Civil awards and decorations are awarded to civilians for distinguished service or for eminence in a field of endeavour. Military personnel might also be eligible for services of a non-military nature. There are various forms of civil awards and decorations, including the following. *

Orders of chivalry An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is a society, fellowship and college of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades ( 1099–1291) and p ...

, usually in several classes, for distinguished service to the government, the community, society or humanity. One example that is non-military in nature would be the British

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

. Other orders may contain both military and civil divisions, such as the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. *

State order A state order, or national order, is an order that is granted by a sovereign state as part of its national honours system. These orders, which are generally awarded to recipients for their accomplishments, are typically categorised as either orde ...

s that are not orders of chivalry, for service to the government, the community, society or humanity. An example would be the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

, or certain

Orders of the Russian Federation The State Award System of the Russian Federation has varied and distinct origins. The first being pre-1917 orders of the Russian Empire re-established after the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, the second is from former Soviet orders that w ...

. *Awards and decorations for service to the government or for eminence in a field of endeavour. Examples are the American

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States, alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is bestowed by vote of the United States Congress, signed into law by the president. The Gold Medal exp ...

, the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President ...

, and the

President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service Established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on 27 June 1957 by , the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service was created to allow the President to recognize civilian officers or employees of the federal government who have ...

. *Awards and decorations for bravery of civilians (including law enforcement and firefighting personnel). Examples would be the British

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...

, and the American Lifesaving Medal. *Awards and decorations for distinguished service in law enforcement, firefighting and other services. *Awards and decorations for long service in government, law enforcement, firefighting and other services. *Awards and decorations that are international in nature, such as the United Nations Public Service Awards, the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

, and

Olympic medal An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold medal, gold, silver medal, silver, and bronze medal, bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respect ...

s. *Awards and decorations for women, such as the Order of Maternal Glory and the Cross of Honour of the German Mother. *Service in the Merchant Navy, such as the British Merchant Navy Medal for Meritorious Service. On everyday occasions, only miniature insignia, often in the form of a circular rosette, are normally worn.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Civil Awards And Decorations

See also

References