Order of Merit of the Italian Republic

"OMRI" redirects here. For other uses, see Omri (disambiguation).

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana
Emblem of the order
Awarded by the Italian Republic
Typ	Order of merit
Established	3 March 1951 (1951-03-03)
Land	Italien
Eligibility	Civilian and military divisions
Criteria	Meritorious service or achievement
Status	Currently constituted
Gründer	Luigi Einaudi
Grand Master	President of the Republic
Grades	Knight Grand Cross with Collar Knight Grand Cross Grand Officer Commander Officer Knight
Post-nominals	OMRI
Website	www.quirinale.it/page/omri
Precedence
Next (higher)	None
Next (lower)	Military Order of Italy
Ribbon of the order

Commander's badge with a ribbon bow

The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italian: Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi.

The highest-ranking honour of the Republic, it is awarded for "merit acquired by the nation" in the fields of literature, the arts, economy, public service, and social, philanthropic and humanitarian activities and for long and conspicuous service in civilian and military careers. The post-nominal letters for the order are OMRI.

The order effectively replaced national orders such as the Civil Order of Savoy (1831), the Order of the Crown of Italy (1868), the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (1572) and the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation (1362).

Grades

Investiture takes place twice a year – on 2 June, the anniversary of the foundation of the Republic, and on 27 December, the anniversary of the promulgation of the Italian Constitution. However, those awards on Presidential motu proprio, related to termination of service or granted to foreigners, may be made at any time.

The badge, modified in 2001, bears the inscription Al Merito della Repubblica encircling the national coat of arms on the obverse and the Latin Patriæ Unitati (for the union of the country) and Civium Libertati (for the liberty of the citizens) encircling the head of Italia turrita on the reverse. The six degrees with corresponding ribbons are as follows (with numbers to 2 June 2020):

Ribbon (1951–2001)	Ribbon (since 2001)	Class (English)	Full title in Italian	Awards
		Knight Grand Cross with Collar	Cavaliere di Gran Croce Decorato di Gran Cordone Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana	201
		1st Class / Knight Grand Cross	Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana	9,178
		2nd Class / Grand Officer	Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana	24,830
		3rd Class / Commander	Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana	48,184
		4th Class / Officer	Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana	33,442
		5th Class / Knight	Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana	146,390

The order is bestowed by decree of the President of the Italian Republic, as head of the orders of knighthood, on the recommendation of the President of the Council of Ministers. Except in exceptional circumstances, no one can be awarded for the first time a rank higher than Knight. The minimum age requirement is normally 35.

The Knight Grand Cross with Collar is awarded only to heads of state.

Recipients

Grand Cross with Collar

• Presidency of Luigi Einaudi (12 May 1948 – 11 May 1955):

Date	Recipient
28 December 1952	Griechenland – King Paul I (1947–1964)
11 March 1953	Brasilien – President Getúlio Vargas (1930–1945; 1951–1954)
30 May 1953	Monaco – Prince Rainier III (1949–2005)
16 July 1953	Libanon – President Camille Chamoun (1952–1958)
6 October 1953	Venezuela – President Marcos Pérez Jiménez (1953–1958)
16 November 1953	Argentinien – President Juan Domingo Perón (1946–1955; 1973–1974)
31 December 1953	Deutschland – President Theodor Heuss (1949–1959)
13 February 1954	Haiti – President Paul Magloire (1950–1956)
31 July 1954	Dominikanische Republik – President Rafael Trujillo (1930–1938; 1942–1952)
6 September 1954	Chile – President Carlos Ibanez del Campo (1927–1931; 1952–1958)
17 November 1954	Sovereign Order of Malta – Lieutenant Grand Master Fra' Antonio Hercolani Fava Simonetti (1951–1955)
6 December 1954	Frankreich – President René Coty (1954–1959)
12 February 1955	El Salvador – President Óscar Osorio (1950–1956)

• Presidency of Giovanni Gronchi (11 May 1955 – 11 May 1962):

