The Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella (''Orden al Mérito de Duarte, Sánchez y Mella'') is the principal

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

of the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

. It was established on 24 February 1931 as the ''Juan Pablo Duarte Order of Merit'' (''Orden al Mérito Juan Pablo Duarte'') and renamed on 9 September 1954. The

Head of State A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

confers the order both to civilians and military personnel for distinguished services.

Division of the Order

The order is divided in seven grades: * Collar is awarded to the President of the Republic * Grand Cross with Gold Breast Star is awarded for foreign chiefs of state and to former presidents and vice presidents * Grand Cross with Silver Breast Star is awarded to members of legislatures and supreme court, ministers of state, ambassadors and the metropolitan archbishop * Grand Officer is awarded to service chiefs and high officials of government and church * Commander is awarded to governors of provinces, directors general of instruction, directors of academies, dean of universities, authors and others of similar importance * Officer is awarded to professors and heads of schools, officers of the rank of colonel and above and civilians of equal importance * Knight is awarded to others

Accoutrements

The collar of the Order will be solid, of

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

and

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

, formed for various parts, compound each one of a laurel's

coronet A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. A coronet differs from other kinds of crowns in that a coronet never has arches, and from a tiara in that a coronet completely encircles the head, while a tiara doe ...

and of the

Duarte Duarte may refer to: * Duarte (surname), person's surname (or composed surname) and given name * Duarte, California, United States * Duarte Province, Dominican Republic * Pico Duarte, mountain in the Dominican Republic See also

* * {{disambigu ...

Sánchez Sánchez is a Spanish family name. Historical origins "The illustrious Sanchez Family... is descended from one of a number of Gothic knights (caballeros) who in the year 714 escaped from the "barbara furia" of the Mohammedan invasion and took ...

and Mella's bust; in the center of the collar will have (in a big size and enameled in natural colors) the Coat of Arms of the Republic, which above will be adorned with twelve brilliant. Below, will suspended the order's badge. The laurel's coronet, the coat of arms and the badge will be adorned with precious stones.

References

* Law 1113 of the * Regulation No. 187 of the 16 February 1939 (G. O. 5277 18 February 1939

External links

Secretaría de Estado de Relaciones Exteriores (Law)
(In

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

)
Secretaría de Estado de Relaciones Exteriores (Reglament)
(In

)
Medals of the Dominican Republic
Orders, decorations, and medals of the Dominican Republic {{Orders-medals-stub