- Order of St. Olav
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Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav
Kongelige Norske St. Olavs Orden
Cross of the Order of St. Olav Awarded by 
King of NorwayType Chivalric order with five degrees Motto RET OG SANDHED (Justice and Truth) Awarded for remarkable accomplishments on behalf of the country and humanity Status Currently constituted Grand Master King Harald V Grades (w/ post-nominals) Grand Cross
Commander with Star
Commander
Knight 1st class
KnightEstablished August 21, 1847 Precedence Next (higher) None (formerly the Order of the Norwegian Lion Next (lower) Royal Norwegian Order of Merit 
Riband of the Order of St. Olav 
An early design of the collar of the Order of St. Olav
The Star of The Order of Saint OlavThe Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav (Norwegian: Den Kongelige Norske St. Olavs Orden; or Sanct Olafs Orden, the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry that was instituted by King Oscar I of Norway and Sweden on August 21, 1847, as a distinctly Norwegian order. It is named after King Olav II, known for posterity as St. Olav. Nobility was abolished in Norway in 1821. Just before the union with Sweden was dissolved in 1905, the Order of the Norwegian Lion was instituted in 1904 by King Oscar II, but it was not awarded by his successor Haakon VII. The Order of St. Olav thus became the kingdom's only order of chivalry for the next 80 years. The Grand Master of the order is the reigning monarch of Norway. It is awarded to individuals as a reward for remarkable accomplishments on behalf of the country and humanity. Since 1985, the order has only been conferred upon Norwegian citizens, though foreign heads of state and royals are awarded the order as a matter of courtesy.
The King awards the order upon the recommendation of a six-member commission, consisting of a chancellor, vice chancellor, the court treasurer, and one representative from the southern, central, and northern parts of Norway. The prime minister nominates the members of the commission, and the monarch approves them. Nominations for the award are directed at the commission through the county mayor.
The order is divided into five classes and may be awarded for either civilian or military contributions, the Collar is awarded as a separate distinction of the Grand Cross to those recipients deemed exceptionally worthy, in descending order of distinction:
- Grand Cross of St. Olav (Storkors) - awarded to heads of state as a courtesy and in rare cases to individuals for merit; wears the badge on a collar (chain), plus the star on the left chest. If the collar is not worn the badge may be worn on a sash on the right shoulder;
- Commander with Star (Kommandør med stjerne) - wears the badge on a necklet, plus the star on the left chest;
- Commander (Kommandør) - wears the badge on a necklet;
- Knight, First Class (Ridder av 1. klasse) - wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest;
- Knight (Ridder) - wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest.
The insignia are expected to be returned either upon the receiver's advancement to a higher level of the order or upon his or her death. Since it was instituted, the order has been awarded approximately 5,000 times. The insignia are produced in Norway by craftsmen.
The Norwegian king also awards the St. Olav's Medal (St. Olavsmedaljen) in gold and silver for "activities for the benefit of society," but these do not confer upon the recipient membership in an order.
Contents
Insignia
The collar of the Order is in gold, with five enamelled and crowned monograms "O" (for "Oscar", the royal cipher of Oscar I, the Order's founder), five enamelled and crowned coat-of-arms of Norway, and 10 gold crosses bottony each flanked by two battle axes with silver blades and golden shafts (The latter element is also featured in the coat of arms of the Church of Norway).
The badge of the Order is a white enamelled Maltese Cross, in silver for the knight class and in gilt of the higher classes; crowned monograms "O" (for "Oscar") appear between the arms of the cross. The obverse central disc is red with the golden Norwegian lion rampart bearing a battle axe; the reverse disc bears the King Olav's motto «Ret og Sandhed» - "Justice and Truth" in Norwegian; both discs are surrounded by a white-blue-white ring. The cross is topped by a crown; military awards have crossed swords between the crown and the cross.
The star of the Order for the Grand Cross is an eight-pointed silver star with faceted rays, bearing the obverse of the badge of the Order (minus the crown on the top).
The star for Commander with Star is a silver faceted Maltese Cross, with gilt crowned monograms "O" (for "Oscar") between the arms of the cross. The central disc is red with the golden Norwegian lion rampart bearing a battle axe, surrounded by a white-blue-white ring.[1]
The ribbon of the Order is red with white-blue-white edge stripes.
