Order of the Star of Romania

The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: Ordinul Steaua României) is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the defunct Order of Michael the Brave. It is awarded by the President of Romania. It has five ranks, from lowest to the highest: Officer, Commander, Grand Officer, Grand Cross, and Grand Cross with Collar.

Order of the Star of Romania
Ordinul Steaua României
Collar of the Order
Awarded by the King of Romania
(1877–1947)
The President of Romania
since 1998
TypeOrder of Merit
CountryKingdom of Romania
Romania
Ribbon
Eligibility(1) Civil, Military;
(2) Military units;
(3) Foreign citizens
Criteria(1) Exceptional civil and military services to the Romanian State and the Romanian people;
(2) For special acts in time of peace or for heroic acts in time of war;
(3) For contributing to the development of the friendship relations with Romania, or for other exceptional services to the Romanian State and the Romanian People.
StatusCurrently awarded
Grand MasterPresident Klaus Iohannis
GradesCollar
Grand Cross
Grand Officer
Commander
Officer
Knight/Dame
Precedence
Next (higher)Order of Michael the Brave
Next (lower)Order of Faithful Service

History

In 1863, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, the Domnitor of the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, asked the Romanian representative to Paris to contact the then well-known jewellery house Krétly, to manufacture a state decoration. Krétly presented a model, which was immediately accepted by the domnitor, and based on his agreement, 1,000 pieces of the order were made. It was decided that the order would have five ranks: Knight (Cavaler), Officer (Ofițer), Comandor (Comandor), Grand Officer (Mare Ofițer), and Grand Cross (Mare Cruce).

Unlike all other decorations in that time that were mostly inspired on the French Légion d'honneur, or which had their insignia like a Maltese cross, the model proposed by Krétly for this order was a blue cross crosslet (cruce repetată), a design that was then unique in decorational design.

The domnitor decided that the name of the honour would be "The Order of the Union" ("Ordinul Unirii"). It was planned to institute the order on 24 January 1864, the date when the 5th anniversary of his election would be celebrated and a moment that marked the unification of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. Because of this, the motto of the new order would fit the event: "GENERE ET CORDES FRATRES" ("BROTHERS THROUGH ORIGINS AND FEELINGS"). The obverse of the insignia would bear the numbers "5" and "24", the days of January when he was elected in both Moldova and Wallachia.

However, due to the overthrow of Alexandru Ioan Cuza by a palace coup, he was unable to actually institute the order, and he awarded the insignia therefore only as a personal present, not as a state decoration. Most of the insignia produced for him remained stored in the Royal Palace's dungeons.

The original 1877 model - Commodore rank (obverse).

In April 1877, when Romania gained independence from the Ottoman Empire, the debate regarding the institution of Romanian decorations was revived. Mihail Kogălniceanu, Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Ion Brătianu cabinet, took part in the debates in the Assembly of Deputies regarding the institution of a state decoration. Because of the already earlier supplied "Order of The Union", it was decided that the shape of the decoration would be the same, modifying only the domnitor's seal. The motto was also changed, because the old one was not appropriate to the moment, to "IN FIDE SALUS" ("IN FAITH IS THE SALVATION"). Regarding the name, Kogălniceanu insisted on "Steaua Dunării" ("The Star of The Danube").

The name "Steaua României" ("The Star of Romania") appeared on May 10, 1887, when the law was voted in the Parliament, as the first law of the Sovereign Romania.

By Royal Decree (no. 1545/1932), King Carol II changed the order of precedence in the Romanian honours system. As a result, in 1932, The Star of Romania dropped in precedence from second place (where it had been since 1906) to fourth place (after the Order of Carol I and the Order of Ferdinand I). In 1937, it dropped to seventh place. The main shape of the order, the blue repeated cross (called also "Romanian cross") was kept, but the rays between the cross' arms were replaced by four heraldic eagles with wings spread, the insignia of King Carol I was placed on the obverse, and the reverse bore the year of its establishment, "1877". Also the number of persons that could be awarded The Star of Romania was increased:

  • Knight (Cavaler): 1,000 civilians and 350 military
  • Officer (Ofițer): 500 civilians and 150 military
  • Commodore or Commander (Comandor): 200 civilians and 75 military
  • Grand Officer (Mare Ofițer): 75 civilians and 25 military
  • Grand Cross (Mare Cruce): 35 civilians and 10 military
Certificate confirming that the Star of Romania was awarded to Ernesto Burzagli in the name of King Ferdinand I.

In 1938, the order was given a superior rank, called "Clasa I" (First Class in English), between the Grand Officer rank and the Grand Cross rank, with a maximum of 50 civilians and 15 military personnel.

The statutes established by King Carol II were changed by General Ion Antonescu (who became Conducător on 4 September 1940). Generally, the rules were the ones used during World War I. The order "The Star of Romania" became the second in the national hierarchy, after that of the Order of Michael the Brave.

Inspired by the German Iron Cross, Ion Antonescu decided that the first three grades of the orders the Star of Romania and the Crown of Romania, with spades (swords), and the ribbon of The Medal "The Military Virtue" would be awarded for exceptionally brave acts with an oak leaf, attached to the ribbon.

After 1948, all the existing decorations were outlawed, and their wearing was forbidden. Just by keeping the insignia, one was considered a delinquent in the first years of communism.

After many attempts, in 1998/1999 the National Order "The Star of Romania" was reinstituted, with a design similar to the one used in 1932, but without the insignia of King Carol I, and with the republican insignia.

