The Order of the Falcon ( is, Hin íslenska fálkaorða) is the only

order of chivalry An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is an order of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades ( 1099–1291) and paired with medieval concept ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

, founded by King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. Nowadays, appointments are made on the nomination of the

President of Iceland The president of Iceland ( is, Forseti Íslands) is the head of state of Iceland. The incumbent is Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, who is now in his second term as president, elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir ...

and that of a "five-member council."

History and appointments

Christian X Christian X ( da, Christian Carl Frederik Albert Alexander Vilhelm; 26 September 1870 – 20 April 1947) was King of Denmark from 1912 to his death in 1947, and the only King of Iceland as Kristján X, in the form of a personal union rather ...

, the King of Denmark, ruled Iceland until 17 June 1944. During his royal visit to Iceland in 1921, King Christian X issued the royal decree founding the Icelandic Order of the Falcon. When Iceland became a republic, new statutes were incorporated for the Order on 11 July 1944. The Republic of Iceland replaced the King by an elected

who is the designated Grand Master of this Order. It may be awarded to both Icelanders and citizens of other countries for achievements in Iceland or internationally. A five-member council makes recommendations on awards to the Grand Master, who then grants the award. However, the Grand Master may award the Order without recommendations from the Order Council. The Grand Master and the Chairman of the Order Council then sign the Letters Patent, which is given to those who receive the awards.

Classes

The Order has five classes: # Collar with Grand Cross Breast Star (''Keðja ásamt stórkrossstjörnu''), only for heads of state # Grand Cross (''Stórkross'') # Grand Knight's Cross with Star (''Stórriddarakross með stjörnu'') # Grand Knight's Cross (''Stórriddarakross'') # Knight's Cross (''Riddarakross'')

Insignia

The ''collar'' is gilded metal; it consists of links bearing the Icelandic coat-of-arms and blue-enamelled discs bearing the white falcon. The ''badge'' consists of a gilt cross, enamelled in white, with a blue-enamelled central disc bearing the white falcon. The ''star'' is a silver, eight-pointed star. For the Grand Cross class it has the badge of the Order superimposed upon it. For the Grand Knight with Star class it has a blue-enamelled central disc bearing the white falcon. The ''ribbon'' is blue with white-red-white border stripes. It is worn on the left shoulder. In summary: * Collar with Grand Cross – wears the badge on a collar plus a star on the left chest; * Grand Cross – wears the badge on a sash on the left shoulder, plus a star on the left chest; * Grand Knight's Cross with Star – wears the badge on a necklet, plus a star on the left chest; * Grand Knight's Cross – wears the badge on a necklet; * Knight's Cross – wears the badge on a chest ribbon. If a holder is promoted to a higher rank, the lower rank's insignia must be returned. The insignia is retained during the recipient's lifetime, but it must be returned to the Icelandic Government upon his or her death.

Notable recipients

Politicians and heads of state

Guðni Th. Jóhannesson Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson (; born 26 June 1968) is an Icelandic historian and politician serving as the sixth and current president of Iceland. He took office in 2016 after winning the most votes in the 2016 election, 71,356 (39.1%). He wa ...

(current President of

) * Guðni Ágústsson (former Minister of Agriculture) * Jóhannes Jóhannesson (First chairman of the Chairman of the order council) *

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (; born 14 May 1943) is an Icelandic politician who was the fifth president of Iceland from 1996 to 2016.Official CV. He was previously a member of the Icelandic Parliament for the People's Alliance and served as Mini ...

(former President of Iceland) * Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (former president of Iceland; first popularly elected female president in the world) *

Lennart Meri Lennart Georg Meri (; 29 March 1929 – 14 March 2006) was an Estonian politician, writer, and film director. He served as the second president of Estonia from 1992 to 2001. Meri was among the leaders of the movement to restore Estonian indepen ...

(former President of

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) *

Dalia Grybauskaitė Dalia Grybauskaitė (; born 1 March 1956) is a Lithuanian politician who served as the eighth President of Lithuania from 2009 until 2019. She is the first woman to hold the position and in 2014 she became the first President of Lithuania to be ...

(former President of

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) *

Sauli Niinistö Sauli Väinämö Niinistö (; born 24 August 1948) is a Finnish politician who has served as president of Finland since March 2012, the 12th person to hold that office. A lawyer by education, Niinistö was Chairman of the National Coalition Pa ...

(current President of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

) * Tarja Halonen (former President of Finland ) *

Martti Ahtisaari Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari (; born 23 June 1937) is a Finnish politician, the tenth president of Finland (1994–2000), a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and a United Nations diplomat and mediator noted for his international peace work. Ahti ...

(former President of Finland ) *

Mauno Koivisto Mauno Henrik Koivisto (; 25 November 1923 – 12 May 2017) was a Finnish politician who served as the ninth president of Finland from 1982 to 1994. He also served as the country's prime minister twice, from 1968 to 1970 and again from 1979 to ...