Date	Recipient
11 May 1955	Italien – Former President Luigi Einaudi (1948–1955)
21 October 1955	Äthiopien – Emperor Haile Selassie (1930–1974)
16 January 1956	Brasilien – President Juscelino Kubitschek (1956–1961)
5 June 1956	Italien – Former President Enrico De Nicola (1946–1948)
20 September 1956	Liberia – President William Tubman (1944–1971)
15 November 1956	Peru – President Manuel Prado Ugarteche (1939–1945; 1956–1962)
18 January 1957	Costa Rica – President José Figueres Ferrer (1948–1949; 1953–1958; 1970–1974)
6 March 1957	Order of Malta – Lieutenant Grand Master Fra' Ernesto Paternò Castello di Carcaci (1955–1962)
11 March 1957	Irland — President Seán T. O'Kelly (1945–1959)
13 May 1957	Türkei – President Celal Bayar (1950–1960)
11 June 1957	Panama – President Ernesto de la Guardia (1956–1960)
26 August 1957	Iran – Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1941–1979)
1 October 1957	El Salvador – President José María Lemus (1956–1960)
9 May 1958	Vereinigtes Königreich – Queen Elizabeth II (1952–2022)
16 June 1959	Frankreich – President Charles De Gaulle (1959–1969)
11 June 1960	Argentinien – President Arturo Frondizi (1958–1962)
8 September 1960	Finnland – President Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (1956–1982)
22 September 1960	Thailand – King Bhumibol Adulyadej (1946–2016)
29 November 1960	Uruguay – President Benito Nardone (1960–1961)
6 April 1961	Uruguay – President Eduardo Víctor Haedo (1961–1962)

• Presidency of Antonio Segni (11 May 1962 – 6 December 1964):

Date	Recipient
25 May 1962	Tunesien – President Habib Bourguiba (1957–1987)
2 October 1962	Senegal – President Léopold Sédar Senghor (1960–1980)
8 October 1962	Order of Malta – Prince and Grand Master Fra' Angelo de Mojana di Cologna (1962–1988)
27 November 1962	Griechenland – Prince Constantine
25 September 1963	Ghana – President Kwame Nkrumah (1960–1966)
2 October 1963	Somalia – President Aden Adde (1960–1967)
20 April 1964	Dänemark – King Frederik IX (1947–1972)
18 June 1964	Uruguay – President Luis Giannattasio (1964–1965)

• Presidency of Giuseppe Saragat (29 December 1964 – 29 December 1971):

Date	Recipient
16 June 1965	Peru – President Fernando Belaúnde Terry (1963–1968; 1980–1985)
20 June 1965	Mexiko – President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz (1964–1970)
21 June 1965	Norwegen – King Olav V (1957–1991)
2 July 1965	Chile – President Eduardo Frei Montalva (1964–1970)
8 August 1965	Deutschland – President Heinrich Lübke (1959–1969)
8 September 1965	Venezuela – President Raúl Leoni (1964–1969)
	Argentinien – President Arturo Umberto Illia (1963–1966)
	Brasilien – President Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco (1964–1967)
21 October 1965	Polen – Chairman of the Council of State Edward Ochab (1964–1968)
11 June 1966	Belgien – King Baudouin (1951–1993)
14 June 1966	Schweden – King Gustaf VI Adolf (1950–1973)
28 November 1966	El Salvador – President Julio Adalberto Rivera Carballo (1962–1967)
8 August 1969	Ivory Coast – President Félix Houphouët-Boigny (1960–1993)
2 October 1969	Yugoslavia – President Josip Broz Tito (1953–1980)

• Presidency of Giovanni Leone (29 December 1971 – 15 June 1978):

Date	Recipient
30 December 1971	Österreich – President Franz Jonas (1965–1974)
23 November 1972	Indonesien – President Suharto (1968–1998)
21 March 1973	Deutschland – President Gustav Heinemann (1969–1974)
8 May 1973	Zaire – President Mobutu Sese Seko (1965–1997)
21 May 1973	Rumänien – President of the State Council Nicolae Ceaușescu (1967–1989)
8 June 1973	Saudi-Arabien – King Faisal (1964–1975)
1 October 1973	Frankreich – President Georges Pompidou (1969–1974)
23 October 1973	Niederlande – Queen Juliana (1948–1980)
	Niederlande – Prince Bernhard (1948–1980)
26 October 1973	Luxemburg – Grand Duke Jean (1964–2000)
21 November 1973	Gabun – President Omar Bongo (1967–2009)
8 February 1974	Mexiko – President Luis Echeverría (1970–1976)
22 April 1974	Oman – Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said (1970–2020)
15 December 1974	Iran – Prince Reza Pahlavi
	Iran – Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi (1961–1979)
6 April 1976	– President Anwar Sadat (1970–1981)
17 November 1976	– President Carlos Andrés Pérez (1974–1979; 1989–1993)
8 November 1977	Dänemark – Queen Margrethe II (1972–2024)
29 April 1978	Türkei – President Fahri Koruturk (1973–1980)

• Presidency of Sandro Pertini (9 July 1978 – 29 June 1985):