Grades

As per Law 29/2000, regarding Romania's national system of decorations, there are currently six grades:[1]

  • Collar (Colan)
  • Grand Cross (Mare Cruce)
  • Grand Officer (Mare Ofiţer)
  • Commander (Comandor)
  • Officer (Ofiţer)
  • Knight (Cavaler)

Select recipients

First issue (1877-1948)

Second issue (since 1998)
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Collar rank

Romanian: Colan

Foreign citizens
No.NameKnown forYear
Appointed
1 Jacques Chirac President of France 1998
2 Alberto Fujimori President of Peru
3 Martti Ahtisaari President of Finland
4 Petar Stoyanov President of Bulgaria
5 Aleksander Kwaśniewski President of Poland 1999
6 Thomas Klestil President of Austria
7 Konstantinos Stephanopoulos President of Greece
8 Süleyman Demirel President of Turkey
9 Harald V King of Norway
10 Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Emir of Qatar
11 Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Emir of Kuwait
12 Nursultan Nazarbayev President of Kazakhstan
13 Rexhep Meidani President of Albania
14 Ezer Weizman President of Israel
15 Petru Lucinschi President of Moldova 2000
16 Elizabeth II Queen of the United Kingdom
17 Jorge Sampaio President of Portugal
18 Árpád Göncz President of Hungary
19 Margrethe II Queen of Denmark
20 Rudolf Schuster President of Slovakia
21 Stjepan Mesić President of Croatia
22 Ernesto Zedillo President of Mexico
23 Fernando Henrique Cardoso President of Brazil
24 Bhumibol Adulyadej King of Thailand
25 Leonid Kuchma President of Ukraine
26 Émile Lahoud President of Lebanon 2001
27 Kofi Annan Secretary-General of the United Nations
28 Beatrix I Queen of the Netherlands
29 Valdas Adamkus President of Lithuania
30 Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga President of Latvia
31 Andrew Bertie Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta 2002
32 Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan President of United Arab Emirates
33 Gloria Macapagal Arroyo President of Philippines
34 Milan Kučan President of Slovenia
35 Ferenc Mádl President of Hungary
36 George W. Bush President of the United States
37 Mauro Chiaruzzi Captains Regent of San Marino
38 Giuseppe Maria Morganti Captains Regent of San Marino
39 Zine El Abidine Ben Ali President of Tunisia 2003
40 Carl XVI Gustaf King of Sweden
41 Juan Carlos I King of Spain
42 Carlo Azeglio Ciampi President of Italy
43 Arnold Rüütel President of Estonia
44 Henri I Grand Duke of Luxembourg 2004
45 Angelo Sodano Cardinal Secretary of State
46 Eddie Fenech Adami President of Malta
47 Giuseppe Arzilli Captains Regent of San Marino
48 Roberto Raschi Captains Regent of San Marino
49 Ricardo Lagos President of Chile
50 Ilham Aliyev President of Azerbaijan
51 Abdullah II King of Jordan 2005
52 Tarja Halonen President of Finland 2006
53 George Emil Palade Professor 2007
54 Tarcisio Bertone Cardinal Secretary of State 2008
55 Matthew Festing Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta
56 Lech Kaczyński President of Poland 2009
57 Michel Suleiman President of Lebanon
58 Albert II Prince of Monaco
59 Albert II King of the Belgians
60 Mihai Ghimpu President of Moldova 2010
61 George Abela President of Malta
62 Valdis Zatlers President of Latvia 2011
63 Toomas Hendrik Ilves President of Estonia
64 Giorgio Napolitano President of Italy
65 Pietro Parolin Cardinal Secretary of State 2015
67 Aníbal Cavaco Silva President of Portugal
68 Dalia Grybauskaitė President of Lithuania 2016
69 Sergio Mattarella President of Italy
70 Rosen Plevneliev President of Bulgaria
71 Joachim Gauck [3] President of Germany
72 Andrzej Duda President of Poland
73 François Hollande President of France
74 Andrej Kiska President of Slovakia
75 Nicolae Timofti President of Moldova
76 Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović President of Croatia 2017
Romanian citizens

Available seats: 9

Grand Cross rank
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Grand Officer rank
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Commodore rank
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Officer rank
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Knight rank
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.
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See also

References
  1. "LEGE nr. 29 din 31 martie 2000 privind sistemul national de decoratii al Romaniei". Monitorul Oficial al României. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  2. "Wikimedia Commons". Commons.wikimedia.org. 2012-08-22. Retrieved 2017-07-08.
  3. "Iohannis i-a decorat pe preşedintele Germaniei şi pe partenera sa" (in Romanian). Mediafax. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  4. www.presidency.ro, Decret de decorare semnat de Președintele României, domnul Klaus Iohannis, 29 March 2017.
  5. "Klaus Iohannis a decorat opt congresmani americani cu Ordinul Steaua României în grad de Comandor". adevarul.ro (in Romanian). June 9, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  6. Peia, Florentina; Iacob, Simona (June 9, 2017). Purcarea, Vicentiu; Pandea, Razvan-Adrian (eds.). "President Iohannis and U.S. congressmen discuss Romania's inclusion in Visa Waiver programme". Agepres. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  7. "Presedintele Basescu i-a retras Steaua Romaniei lui Vadim Tudor". 9am.ro. 2007-05-28. Retrieved 2017-07-08.

Other sources
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