The National Order of Merit (Spanish: ''Orden Nacional del Mérito'') of

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

is an award given by the government of Paraguay. The

award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

was first established in 1865 and can be given to any person or organization that has contributed in some way to the benefit of Paraguay. It is the highest distinction awarded by the

Republic of Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. It has a population of around 6 ...

. The President of the Republic of Paraguay holds as a lifetime honour (unless removed by

impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...

) the Grand Cross of the Order, known as Presidential Collar (or Cordon) of Marshal López.

About

The National Order of Merit is given to a person or an organization who has contributed to the benefit of

in various fields of endeavor. This can include through

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

, leadership, and science, among others. The medal was designed as a five-pointed star with the words "''honor et gloria''" on the front and "''premium meriti''" on the reverse.

History

The National Order of Merit was established on April 8, 1865 by

Francisco Solano López Francisco Solano López Carrillo (24 July 1827 or 1826 – 1 March 1870) was a Paraguay, Paraguayan statesman, Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician who served as President of Paraguay between 1862 and 1870, of which he serve ...

. In 1867, López declared that women were eligible to earn the award. The award was based on the

French Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

and had several different levels. The highest level was the Grand Cross. The other levels were Knight, Official, Commander and Grand Official. On September 7, 1956, Law No. 394 was passed with several provisions regarding the awarding of the National Order of Merit.

Notable recipients

* Carlos Federico Abente, Paraguayan surgeon and poet. *

Augusto Roa Bastos Augusto Roa Bastos (13 June 1917 – 26 April 2005) was a Paraguayan novelist and short story writer. As a teenager he fought in the Chaco War between Paraguay and Bolivia, and he later worked as a journalist, screenwriter and professor. ...

, Paraguayan writer. *

Luis María Ramírez Boettner Luis María Ramírez Boettner (March 13, 1918 – July 25, 2017) was a Paraguayan diplomat and lawyer who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay from December 16, 1993, until May 9, 1996. Biography Born in 1918, Ramírez started ...

, Paraguayan diplomat. *

Juan Crisóstomo Centurión Juan Crisóstomo Centurión y Martinez (27 January 1840 – 12 March 1902) was a Paraguayan Army officer and politician. He served with distinction in the Triple Alliance War, and afterwards held a wide variety of positions in the Paraguayan g ...

Paraguayan Army The Paraguayan Army () is the ground force branch of the Armed Forces of Paraguay. It is organized into three corps and nine divisions, and several commands and direction. It has gone to war on many occasions, notably in the War of the Triple A ...

officer. *

Graziella Corvalán Graziella Corvalán (born 1931) was a Paraguayan sociologist and linguist most known for her efforts to preserve the Guarani language and for creation of one of the first women's studies programs in Paraguay. Her works stressed the need for pub ...

, Paraguayan academic *

Gildo Insfrán Gildo Insfrán (born 19 January 1951) is an Argentine Justicialist Party (PJ) politician, who has been Governor of Formosa Province since 1995. Having been close to former President Carlos Menem, Insfrán later became close to President Néstor ...

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

politician. *

Shinichi Kitaoka is a Japanese political scientist. He has held many roles such as the president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), president of the International University of Japan, professor at Japan's GRIPS-Tokyo School of Security and I ...

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

political scientist on behalf of the

Japanese International Cooperation Agency The Japan International Cooperation Agency (), also known as JICA'','' is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social gro ...

(JICA). *

Eusebio Leal Eusebio Leal Spengler (11 September 194231 July 2020) was a Cuban historian. He served as the municipal historian of Havana, as well as the director of the restoration project of Old Havana. Under his oversight, the historic centre of the capi ...

Cuban Cuban or Cubans may refer to: Related to Cuba * of or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban Americ ...

historian. *

, president of Paraguay. *

José Mujica José Alberto "Pepe" Mujica Cordano (20May 193513May 2025) was a Uruguayan politician, revolutionary and farmer who served as the 40th president of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015. A former guerrilla with the Tupamaros, he was tortured and imprisone ...

Uruguayan Uruguayans () are people identified with the country of Uruguay, through citizenship or descent. Uruguay is home to people of different ethnic origins. As a result, many Uruguayans do not equate their nationality with ethnicity, but with citizen ...

politician and president. *

Aloysio Nunes Aloysio Nunes Ferreira Filho (born 5 April 1945) is a Brazilian lawyer and politician. A member of PSDB, Nunes was a senator from São Paulo from 2011 to 2017, and was Brazil's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2017 to 2018. Biography Aloysio N ...

, Brazilian politician. * Domingo Antonio Ortiz, Paraguayan naval officer of the Triple Alliance War. *

Berta Rojas Berta Rojas (born 23 September 1966) is a Paraguayan classical guitarist. She was awarded a Latin Grammy for her album "Legado" (2022) in the category of "Best Classical Album". The same album received another statuette for "Best Contemporary Cl ...

, Paraguayan musician. *

Luis Szarán Luis Szarán (born 24 September 1953) is a Paraguayan musician, orchestra director, composer and musical researcher; since 2002, founder and director of the social and community integration program "'Sounds of the Earth''", which created the sc ...

, Paraguayan musician. * Lotte Schulz, Paraguayan artist. * Natalicio Talavera, Paraguayan poet and newspaper editor. * George Thompson, British engineer. *

Peter Tomlinson Peter Tomlinson (born 4 April 1943) is a broadcaster and continuity announcer. He created the British children's television series ''Tiswas'' and was the programme's co-presenter in its early years. He was also one of the earliest presenters on ...

, South African admiral. *

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...

, Chilean dictator. *

Fumihito, Prince Akishino is the heir presumptive to the Japanese throne. He is the younger brother of Emperor Naruhito, and the younger son of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. Since his marriage in June 1990, he has had the title and has headed the Akishino br ...

, Japanese Crown Prince. * former

Princess Mako of Akishino , formerly , is a Japanese art historian and former member of the Japanese imperial family. She is the eldest child of Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko, niece of Emperor Naruhito, and granddaughter of Emperor Emeritus Akihito ...

, Japanese Princess. File:Paraguay Order of Merit Grand Cross breast star.png, Grand Cross grade of the order. File:Paraguay Order of Merit Grand Cross set.png, Set of insignia of the Grand Cross. File:Paraguay Order of Merit Grand Cross badge (obverse).png, Grand Cross badge (obverse). File:Paraguay Order of Merit Grand Cross badge (reverse).png, Grand Cross badge (reverse). File:Cordon of Francisco Solano López (Paraguay) - Memorial JK - Brasilia - DSC00452.JPG,

Collar Collar may refer to: Human neckwear *Clerical collar (informally ''dog collar''), a distinctive collar used by the clergy of some Christian religious denominations *Collar (clothing), the part of a garment that fastens around or frames the neck ...

of the order of

References

External links

Republic of Paraguay: National Order of Merit
{{Authority control 1865 establishments in South America Awards established in 1865 Orders, decorations, and medals of Paraguay Orders of merit