(former President of Finland ) *

Urho Kekkonen Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (; 3 September 1900 – 31 August 1986), often referred to by his initials UKK, was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 to 1982. He also served as prime minister ...

(former President of Finland ) * Juho Kusti Paasikivi (former President of Finland ) * Kyösti Kallio (former President of Finland ) *

Frank-Walter Steinmeier Frank-Walter Steinmeier (; born 5 January 1956) is a German politician serving as President of Germany since 19 March 2017. He was previously Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2017, as well as Vice Chan ...

(current President of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

) *

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

(Awarded 1963), Royal Consort of

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

(Queen of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and the other

Commonwealth realms A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations whose monarch and head of state is shared among the other realms. Each realm functions as an independent state, equal with the other realms and nations of the Commonweal ...

) * Princess

Beatrix of the Netherlands Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana and her husban ...

* Carl XVI Gustav (King of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

) * Silvia (Queen of

) *

Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland (Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée; born 14 July 1977) is the heir apparent to the Swedish throne, as the eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf. If she ascends to the throne as expec ...

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Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Duke of Värmland (Carl Philip Edmund Bertil; born 13 May 1979) is the only son and the second of three children of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. , Prince Carl Philip is fourth in the line of successi ...

* Princess Sofia, Duchess of Värmland *

Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson, (''Christina Louise Helena'', born 3 August 1943) is the youngest of the four older sisters of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. She generally uses the name Christina Magnuson. Early life Christina was born at ...

* Albert II (King of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

) *

Juan Carlos I of Spain Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...

(former King of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

) * Sofía (former Queen of

) * Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo * Infanta Cristina of Spain *

Margrethe II Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark. Having reigned as Denmark's monarch for over 50 years, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and the world's only incumbent femal ...

(Queen of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

) *

Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, (Frederik André Henrik Christian; born 26 May 1968) is the heir apparent to the Danish throne. He is the elder son of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik. Early life Crown Prince Fred ...

Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat, (born Mary Elizabeth Donaldson; 5 February 1972) is the wife of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark. Frederik is the heir apparent to the throne, which means that should he succeed, Mary ...

* Prince Joachim of Denmark * Princess Marie of Denmark * Princess Benedikte of Denmark * Harald V (King of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

) * Sonja (Queen of

) * Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway * Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway *

Princess Märtha Louise of Norway Princess Märtha Louise of Norway (born 22 September 1971) is a member of the Norwegian royal family, a businesswoman and a self-described clairvoyant. The only daughter of King Harald V and Queen Sonja, she is fourth in the line of success ...

Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner (Astrid Maud Ingeborg; born 12 February 1932) is the second daughter of King Olav V and his wife, Princess Märtha of Sweden. She is the older sister of King Harald V of Norway and younger sister of the late Princ ...

Janis Johnson Janis Guðrún Johnson (born April 27, 1946) is a Canadian retired senator who represented Manitoba. Early life and education Born in Winnipeg, Johnson's father, George Johnson, was the Minister of Health and Public Welfare in the Manitoba L ...

(Canadian Senator, Manitoba) Awarded 2000 *

Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann Murkowski ( ; born May 22, 1957) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator for Alaska, having held that seat since 2002. Murkowski is the second-most senior Republican woman in the Senate, after S ...

(United States Senator, Alaska)

Artists and entertainers

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

(singer, songwriter), 1997 * Helga Bachmann (actress) * Ólöf Pálsdóttir (sculptor), 1970 * Steinunn Thorarinsdottir (sculptor) *

Vladimir Ashkenazy Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy (russian: Влади́мир Дави́дович Ашкена́зи, ''Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazi''; born 6 July 1937) is an internationally recognized solo pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor. He ...

(pianist, conductor) * Stefán Karl Stefánsson (actor, singer), 2018 * Edda Björgvinsdóttir (actress), 2018 * Erling Bløndal Bengtsson (Cellist) * Brad Leithauser (writer, poet, scholar), awarded 2005. *

Victor Borge Børge Rosenbaum (3 January 1909 – 23 December 2000), known professionally as Victor Borge ( ), was a Danish-American comedian, conductor, and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and television in the North America and Europe. His ...

(Børge "Victor" Rosenbaum) (concert pianist, entertainer) *

Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson (or Thorkell Sigurbjörnsson) (born in Reykjavík on 16 July 1938 - died in Kópavogur on 30 January 2013) was an Icelandic composer, conductor and pianist. Early life and study Born the son of bishop Sigurbjör ...

, Icelandic composer, awarded 1993. * Jónas Jónasson (composer, radio host), 2006

Scholars

George P. L. Walker George Patrick Leonard Walker (2 March 1926 – 17 January 2005) was a British geologist who began his career studying mineralogy and later made significant contributions to volcanology. He was widely regarded as one of the pioneers of modern q ...

