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Order of St. Olav

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Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav
Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden
Cross of the Order of St. Olav
Awarded by

King of Norway
TypeChivalric order with five degrees
MottoRET OG SANDHED (Justice and Truth)
Awarded forremarkable accomplishments on behalf of the country and humanity
StatusCurrently constituted
Grand MasterKing Harald V
GradesGrand Cross with Collar
Grand Cross
Grand Commander
Commander
Officer
Knight/Dame
Precedence
Next (higher)None (formerly the Order of the Norwegian Lion)
Next (lower)Royal Norwegian Order of Merit

Riband of the Order of St. Olav

Design of the collar of the Order of St. Olav since 1906.
The Star of The Order of Saint Olav

The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (Norwegian: Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or Sanct Olafs Orden, the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry that was instituted by King Oscar I of Norway and Sweden on August 21, 1847, as a distinctly Norwegian order. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Nobility was abolished in Norway in 1821. Just before the union with Sweden was dissolved in 1905, the Order of the Norwegian Lion was instituted in 1904 by King Oscar II, but it was not awarded by his successor Haakon VII. The Order of St. Olav thus became the kingdom's only order of chivalry for the next 80 years. The Grand Master of the order is the reigning monarch of Norway. It is awarded to individuals as a reward for remarkable accomplishments on behalf of the country and humanity. Since 1985, the order has only been conferred upon Norwegian citizens, though foreign heads of state and Royalty are awarded the order as a matter of courtesy.

The King awards the order upon the recommendation of a six-member commission, consisting of a chancellor, vice chancellor, the Lord Chamberlain (acting as treasurer), and three other representatives. The Lord Chamberlain nominates the members of the commission, and the monarch approves them. Nominations for the award are directed at the commission through the county governor.

Classes

The order is divided into five classes and may be awarded for either civilian or military contributions, in descending order of distinction. The collar is awarded as a separate distinction of the Grand Cross to those recipients deemed exceptionally worthy.

  • Grand Cross of St. Olav (Storkors)  – awarded to heads of state as a courtesy and in rare cases to individuals for merit; wears the badge on a collar (chain), plus the star on the left chest. If the collar is not worn the badge may be worn on a sash on the right shoulder;
  • Commander with Star (Kommandør med stjerne)  – wears the badge on a necklet, plus the star on the left chest;
  • Commander (Kommandør)  – wears the badge on a necklet;
  • Knight, First Class (Ridder av 1. klasse)  – wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest;
  • Knight (Ridder)  – wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest.

The insignia are expected to be returned either upon the receiver's advancement to a higher level of the order or upon his or her death. Since it was instituted, the order has been awarded approximately 19,500 times. The insignia are produced in Norway by craftsmen.

Ribbon bars

Grand Cross with Collar
Grand Cross
Commander with star
Commander
Knight 1st Class
Knight

The Norwegian king also awards the St. Olav's Medal (St. Olavsmedaljen) in silver "for services in advancing knowledge of Norway abroad and for strengthening the bonds between expatriate Norwegians and their descendants and their country of residence".[1] The medal does not confer upon the recipient membership in an order.

Ribbon bars

Medal with Oak Leaf Branch
Medal

Insignia

The collar of the Order is in gold, with five enamelled and crowned monograms "O" (for "Oscar", the royal cipher of Oscar I, the Order's founder), five enamelled and crowned coat-of-arms of Norway, and 10 gold crosses bottony each flanked by two battle axes with silver blades and golden shafts (The latter element is also featured in the coat of arms of the Church of Norway).

The badge of the Order is a white enamelled Maltese Cross, in silver for the knight class and in gilt of the higher classes; crowned monograms "O" (for "Oscar") appear between the arms of the cross. The obverse central disc is red with the golden Norwegian lion rampart bearing a battle axe; the reverse disc bears the King Olav's motto «Ret og Sandhed»  – "Justice and Truth" in Norwegian; both discs are surrounded by a white-blue-white ring. The cross is topped by a crown; military awards have crossed swords between the crown and the cross.

The star of the Order for the Grand Cross is an eight-pointed silver star with faceted rays, bearing the obverse of the badge of the Order (minus the crown on the top).

The star for Commander with Star is a silver faceted Maltese Cross, with gilt crowned monograms "O" (for "Oscar") between the arms of the cross. The central disc is red with the golden Norwegian lion rampart bearing a battle axe, surrounded by a white-blue-white ring.[2]

The ribbon of the Order is red with white-blue-white edge stripes.

In very exceptional circumstances the Order may awarded 'with diamonds', in which case a ring of diamonds replace the white-blue-white enamel ring surrounding the central disc on the front of the badge.

Ranking

The Order of St. Olav is the highest civilian decoration currently awarded by Norway, and only ranks after the military War Cross among all Norwegian decorations still awarded in the general ranking.

In the order of precedence used at the royal court of Norway, bearers of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav with collar are ranked 15th in the order of precedence, directly after the Mistress of the Robes and generals and directly before recipients of the War Cross with Sword. Bearers of the Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav are ranked 16th.

Current holders of the Grand Cross

This list contains holders of the Grand Cross, some of whom have also been awarded the Collar and gives the year of their appointment. The list is collated alphabetically by last name; those recipients not possessing a last name, such as royalty and most Icelanders are collated by first name. Six of the listed are not heads of states or royals; these are marked by names in bold. Before the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit was created in 1985, the Order of St Olav was awarded to members of a foreign delegation during state visits. Many holders of the Grand Cross who are not heads of state are not listed here.

This list was last updated on 20 March 2015.