Date	Recipient
18 September 1979	Deutschland – President Karl Carstens (1979–1984)
14 May 1980	Portugal – President António Ramalho Eanes (1976–1986)
26 May 1980	Spanien – King Juan Carlos I (1975–2014)
18 November 1980	Griechenland – President Konstantinos Karamanlis (1980–1985; 1990–1995)
17 December 1980	Yugoslavia – President Cvijetin Mijatović (1980–1981)
30 March 1981	Mexiko – President José López Portillo (1976–1982)
	Costa Rica – President Rodrigo Carazo Odio (1978–1982)
1 April 1981	Kolumbien – President Julio César Turbay Ayala (1978–1982)
14 October 1981	Mosambik – President Samora Machel (1975–1986)
30 January 1982	Ägypten – President Hosni Moubarak (1981–2011)
9 March 1982	Japan – Emperor Hirohito (1926–1989)
5 July 1982	Frankreich – President François Mitterrand (1981–1995)
26 November 1983	Jordanien – King Hussein (1952–1999)
20 June 1984	Costa Rica – President Luis Alberto Monge (1982–1986)
11 March 1985	Argentinien – President Raúl Alfonsín (1983–1989)
27 March 1985	Niederlande – Queen Beatrix (1980–2013)
	Niederlande – Prince Claus (1980–2002)

• Presidency of Francesco Cossiga (3 July 1985 – 28 April 1992):

Date	Recipient
24 April 1986	Deutschland – President Richard von Weizsäcker (1984–1994)
25 July 1986	Irland – President Patrick John Hillery (1976–1990)
5 October 1987	Island – President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (1980–1996)
6 June 1988	Venezuela – President Jaime Lusinchi (1984–1989)
16 June 1988	Philippinen – President Corazon Aquino (1986–1992)
5 April 1989	Portugal – President Mario Soares (1986–1996)
12 May 1989	Polen – President Wojciech Jaruzelski (1989–1990)
22 May 1990	Order of Malta – Prince and Grand Master Fra' Andrew Bertie (1988–2008)
11 June 1990	San Marino – Captain Regent Ottaviano Rossi (1990)
	San Marino – Captain Regent Aldemiro Bartolini (1990)
8 April 1991	Schweden – King Carl XVI Gustav (1973–incumbent)
17 April 1991	Chile – President Patricio Aylwin (1990–1994)
15 July 1991	Ungarn – President Árpád Göncz (1990–2000)
18 September 1991	Malta – President Censu Tabone (1989–1994)
19 December 1991	Russland – President Boris Yeltsin (1991–1999)
28 April 1992	Italien – President Francesco Cossiga (1985–1992) self-awarded

• Presidency of Oscar Luigi Scalfaro (25 May 1992 – 15 May 1999):

Date	Recipient
5 October 1992	Argentinien – President Carlos Menem (1989–1999)
27 January 1993	Österreich – President Thomas Klestil (1992–2004)
14 September 1993	Finnland – President Mauno Koivisto (1982–1994)
3 May 1995	Ukraine – President Leonid Kuchma (1994–2005)
24 June 1995	Brasilien – President Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995–2002)
29 June 1995	Venezuela – President Rafael Caldera (1994–1999)
19 July 1995	Chile – President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle (1994–2000)
21 July 1995	Uruguay – President Julio María Sanguinetti (1985–1990; 1995–2000)
16 November 1995	Malta – President Ugo Mifsud Bonnici (1994–1999)
26 March 1996	Mexiko – President Ernesto Zedillo (1994–2000)
23 April 1996	Albanien – President Sali Berisha (1992–1997)
28 May 1996	Polen – President Aleksander Kwaśniewski (1995–2005)
7 October 1996	Türkei – President Süleyman Demirel (1993–2000)
28 January 1997	Finnland – President Martti Ahtisaari (1994–2000)
20 April 1997	Deutschland – President Roman Herzog (1994–1999)
2 May 1997	Usbekistan – President Islam Karimov (1991–2016)
4 May 1997	Kasachstan – President Nursultan Nazarbayev (1990–2019)
20 May 1997	Litauen – President Algirdas Brazauskas (1992–1998)
21 May 1997	Lettland – President Guntis Ulmanis (1993–1999)
22 May 1997	Estland – President Lennart Meri (1992–2001)
19 July 1997	Saudi-Arabien – King Fahd (1982–2005)
5 November 1997	Libanon – President Elias Hrawi (1989–1998)
13 November 1997	Slowakei – President Michal Kovac (1993–1998)
3 March 1998	San Marino – Captain Regent Marino Zanotti (1998)
	San Marino – Captain Regent Luigi Mazza (1998)
12 April 1998	Japan – Emperor Akihito (1989–2019)
12 May 1998	Belgien – King Albert II (1993–2013)
19 January 1999	Dominikanische Republik – President Leonel Fernández (1996–2000; 2008–2012)
19 February 1999	Palestine – President Yasser Arafat (1994–2004)
23 February 1999	Litauen – President Valdas Adamkus (1998–2003; 2004–2009)