(Volcanologist) * Andrew Wawn (Philologist) * Thorbergur Thorvaldson, cement chemist, awarded 1939. * A. R. Taylor, Professor of medieval English, Old Norse and modern Icelandic Studies, University of Leeds, awarded 1963 *

Rory McTurk Rory W. McTurk is a British philologist. McTurk graduated from Oxford University in 1963. He took a further degree at the University of Iceland in 1965, and subsequently taught at Lund University, the University of Copenhagen, and University ...

, Professor of Icelandic Studies, University of Leeds, awarded 2007 *

Mark Watson Mark Andrew Watson (born 13 February 1980) is a British comedian and novelist. Early life Watson was born in Bristol to a Welsh mother and English father. He has younger twin sisters and a brother, Paul. He attended Bristol Grammar School, ...

, archaeologist, dog breeder and benefactor, awarded 1965 * William Paton Cleland (Surgeon)Caroline Richmond, ''Obituary of William Paton Cleland (1912-2005)'', British Medical Journal, 2005, 330; 1212
pdf
/ref> * Anders Grubb, Professor of Clinical Chemistry, University of Lund, awarded 2007 for research on Icelandic hereditary diseases *

John Lindow John Frederick Lindow (born July 23, 1946) is an American philologist who is Professor Emeritus of Old Norse and Folklore at University of California, Berkeley. He is a well known authority on Old Norse religion and literature. Biography John ...

, Professor Emeritus of Old Norse and Folklore at University of California, Berkeley, awarded 2018 for scholarly contributions in the area of Icelandic medieval literature. *

Carol J. Clover Carol Jeanne Clover (born July 31, 1940) is an American professor of Medieval Studies (Early Northern Europe) and American Film at the University of California, Berkeley. Clover has been widely published in her areas of expertise, and is the autho ...

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...

of Medieval Studies (Early Northern Europe) and American Film at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

. *

Lee M. Hollander Lee Milton Hollander (November 8, 1880 – October 19, 1972) was an American philologist who specialized in Old Norse studies. Hollander was for many years head of the Department of Germanic Languages at the University of Texas at Austin. ...

, translator of Kierkegaard and academic. * Sigrún Árnadóttir, awarded the Knight's Cross for the translation of several books to Icelandic including Alfie Atkins and for her contributions to Icelandic children's culture.

Other

* Pike Ward, fisherman who started and developed the Icelandic fishing industry, awarded 1936. *

Iceland men's national handball team ) , Association = Icelandic Handball Association(''Handknattleikssamband Íslands'') , Coach = Guðmundur Guðmundsson , Assistant coach = Ágúst Þór JóhannssonGunnar Magnússon , Captain = Aro ...

(Silver medalists in

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the ...

at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

) *

Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson (; born 23 April 1958), also known as HÖH, is a musician, an art director, and '' allsherjargoði'' (''chief goði'') of Ásatrúarfélagið ("the Ásatrú Association"). Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson was a pioneer in the use ...

(chief goði of the Ásatrúarfélagið), 2018 * Friðrik Skúlason (computer scientist), 2018 *

David Architzel David Architzel (born 1951) is a retired Vice Admiral in the United States Navy. His last assignment was as Commander of Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). Vice Admiral Architzel was relieved by Vice Admiral David A. Dunaway and retired from ...

(Vice Admiral, US Navy) *

Guðmundur Kjærnested Guðmundur Hjaltason Halldórsson Kjærnested (29 June 1923 – 2 September 2005) was an Icelandic commander in the Icelandic Coast Guard and took part in all three Anglo-Icelandic Cod Wars. Life Born in Hafnarfjörður, he is most famous ...

(Commander, Icelandic Coast Guard) * Orri Vigfússon (Chairman of the North Atlantic Salmon Fund) *

Anna Kisselgoff Anna Kisselgoff (born 12 January 1938) is a dance critic and cultural news reporter for ''The New York Times''. She began at the ''Times'' as a dance critic and cultural news reporter in 1968, and became its Chief Dance Critic in 1977, a role she h ...

(Columbia Univ.) Awarded 2002 * James L. Kauffman, Vice-admiral during World War II * William S. Key, Major General during World War II * Sir Arthur Young , police officer * Antti Tuuri (Writer) translated some Icelandic

saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to th ...

s * Koča Popović (Colonel General, YPA ) * John W. White, USAF General, Commander Iceland Defense Force * Signy Stefansson Eaton, socialite and philanthropist of Icelandic descent

Sources

Fjórtán sæmdir fálkaorðunni. (n.d.). MBL. Retrieved 9 July 2021, fro

External links

The Collection of Henrik Revens
Website features orders and medals of Iceland as well as other Nordic countries {{DEFAULTSORT:Order Of The Falcon Order of the Falcon Icelandic culture

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

Orders, decorations, and medals of Iceland Falcon, Order of the Awards established in 1921 1921 establishments in Iceland