The Order for Exceptional Merits ( Slovenian: ''Red za izredne zasluge''), is a state order of the

Republic of Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. It is awarded usually for exceptional work and services rendered in advancing the sovereignty, prosperity, renown and progress of Slovenia in the cultural, economic, scientific, social and political spheres. It is conferred to nationals of the country and, exceptionally, groups of citizens, legal persons and other organizations and foreign top statesmen. The order is usually presented by the

President of Slovenia The president of Slovenia, officially the president of the Republic of Slovenia (), is the head of state of Slovenia. The office was established on 23 December 1991 when the National Assembly (Slovenia), National Assembly passed a new ...

in person.

Notable recipients

* ''2022'' -

Alexander Van der Bellen Alexander "Sascha" Van der Bellen (; born 18 January 1944), also referred to by the abbreviation VdB, is an Austrian politician serving as the president of Austria since 2017. He previously served as a professor of economics at the University ...

'' (as

President of Austria The president of Austria () is the head of state of the Austria, Republic of Austria. The office of the president was established in 1920 by the Constituent National Assembly (Austria), Constituent National Assembly of the First Austrian Repu ...

)'' * ''2022'' -

Frank-Walter Steinmeier Frank-Walter Steinmeier (; born 5 January 1956) is a German politician who has served as President of Germany since 2017. He was previously Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), federal minister for foreign affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again f ...

'' (as

President of Germany The president of Germany, officially titled the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international correspondence; the official English title is President of the F ...

)'' * ''2021'' -

Sergio Mattarella Sergio Mattarella (; born 23 July 1941) is an Italian politician and jurist who has served as the president of Italy since 2015. He is the longest-serving president in the history of the Italian Republic. Since Giorgio Napolitano's death in 20 ...

'' (as

President of Italy The president of Italy, officially titled President of the Italian Republic (), is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity and guarantees that Politics of Italy, Italian politics comply with the Consti ...

)'' * ''2021'' -

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...

'' (as

Chancellor of Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal Cabinet of Germany, government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Government of Germany, ...

)'' * ''2021'' -

Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (, ; born January 24, 1953) is a South Korean politician and former lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea from 2017 to 2022. Before his presidency, he served as the senior secretary for civil affairs and the Chief ...

'' (as

President of South Korea The president of the Republic of Korea (), also known as the president of South Korea (), is the head of state and head of government of South Korea. The president directs the executive branch of the Government of South Korea, government and is ...

)'' * ''2021'' -

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa Marcelo Nuno Duarte Rebelo de Sousa (; born 12 December 1948) is a Portuguese politician and academic who is the president of Portugal since 2016. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party, though he suspended his party membership for the ...

'' (as

President of Portugal The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic (, ), is the head of state and highest office of Portugal. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, and their relation with the prime minister ...

)'' * ''2021'' -

Katerina Sakellaropoulou Katerina N. Sakellaropoulou ( ; born 30 May 1956) is a Greek retired judge who served as the president of Greece from 2020 to 2025. She was elected by the Hellenic Parliament to succeed Prokopis Pavlopoulos on 22 January 2020. Prior to her electi ...

'' (as

President of Greece The president of Greece, officially the president of the Hellenic Republic (), commonly referred to in Greek as the president of the Republic (, ΠτΔ), is the head of state of Greece. The president is elected by the Hellenic Parliament; the ...

)'' * ''2019'' -

Kersti Kaljulaid Kersti Kaljulaid (; born 30 December 1969) is an Estonia, Estonian politician who served as the fifth president of Estonia between 2016 and 2021, and was its first and only female head of state since the country declared independence in 1918. S ...

'' (as

President of Estonia The president of the Republic of Estonia () is the head of state of the Estonia, Republic of Estonia. The current president is Alar Karis, elected by Parliament on 31 August 2021, replacing Kersti Kaljulaid. Estonia is one of the few parliam ...

)'' * ''2016'' -

Miloš Zeman Miloš Zeman (; born 28 September 1944) is a Czech politician who served as the third president of the Czech Republic from 2013 to 2023. He also previously served as the prime minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. As leader of the Cze ...

''(as

President of the Czech Republic The president of the Czech Republic, constitutionally defined as the President of the Republic (), is the head of state of the Czech Republic and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. The presidency has largely bee ...

)'' * ''2015'' -

Herman Van Rompuy Herman Achille, Count Van Rompuy (; born 31 October 1947) is a Belgian politician who served as Prime Minister of Belgium from 2008 to 2009, and later as the first permanent President of the European Council from 2009 to 2014. Van Rompuy, a ...

''(as Former

President of the European Council The president of the European Council is the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council on the world stage. This Institutions of the European Union, institution comprises the college of heads of state or governme ...

)'' * ''2015'' -

Joachim Gauck Joachim Wilhelm Gauck (; born 24 January 1940) is a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2012 to 2017. A former Lutheran pastor, he came to prominence as an anti-communist civil rights activist in East Germany. During the P ...

''(as

)'' * ''2013'' -

Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( (SAZU)) is the national academy of Slovenia, which encompasses science and the arts and brings together the top Slovene researchers and artists as members of the academy. Cultural significance Establis ...