Country Name Title, Position Grand Cross
with Collar 		Grand Cross Year of appointment
 Austria Heinz Fischer President YesY 2007
 Belgium Albert II Former King YesY 1964
 Belgium Mathilde Queen YesY 2003
 Belgium Paola Former Queen YesY 1997
 Belgium Philippe King YesY 2003
 Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Former President YesY 2003
 Bulgaria Georgi Parvanov Former President YesY 2006
 Croatia Ivo Josipović Former president YesY 2011
 Denmark Benedikte Princess YesY 1974
 Denmark Frederik Crown Prince YesY 1990
 Denmark Henrik Prince Consort YesY 1968
 Denmark Joachim Prince YesY 1991
 Denmark Margrethe II Queen YesY 1958
 Denmark Marie Princess YesY 2014
 Denmark Mary Crown Princess YesY 2005
 Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves President YesY 2014
 Estonia Arnold Rüütel Former President YesY 2002
 Finland Martti Ahtisaari Former President YesY 1994
 Finland Mauno Koivisto Former President YesY 1983
 Finland Tellervo Koivisto Former President's wife YesY 1983
 Finland Sauli Niinistö President YesY 2012
 Finland Tarja Halonen Former President YesY 2000
 France Jacques Chirac Former President YesY 2000
 France Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Former President (when Minister of Finance) YesY 1962
 Germany Joachim Gauck President YesY 2014
 Germany Roman Herzog Former President YesY 1998
 Germany Horst Köhler Former President YesY 2007
 Germany Marianne von Weizsäcker Former first lady YesY 1986
Greece		 Constantine II Former King YesY YesY 1964, 1962
 Greece Constantinos Stephanopoulos Former President YesY 2004
 Iran Farah Pahlavi Former Empress YesY 1965
 Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson President YesY 1998
 Iceland Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Former President YesY 1982
 Italy Sergio Mattarella President YesY 2016
 Italy Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Former President YesY 2001
 Japan Akihito Emperor YesY YesY 2001, 1953
 Japan Masako Crown Princess YesY 2001
 Japan Michiko Empress YesY 2001
 Japan Naruhito Crown Prince YesY 2001
 Japan Tomohito of Mikasa Princess YesY 2001
 Jordan Abdullah II King YesY 2000
 Jordan Hassan Prince (when Crown Prince) YesY ?
 Jordan Rania Queen YesY 2000
 Latvia Guntis Ulmanis Former President YesY 1998
 Latvia Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga Former President YesY 2000
 Latvia Andris Bērziņš President YesY 2015
 Lithuania Valdas Adamkus Former President YesY 1998
 Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė President YesY 2011
 Luxembourg Henri Grand Duke YesY 2011
 Luxembourg Jean Former Grand Duke YesY 1964
 Luxembourg Maria Teresa Grand Duchess YesY 1996
 Netherlands Beatrix Former Queen (when Princess) YesY 1964
 Netherlands Margriet Princess YesY 1964
 Netherlands Willem-Alexander King YesY 1996
 Netherlands Máxima Queen YesY 2013
 Norway Astrid Princess YesY 1956
 Norway Kjell Magne Bondevik Former Prime Minister YesY 2004
 Norway Lars Petter Forberg Former Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Household YesY 2004
 Norway Åge Bernhard Grutle Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Household YesY 2015
 Norway Haakon Crown Prince YesY 1991
 Norway Magne Hagen Former Cabinet Secretary to the King YesY 2000
 Norway Harald V King YesY
Grand Master		 1955, 1991
 Norway Jørgen Hårek Kosmo Former President of the Norwegian Parliament YesY 2005
 Norway Märtha Louise Princess YesY 1989
 Norway Mette-Marit Crown Princess YesY 2001
 Norway Arne Omholt Marshal of the Court YesY 2016
 Norway Carsten Smith Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Norway YesY 2003
 Norway Sonja Queen YesY 1972
 Norway Berit Tversland Cabinet Secretary to the King YesY 2012
 Poland Bronislaw Komorowski President YesY 2012
 Poland Aleksander Kwaśniewski Former President YesY 1996
 Poland Lech Wałęsa Former President YesY 1995
 Portugal António Ramalho Eanes Former President YesY 1978
 Portugal Jorge Sampaio Former President YesY 2004
 Portugal Aníbal Cavaco Silva President YesY 2008
 Romania Emil Constantinescu Former President YesY 1999
 Slovakia Ivan Gašparovič President YesY 2010
 Slovenia Danilo Türk Former President YesY 2011
 Spain Cristina Princess YesY 1995
 Spain Elena Princess YesY 1995
 Spain Felipe King YesY 1995
 Spain Juan Carlos I Former King YesY 1982
 Spain Sofía Former Queen YesY 1982
 Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf King YesY 1974
 Sweden Carl Philip Prince YesY 2005
 Sweden Christina Princess YesY 1992
 Sweden Désirée Princess YesY 1992
 Sweden Madeleine Princess YesY 2005
 Sweden Silvia Queen YesY 1982
 Sweden Victoria Crown Princess YesY 1995
 Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej King YesY 1960
 Thailand Sirikit Queen YesY 1965
 Turkey Abdullah Gül Former president YesY 2013
 United Kingdom Elizabeth II Queen YesY 1955
 United Kingdom Philip Prince consort and Duke of Edinburgh YesY 1952
 United Kingdom Andrew Prince and Duke of York YesY 1988
 United Kingdom Charles Prince of Wales YesY 1978
 United Kingdom Edward Prince and Duke of Kent YesY 1988
 United Kingdom Richard Prince and Duke of Gloucester YesY 1973

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Medal of St. Olav", The Royal House of Norway. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  2. ^ "Utnevnelse til St. Olavs Orden". Retrieved 21 September 2014.
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