• Presidency of Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (18 May 1999 – 15 May 2006):

Date	Recipient
21 October 1999	Frankreich – President Jacques Chirac (1995–2007)
15 November 1999	Algerien – President Abdelaziz Bouteflika (1999–2019)
2 March 2000	Südkorea – President Kim Dae-Jung (1998–2003)
3 March 2000	Chile – President Ricardo Lagos (2000–2006)
11 April 2000	Marokko – King Mohammed VI (1999–incumbent)
26 April 2000	Katar – Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (1995–2013)
23 January 2001	Griechenland – President Konstantinos Stephanopoulos (1995–2005)
9 February 2001	Jordanien – King Abdullah II (1999–incumbent)
7 March 2001	Argentinien – President Fernando de la Rúa (1999–2001)
	Uruguay – President Jorge Batlle (2000–2005)
19 October 2001	Norwegen – King Harald V (1991–incumbent)
27 November 2001	Portugal – President Jorge Sampaio (1996–2006)
14 January 2002	Serbia and Montenegro – President Vojislav Koštunica (2000–2003)
6 March 2002	Südafrika – President Thabo Mbeki (1999–2008)
11 March 2002	San Marino – Captain Regent Gino Giovagnoli (2002)
	San Marino – Captain Regent Alberto Cecchetti (2002)
22 March 2002	Deutschland – President Johannes Rau (1999–2004)
27 March 2002	Tschechische Republik – President Vaclav Havel (1993–2003)
17 June 2002	Ungarn – President Ferenc Mádl (2000–2005)
28 June 2002	Slowakei – President Rudolf Schuster (1999–2004)
4 December 2002	Peru – President Alejandro Toledo (2001–2006)
14 March 2003	Luxemburg – Grand Duke Henri (2000–incumbent)
9 June 2003	Malaysia – King Sirajuddin of Perlis (2001–2006)
16 January 2004	Malta – President Guido de Marco (1999–2004)
8 April 2004	Lettland – President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga (1999–2007)
	Estland – President Arnold Rüütel (2001–2006)
5 April 2005	Bulgarien – President Georgi Parvanov (2002–2012)
11 May 2005	Malta – President Edward Fenech Adami (2004–2009)
12 December 2005	Monaco - Albert II, Prince of Monaco (2005–incumbent)
18 January 2006	Griechenland – President Karolos Papoulias (2005–2015)
15 March 2006	Deutschland – President Horst Köhler (2004–2010)

• Presidency of Giorgio Napolitano (15 May 2006 – 14 January 2015):

Date	Recipient
11 October 2006	Ghana – President John Agyekum Kufour (2001–2009)
20 February 2007	Slowakei – President Ivan Gašparovič (2004–2014)
8 June 2007	Österreich – President Heinz Fischer (2004–2016)
9 October 2007	Chile – President Michelle Bachelet (2006–2010; 2014–2018)
30 October 2007	Saudi-Arabien – King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz al Saud (2005–2015)
1 September 2008	Finnland – President Tarja Halonen (2000–2012)
14 October 2008	Libanon – President Michel Suleiman (2008–2014)
27 October 2008	Order of Malta – Prince and Grand Master Fra' Matthew Festing (2008–2017)
2 September 2009	Südkorea – President Lee Myung-bak (2008–2013)
30 October 2009	Türkei – President Abdullah Gül (2007–2014)
11 March 2010	Syria - President Bashar Al-Assad (2000–incumbent) Revoked by the President of the Republic on 28 September 2012 for "indignity"
25 April 2010	Malta – President George Abela (2009–2014)
26 April 2010	Kuwait – Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (2006–2020)
11 January 2011	Slowenien – President Danilo Türk (2007–2012)
6 July 2011	Kroatien – President Ivo Josipović (2010–2015)
7 September 2011	Rumänien – President Traian Băsescu (2004–2014)
10 June 2012	Polen – President Bronisław Komorowski (2010–2015)
15 November 2012	Frankreich – President François Hollande (2012–2017)
20 February 2013	Deutschland – President Joachim Gauck (2012–2017)
4 March 2014	Albanien – President Bujar Nishani (2012–2017)
5 May 2014	Slowenien – President Borut Pahor (2012–2022)
4 June 2014	San Marino – Captain Regent Luca Beccari (2014)
	San Marino – Captain Regent Valeria Ciavatta (2014)

