Order of merit

The cross of the Order pro Merito Melitensi, an order of merit established in 1920 by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, an independent, Catholic order of chivalry and sovereign entity.

An order of merit is an honorific order that is conferred by a state, government, royal family, or other sovereign entity to an individual in recognition of military or civil merit. The historical background of the modern honours system of orders of merit may be traced to the emergence of orders of chivalry in the Middle Ages.

Orders of merit may be bestowed as official awards by states or as dynastic orders by royal families. In the case of modern republics, an order of merit may constitute the highest award conferred by the state authority.

National orders of merit

• Order of Merit, a Commonwealth order established in 1902 by King Edward VII
• Order pro Merito Melitensi, established in 1920 as a state decoration by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
• Order of Merit (Lebanon), established in 1922 as the highest honour of the Republic of Lebanon
• Order of Merit (Portugal), established in 1927, known by its current name since 1976
• Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, established in 1951 as the highest honour of the Italian Republic
• Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, established in 1951 as the highest honour of the Federal Republic of Germany
• Order of Merit of the Austrian Republic, established in 1952 as the highest honour of the Austrian Republic
• Order of Merit (Egypt), established in 1953
• Order of Central African Merit, established in 1959 as the highest civil decoration of the Central African Republic
• National Order of Merit (France), established in 1963
• Order of Merit (Malaysia), established in 1975 as the highest honour of Malaysia
• National Order of Merit (Malta), established in 1990 as the highest honour of the Republic of Malta
• Order of Merit (Jamaica)
• Tuvalu Order of Merit was founded on 1 October 2016 as the highest honour of Tuvalu

Dynastic orders of merit

• Order of Merit of Savoy, established in 1988 by the House of Savoy
• Order of Merit of the Portuguese Royal House, established in 1993 by the House of Braganza

See also

• Order (honour)
  • Order of Merit (disambiguation)
    • Order of Military Merit (disambiguation), a number of separate orders
    • Order of Naval Merit (disambiguation), a number of separate orders
      • Cross of Merit (disambiguation), a number of separate decorations
      • Medal of Merit (disambiguation), a number of separate decorations
• Socialist orders of merit