11 September 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  12. ↑ "Congratulations to Catherine Jeandel! – GEOTRACES". June 29, 2015. Retrieved 2021-09-11.
  13. ↑ "943 personnes dans la nouvelle promotion civile de l'ordre national du Mérite" [943 people in the new civil promotion of the National Order of Merit] (PDF). La grande chancellerie (in French). Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  14. ↑ Décret du 24 novembre 2021 portant promotion et nomination dans l'ordre national du Mérite (in French) Retrieved 14 March 2023
  15. ↑ "Ce que la Légion d'honneur signifie pour les licornes". BFM BUSINESS.
  16. ↑ "Sylvie Tellier décorée de l'Ordre National du Mérite par Marlène Schiappa". BFM TV (in French). 27 June 2023.
  17. ↑ "Légifrance".
  18. ↑ "Chief Joseph Pfeifer awarded with the National Order of Merit by France on September 12th, 2021". Consulate General of France in New York. 2021-09-12. Retrieved 2022-01-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)

Sources