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Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland

Field	Value
name
image
caption	The Grand Cross of Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
presenter	the President of Poland
country	Poland
type	Five grade order
awarded_for	Service in improving relations between nations
status	Currently awarded
established	10 April 1974 (Revised 16 October 1992)
higher	Order of the Cross of Independence
lower	Cross of Valour
image2	POL Order Zaslugi RP kl5 BAR.svg
image2_size	120px
caption2	Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland ribbon

The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland () is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident abroad. As such, it is sometimes referred to as a traditional "diplomatic order".

History

Sir [[Edmund Hillary]] wearing the Commander's Cross in 2004

The order was established by an act of 10 April 1974, as the Order of Merit of the Polish People's Republic (Order Zasługi Polskiej Rzeczypospolitej Ludowej). The need for the new order had arisen since the Order of the White Eagle had fallen into disuse after the foundation of the People's Republic. Reflecting this history, the two orders utilized similar colors and designs. The Order of Merit of the Polish People's Republic was awarded in five classes: Grand Cordon of the Order, Commandery with Star, Commandery, Gold Badge of the Order, and Silver Badge of the Order. It was awarded by the Polish Council of State.

The [[People's Republic of Poland]] version of the order (5th class)

After the fall of communism in Poland in 1989, it was decided to retain the order, with necessary changes. Without a formal change of the 1974 act or the name of the order, the insignia were changed to the present ones by a presidential decree of 16 April 1991. The abbreviation "PRL" was changed to "RP," the Eagle was given a crown in accordance with Poland's original coat of arms, the date "1974" was removed from the reverse, and the color of the ribbon was changed from light cobalt blue to dark cobalt.

Under an act of 16 October 1992, the order was reestablished under the name Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (Order Zasługi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej).

Under the 1992 act, the order is awarded to foreigners or Poles resident abroad for distinguished contributions to international cooperation or cooperation between Poland and other countries.

Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, the highest award of the class, have included Queen Elizabeth II, Henry Kissinger, and Edward Mosberg.

Degrees

From 1974 to 1991 the Order was awarded in the following classes:

[[Image:POL Order Zaslugi PRL kl1 BAR.png|70px|1st class]] 1st class – Grand Cordon of the Order of Merit of the People's Republic of Poland
[[Image:POL Order Zaslugi PRL kl2 BAR.png|70px|2nd class]] 2nd class – Commandery with Star of the Order of Merit of the People's Republic of Poland
[[Image:POL Order Zaslugi PRL kl3 BAR.png|70px|3rd class]] 3rd class – Commandery of the Order of Merit of the People's Republic of Poland
[[Image:POL Order Zaslugi PRL kl4 BAR.png|70px|4th class]] 4th class – Gold Badge of the Order of Merit of the People's Republic of Poland
[[Image:POL Order Zaslugi PRL kl5 BAR.PNG|70px|5th class]] 5th class – Silver Badge of the Order of Merit of the People's Republic of Poland

Since 1992 the Order is awarded in the following classes:

1st class – Grand Cordon of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
2nd class – Commandery with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
3rd class – Commandery of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
4th class – Gold Badge of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
5th class – Silver Badge of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland}}
[[Image:POL Order Zaslugi RP kl1 BAR.svg|70px|1st class]] 1st class – Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
[[Image:POL Order Zaslugi RP kl2 BAR.svg|70px|2nd class]] 2nd class – Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
[[Image:POL Order Zaslugi RP kl3 BAR.svg|70px|3rd class]] 3rd class – Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
[[Image:POL Order Zaslugi RP kl4 BAR.svg|70px|4th class]] 4th class – Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
[[Image:POL Order Zaslugi RP kl5 BAR.svg|70px|5th class]] 5th class – Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland

Notes

References

Repetski, Ilja. "Order of Merit of the Polish People's Republic". World Awards.
(2006). "World Orders of Knighthood and Merit". Burke's Peerage & Gentry.
(20 July 2009). "Kapituły orderów". Prezydent.pl.
(20 July 2009). "Order Zasługi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej". Prezydent.pl.
[https://www.sejm.gov.pl/media9.nsf/files/TNON-CJ9MDX/%24File/Resolution_of_the_Sejm_of_the_Republic_of_Poland_on_the_commemoration_of_Her_Majesty_Elizabeth_II_Queen_of_the_United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Northern_Ireland.pdf "Resolution of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland of September 14, 2022 on the commemoration of Her Majesty Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"]
"Kissinger receives Poland's top decoration".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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