• Presidency of Sergio Mattarella (3 February 2015–incumbent):

Date	Recipient
23 November 2015	Griechenland – President Prokopis Pavlopoulos (2015–2020)
11 March 2016	Kamerun – President Paul Biya (1982–incumbent)
30 May 2016	Rumänien – President Klaus Iohannis (2014–incumbent)
21 June 2016	Mexiko – President Enrique Peña Nieto (2012–2018)
4 August 2016	Bulgarien – President Rosen Plevneliev (2012–2017)
23 January 2017	Tunesien – President Beji Caid Essebsi (2014–2019)
2 May 2017	Argentinien – President Mauricio Macri (2015–2019)
19 June 2017	Niederlande – King Willem-Alexander (2013–incumbent)
7 September 2017	Malta – President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca (2014–2019)
18 September 2017	Finnland – President Sauli Niinistö (2012–2024)
29 November 2017	Portugal – President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa (2016–incumbent)
5 June 2018	Estland – President Kersti Kaljulaid (2016–2021)
22 June 2018	Litauen – President Dalia Grybauskaitė (2009–2019)
26 June 2018	Lettland – President Raimonds Vējonis (2015–2019)
12 July 2018	Aserbaidschan – President Ilham Aliyev (2003–incumbent)
25 July 2018	Armenien – President Armen Sarkissian (2018–2022)
27 June 2019	Österreich – President Alexander Van der Bellen (2017–incumbent)
17 September 2019	Deutschland – President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (2017–incumbent)
6 October 2020	Griechenland – President Katerina Sakellaropoulou (2020–incumbent)
16 June 2021	San Marino – Captain Regent Marco Nicolini (2021)
	San Marino – Captain Regent Gian Carlo Venturini (2021)
1 July 2021	Frankreich – President Emmanuel Macron (2017–incumbent)
25 October 2021	Spanien – King Felipe VI (2014–incumbent)
	Belgien – King Philippe (2013–incumbent)
3 November 2021	Algerien – President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (2019–incumbent)
1 June 2022	Georgien – President Salome Zourabichvili (2018–incumbent)
12 January 2023	Paraguay – President Mario Abdo Benítez (2018–2023)
13 April 2023	Polen – President Andrzej Duda (2015–incumbent)
19 May 2023	Angola – President João Lourenço (2017–incumbent)
5 June 2023	Iraq – President Abdul Latif Rashid (2022–incumbent)
7 October 2023	Südkorea – President Yoon Suk Yeol (2022–incumbent)
21 November 2023	Order of Malta – Prince and Grand Master John Timothy Dunlap (2023–incumbent)
6 December 2023	San Marino – Captain Regent Filippo Tamagnini (2023–2024)
	San Marino – Captain Regent Gaetano Troina (2023–2024)
26 February 2024	Zypern – President Nikos Christodoulides (2023–incumbent)
18 March 2024	Malta – President George William Vella (2019–2024)
17 April 2024	Bulgarien – President Rumen Radev (2017–incumbent)

Wearer's guide

• 
  Wearer's guide for each grade (1951–2001)

• 
  Wearer's guide for each grade (since 2001)

Gallery

• 
  Comparison of the pre-2001 (at left) and the post-2001 (at right) badges of the Order
• 
  All grades of the Order (pre-2001)
• 
  Five grades of the Order
• 
  The pre-2001 grades of the Order
• 
  Knight, Officer, Commander, Grand Officer and Grand Cross grades
• 
  Knights and Officer Classes of the Order
• 
  Knight 5th Class and Officer 4th Class grades
• 
  Sets of the Knight and Officer classes
• 
  Commander 3rd Class of the Order
• 
  Commander set in case
• 
  3rd Class set of the Order
• 
  Bestowal document of a Grand Officer grade with the insignia
• 
  Grand Officer set of insignia with the bestowal document
• 
  Grand Cross set of insignia
• 
  The Grand Cross grade of the Order in case of issue
• 
  Collar of the Order (pre-2001)

See also

• Orders, decorations, and medals of Italy
• Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
• Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation

External links

• Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana – Presidenza della Repubblica (in Italian)
• Ordini dinastici della Real Casa di Savoia (in Italian)