The Order of the Liberator was the highest distinction of

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

and was appointed for services to the country, outstanding merit and benefits made to the community. For Venezuelans the order ranks first in the order of precedence from other orders, national and foreign. The

President of Venezuela The president of Venezuela ( es, Presidente de Venezuela), officially known as the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, Presidente de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is the head of state and head of government in Ven ...

is the Chief of the Order and has the faculty of appointing. By right, he wears the Collar of the Order. The order was created by

Antonio Guzmán Blanco Antonio José Ramón de La Trinidad y María Guzmán Blanco (28 February 1829 – 28 July 1899) was a Venezuelan military leader, statesman, diplomat and politician. He was the president of Venezuela for three separate terms, from 1870 until ...

on September 14, 1880, and reformed in 1922 under the presidential term of

Juan Vicente Gómez Juan Vicente Gómez Chacón (24 July 1857 – 17 December 1935) was a Venezuelan military general, Politician and ruler of Venezuela from 1908 until his death in 1935. He was president on three occasions during this time, ruling through puppe ...

, the Order has as precedent the ''Medal of Distinction with the bust of the Liberator'' created on March 11, 1854 under the presidency of

José Gregorio Monagas José Gregorio Monagas (4 May 1795 – 15 July 1858) was the president of Venezuela 1851–1855 and brother of José Tadeo Monagas.

and before that, the ''Order of the Liberators'' created by

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...

in 1813. In 2010, the

National Assembly of Venezuela The National Assembly ( es, Asamblea Nacional) is the legislature for Venezuela that was first elected in 2000. It is a unicameral body made up of a variable number of members, who were elected by a "universal, direct, personal, and secret" vo ...

decided to officially abolish the order and replace it with the Order of the Liberators of Venezuela.Exposición de motivos ley "Orden Libertadores y Libertadoras de Venezuela"

National Assembly (Venezuela) The National Assembly ( es, Asamblea Nacional) is the legislature for Venezuela that was first elected in 2000. It is a unicameral body made up of a variable number of members, who were elected by a "universal, direct, personal, and secret" ...

Grades

* ''Collar'' * First Class (Grand Cordon) * Second Class (Grand Officer) * Third Class (Commander) * Fourth Class (Officer) * Fifth Class (Knight) File:Venezuelan Order of the Liberator - Grand Cross set of insignia.png, Grand Cross set of the Order. File:Venezuelan Order of the Liberator - Grand Cross badge (obverse).png, Grand Cross badge (obverse). File:Venezuelan Order of the Liberator - Grand Cross star.png, Grand Cross star. File:Venezuelan Order of the Liberator - Grand Cross badge (reverse).png, Grand Cross badge (reverse). File:Venezuelan Order of the Liberator - Grand Cross set.png, Grand Cross of the Order. File:The Order of the Bust of Bolivar, or Order of the Liberator of Venezuela, from the World's Decorations series (N44) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes MET DP839336.jpg, Illustration of the Knights Class. File:Grand Cordon of the Order of of the Liberator Simon Bolivar (Venezuela) - Memorial JK - Brasilia - DSC00421.JPG, Grand Collar of the Order. File:De Orde van de Bevrijder Venezuela Ridderkruis voor en achterzijde met het lint.jpg, Knights Cross of the Order. File:Venezuela - Léon Bourgeois - Ordre de Simón Bolívar.jpg, Grand Cross breast star. File:Portrait of Simón Bolívar by Arturo Michelena.jpg,

, the Orders namesake.

Recipients

Collars

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 , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

) *

Rafael Correa Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado (; born 6 April 1963), known as Rafael Correa, is an Ecuadorian politician and economist who served as President of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017. The leader of the PAIS Alliance political movement from its foundation ...

, (former

President of Ecuador The president of Ecuador ( es, Presidente del Ecuador), officially called the Constitutional President of the Republic of Ecuador ( es, Presidente Constitucional de la República del Ecuador), serves as both the head of state and head of govern ...

) * Soeharto, (former

President of Indonesia The President of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Presiden Republik Indonesia) is both the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Indonesia. The president leads the executive branch of the Indonesian government an ...

) * Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, (former president of Islamic Republic of Iran)

Abolishment and replacement

In 2010, the

decided to officially abolish the order and replace it with the Order of the Liberators of Venezuela, a revival of the medal created by Simón Bolívar in 1813 to honor participants of the

Admirable Campaign The Admirable Campaign () was a military action led by Simón Bolívar in which the provinces of Mérida, Barinas, Trujillo and Caracas were conquered by the Patriot Governments (Spanish American independence), Patriots.Arana, M., 2013, Bolivar, ...

. The new order, unlike its predecessor, has 3 classes, in ascending order: * Arrow of the Liberators * Lance of the Liberators * Sword of the Liberators The President is the order's Grand Master, and has full authority over appointments to the Order. He or she wears the collar of the Sword of the Liberators class of the order.

References

{{Reflist
Gaceta Oficial de los Estados Unidos de Venezuela - Ley sobre Condecoracion de la Orden del Libertador 13 de Junio de 1922
(Spanish) Liberator, Order of the Liberator, Order of the Awards established in 1880