| ORDER OF MERIT OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND (ORDER ZASLUGI RZECZYPOSPOLITEJ POLSKIEJ) by Rafal Heydel-Mankoo Copyright: 2005 |
| This Order, originally known as the Order of Merit of the People’s Republic of Poland, was instituted by an act of the Polish parliament dated 10 April 1974 and was intended to serve as a replacement for the historic Order of the White Eagle. Whilst the London-based Polish Government-in-Exile regarded the Order of the White Eagle as an important national symbol, the government in Warsaw held the Order’s symbolism, status and history to be incompatible with communist ideology; accordingly, on 17 February 1960, the communist regime omitted the Order of the White Eagle from the official list of orders and decorations recognised by the parliament. The resulting void remained unfilled until the establishment of the Order of Merit. The Order was established as a diplomatic award and was also bestowed upon Polish citizens and foreigners in recognition of acts of merit performed for the benefit of Poland. Prior to the creation of the Order of Merit deserving diplomats and other foreigners had been honoured with the Order of Polonia Restituta: a tradition that had been established in the 1920s. The Order of Merit’s status as successor to the White Eagle was underscored by the similarity in the design and colour of the two Orders’ badge and riband. In 1990, following the collapse of the communist regime, the Order’s name was altered to the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland and the two lower classes of ‘gold decoration’ and ‘silver decoration’ were renamed ‘officer’ and ‘member’.
As currently constituted the Order’s five classes are: grand cross, commander with star, commander, officer and member. Appointments are announced in the official publication Monitor Polski. There is no restriction on the total number of members. The President of the Republic continues to act as Grand Master for the duration of his time in Office. Investitures, which most frequently take place during the national holidays of 3 May and 11 November, traditionally take place at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw. The Order is administered from the office of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ul. Wiejska 10, Warsaw. The badge of the Order is a five-armed gilt cross enameled red and edged in white with concave extremities. Stylised gilt rays are positioned in the angles of the cross and a silver eagle, crowned and displayed, is positioned upon the obverse centre. The badge is surmounted by the letters ‘RP’ within an oval device from which issue two horizontal rays similar to those positioned between the angles of the cross. The star of the Order comprises five sets of seven silver rays: each set separated by a stylized gilt ray similar to that found on the badge of the Order. The gilt edged obverse roundel features a silver eagle, crowned and displayed, upon a red background. The badge of a grand cross measures 68 mm in diameter and is suspended from a 100 mm wide riband worn over the right shoulder and resting on the left hip; the accompanying breast star measures 88 mm in diameter. The badge of a commander with star and commander measures 60 mm in diameter and is suspended from a 45 mm neck ribbon; the commander’s star measures 88 mm in diameter. The badge of an officer (gold) and member (silver) measures 48 mm in diameter and is suspended the from a 36 mm wide breast ribbon; the ribbon of an officer is differenced with a rosette. The ribbon of the Order was originally sky blue but in 1992 was changed to dark blue to avoid confusion with the riband of the newly restored Order of the White Eagle. BACK TO THE MAIN MENU |