* ''2011'' -

Harald V of Norway Harald V (, ; born 21 February 1937) has been King of Norway since 1991. A member of the House of Glücksburg, Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the Succession to t ...

''(as King of Norway)'' * ''2011'' –

Queen Sonja of Norway Sonja (born Sonja Haraldsen; 4 July 1937) is Queen of Norway as the wife of King Harald V. Sonja and the then Crown Prince Harald had dated for nine years prior to their marriage in 1968. They had kept their relationship a secret due to the ...

''(as Queen of Norway)'' * ''2011'' -

Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano (; 29 June 1925 – 22 September 2023) was an Italian politician who served as President of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first to be re-elected to the office. In office for 8 years and 244 days, he was the longest-serving pre ...

''(as

)'' * ''2010'' -

Tarja Halonen Tarja Kaarina Halonen (, born 24 December 1943) is a Finns, Finnish politician who served as the 11th president of Finland, and the first and to date only woman to hold the position, from 2000 to 2012. She first rose to prominence as a lawyer wit ...

''(as

President of Finland The president of the Republic of Finland (; ) is the head of state of Finland. The incumbent president is Alexander Stubb, since 1 March 2024. He was elected president for the first time in 2024 Finnish presidential election, 2024. The presi ...

)'' * ''2009'' -

University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana (, , ), abbreviated UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 38,000 enrolled students. The university has 23 faculties and three art academies with approximately 4,000 teaching and re ...

* ''2009'' -

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer Jakob Gijsbert "Jaap" de Hoop Scheffer (; born 3 April 1948) is a Dutch retired politician, jurist and diplomat who served as the eleventh Secretary General of NATO from January 2004 to August 2009. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (C ...

''(as

Secretary General of NATO The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an intergovernmental military alliance with 32 member states. The officeholder is an international diplomat responsible for coordinat ...

)'' * ''2008'' -

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

''(as

Queen of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British cons ...

)'' * ''2008'' -

France Bučar France Bučar (2 February 1923 – 21 October 2015) was a Slovenian politician, legal expert and author. Between 1990 and 1992, he served as the first speaker of the freely elected Slovenian Parliament. He was the one to formally declare the in ...

* ''2006'' -

Tassos Papadopoulos Efstathios "Tassos" Nikolaou Papadopoulos (; 7 January 1934 – 12 December 2008) was a Cypriot politician and barrister, who served as President of Cyprus from 2003 to 2008. An experienced member of the Makarios III’s cabinet, Papadopo ...

''(as

President of Cyprus The president of Cyprus, officially the president of the Republic of Cyprus, is the head of state and the head of government of Cyprus, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Cypriot National Guard. The office was established by the Constitu ...

)'' * ''2006'' - Albert II ''(as Prince of Monaco)'' * ''2006'' -

Jože Pučnik Jože Pučnik (9 March 1932 – 11 January 2003) was a Slovenian public intellectual, sociologist and politician. During the communist regime of Josip Broz Tito, he was one of the most outspoken Slovenian critics of dictatorship and lack of civil ...

(posthumously) * ''2006'' -

Davíð Oddsson Davíð Oddsson (pronounced ; born 17 January 1948) is an Icelandic politician, and the longest-serving prime minister of Iceland, in office from 1991 to 2004. From 2004 to 2005 he served as Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Iceland), foreign minis ...

''(as Former Prime Minister of Iceland)'' * ''2005'' -

Romano Prodi Romano Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 and twice as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1996 to 1998, and again from 2006 to 2008. Prodi is considered the fo ...

''(as Former President of the European Commission)'' * ''2005'' -

George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

''(as Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization)'' * ''2005'' -

Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as chancellor of Germany and governed the ''Federal Republic'' from 1982 to 1998. He was leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to ...

''(as Former Chancellor of Germany)'' * ''2005'' -

Ferenc Mádl Ferenc Mádl (; 29 January 1931 – 29 May 2011) * : Collar of the Order of Merit (25 September 2002). References External links His biography at the website of the Office of the President of the Republic of HungaryRetrieved 2011-05-30 ...

''(as President of Hungary)'' * ''2004'' -

Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. Having reigned since 1973, he is the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history. Carl Gustaf was born during the reign of his paternal great-grandfather, K ...

''(as King of Sweden)'' * ''2004'' -

Queen Silvia of Sweden Silvia (born Silvia Renate Sommerlath; 23 December 1943) is Queen of Sweden as the wife of King Carl XVI Gustaf. She has held this title since her marriage to Carl XVI Gustaf in 1976. The king and queen have three children: Crown Princess Vict ...

''(as Queen of Sweden)'' * ''2004'' -

Javier Solana Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga CYC (; born 14 July 1942) is a Spanish physicist and PSOE politician. After serving in the Spanish government as Foreign Affairs Minister under Felipe González (1992–1995) and as the Secretary Gener ...

''(as High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy)'' * ''2004'' -

Günter Verheugen Günter Verheugen (; born 28 April 1944) is a German politician who served as European Commissioner for Enlargement from 1999 to 2004, and then as European Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry from 2004 to 2010. He was also one of five vic ...

''(as European Commissioner for Enlargement)''

References

{{Reflist Orders, decorations, and medals of Slovenia