Order of Freedom ( sh, Orden slobode / Орден слободе; sl, Red svobode; mk, Орден на слободата, ''Orden na slobodata'') was the highest

military decoration Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. DoD Manual 1348.33, 2010, Vol. 3 A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a meda ...

awarded in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

,Orders and Decorations of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, 1945-90
by Lukasz Gaszewski 2000, 2003Standard magazin:
Srbija ponovo dijeli odlikovanja
'', br.133, 05.12.2008. and the second highest Yugoslav

state decoration A state decoration is an object, such as a medal or the insignia of an order, that is awarded by a sovereign state to honor the recipient. The term includes: *Civil awards and decorations *Military awards and decorations See also * State order ...

after the Yugoslav Great Star. It was awarded to the commanders of large

military units Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a nation ...

for skillful leadership and for the outstanding courage of the troops. It was awarded to both Yugoslavian and foreign military commanders, and was the most rarely awarded of all Yugoslavian orders, decorations, and medals, being awarded only 7 times before the

breakup of Yugoslavia The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, the Order of Freedom was awarded in

Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

History

The Order of Freedom was founded on 12 June 1945 and was awarded by the Presidium of the

AVNOJ The Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia,, mk, Антифашистичко собрание за народно ослободување на Југославија commonly abbreviated as the AVNOJ, was a deliberat ...

(later Presidium of the People's Assembly of Yugoslavia). The recipient could be nominated by the Federal Executive Council (Government) of Yugoslavia, Executive Council of one of the

Republics A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

, Federal Secretary for Foreign Affairs or Federal Secretary for Defense. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, the union of

(formally

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

until 2003) continued to use some of the decorations of former Yugoslavia, among them the Order of Freedom. It was awarded by the President of FR Yugoslavia (later

President of Serbia and Montenegro The President of Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Председник Србије и Црне Горе, Predsednik Srbije i Crne Gore) was the head of state of Serbia and Montenegro. From its establishment in 1992 until 2003, when the country was ...

). It was the highest military decoration in FR Yugoslavia, and the third highest state decoration overall, after the Order of Yugoslavia and the Yugoslav Great Star.Orders and Decorations of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, 1990-
by Lukasz Gaszewski 2000, 2003

Recipients

The Order was awarded a total of 9 times — 7 times in SFR Yugoslavia and 2 times in FR Yugoslavia (after the 1999

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...

). The recipients were:

SFR Yugoslavia

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his death ...

— awarded in 1947 *

Ivan Gošnjak Ivan Gošnjak ( sh-Cyrl, Иван Гошњак; 10 June 1909 – 8 February 1980) was a Yugoslav communist who held numerous important offices in Yugoslavia during and after World War II, serving as the Minister of Defence from 1953 to 1967. ...

— awarded in 1951 *

Koča Popović Konstantin "Koča" Popović ( sr-cyrl, Константин "Коча" Поповић; 14 March 1908 – 20 October 1992) was a Yugoslav politician and communist volunteer in the Spanish Civil War, 1937–1939 and Divisional Commander of the Fir ...

— awarded in 1951 *

Georgy Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( rus, Георгий Константинович Жуков, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐukəf, a=Ru-Георгий_Константинович_Жуков.ogg; 1 December 1896 – ...

— awarded in 1956 *

Peko Dapčević Petar "Peko" Dapčević (Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic: Петар Пеко Дапчевић; 25 June 1913 – 13 February 1999) was a Yugoslav communist who fought as a volunteer in the Spanish Civil War, joined the Partisan uprising in Montenegr ...

— awarded in 1973 *

Kosta Nađ Konstantin "Kosta" Nađ ( hu, Nagy Kosztá; 13 May 1911 – 19 November 1986) was a Yugoslav Partisan Army general that fought during World War II. Biography Born on 13 May 1911 in Petrovaradin, Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, he fought as a volu ...

— awarded in 1973 *

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between 1964 and 1 ...

— awarded in 1976see: Список наград Брежнева

FR Yugoslavia

On 16 June 1999 the Order of Freedom was awarded to: *

Dragoljub Ojdanić Dragoljub Ojdanić ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб Ојданић; 1 June 1941 – 6 September 2020) was a Serbian army general who served as the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Yugoslavia and Minister of Defence of Yugoslavia. ...

Nebojša Pavković Nebojša Pavković ( sr-cyr, Небојша Павковић; born 10 April 1946) is a Serbian retired army general who served as Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Yugoslavia from February 2000 to June 2002. He also served as th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Order Of Freedom Orders, decorations, and medals of Yugoslavia Awards established in 1945 1945 establishments in Yugoslavia