In very exceptional circumstances the Order may awarded 'with diamonds', in which case a ring of diamonds replace the white-blue-white enamel ring surrounding the central disc on the front of the badge.
Ranking
In the Order of precedence used at the royal court of Norway, bearers of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav with collar are ranked 15 in the Order of precedence directly after The Lady Chamberlain and generals and directly before recipients of the War Cross with sword. Bearers of the Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav are ranked 16.
The medal is ranked third in the general ranking of Norwegian orders and medals for use when wearing more than one medal.
Current holders of the Grand Cross
This list contains 93 holders of the Grand Cross, 21 of which have also been awarded the Collar and gives the year of their appointment. The list is collated alphabetically by last name, those recipients not possessing a last name, such as royalty and most Icelanders are collated by first name. 6 of the listed are not heads of states or royals, these are marked by names in bold. Before the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit was created in 1985, the Order of St Olav was awarded to members of a foreign delegation during state visits. Many holders of the grand cross who are not Heads of state are not listed here.
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This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.This list was last updated on 16 May 2011.
Country Name Title, Position Grand Cross
with CollarGrand Cross Year of appointment 
AustriaHeinz Fischer President 
2007 
BelgiumAlbert II King 1964 BelgiumMathilde Crown Princess 2003 BelgiumPaola Queen 1997 BelgiumPhilippe Crown Prince 2003 
BrazilLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva President 2003 
BulgariaGeorgi Parvanov President 2006 
United KingdomAndrew Prince 1988 United KingdomCharles Crown Prince 1978 United KingdomEdward Prince 1988 
Commonwealth realmsElizabeth II Queen 1955 Commonwealth realmsPhilip Prince Consort 1952 United KingdomRichard Prince 1973 
CroatiaIvo Josipović President 2011 
DenmarkBenedikte Princess 1974 DenmarkFrederik Crown Prince 1990 DenmarkHenrik Prince Consort 1968 DenmarkJoachim Prince 1991 DenmarkMargrethe II Queen 1958 DenmarkMary Crown Princess 2005 
EstoniaArnold Rüütel 3rd President 2002 
FinlandMartti Ahtisaari 10th President 1994 FinlandMauno Koivisto 9th President 1983 FinlandTarja Halonen 11th President 2000 
FranceJacques Chirac former President 2000 FranceValéry Giscard d'Estaing former President (when Minister of Finance) 1962 
GermanyRoman Herzog former President 1998 GermanyHorst Köhler former President 2007 GermanyMarianne von Weizsäcker former first lady 1986 GermanyRichard von Weizsäcker former President 1986 Greece
Constantine II former King 1964, 1962 
GreeceConstantinos Stephanopoulos 6th President 2004 
HungaryÁrpád Göncz former President 1999 HungaryFerenc Mádl former President 2002 
IranFarah Pahlavi former Empress 1965 
IcelandÓlafur Ragnar Grímsson President 1998 IcelandVigdís Finnbogadóttir 4th President 1982 
ItalyCarlo Azeglio Ciampi former President 2001 
JapanAkihito Emperor 2001, 1953 JapanMasako Crown Princess 2001 JapanMichiko Empress 2001 JapanNaruhito Crown Prince 2001 JapanTomohito of Mikasa Princess 2001 
JordanAbdullah II King 2000 JordanHassan Prince (former Crown Prince) ? JordanRania Queen 2000 
LatviaGuntis Ulmanis former President 1998 LatviaVaira Vīķe-Freiberga former President 2000 
LithuaniaValdas Adamkus former President 1998 LithuaniaDalia Grybauskaitė President 2011 
LuxembourgHenri Grand Duke 2011 LuxembourgJean Grand Duke 1964 LuxembourgMaria Teresa Grand Duchess 1996 
NetherlandsBeatrix Queen 1964 NetherlandsMargriet Princess 1964 NetherlandsWillem-Alexander Crown Prince 1996 
NorwayAstrid Princess 1956 NorwayKjell Magne Bondevik former Prime Minister 2004 NorwayLars Petter Forberg Master of the Royal Household 2004 NorwayHaakon Crown Prince 1991 NorwayMagne Hagen former secretary to the King 2000 NorwayHarald V King
Grand Master1955, 1991 NorwayKaare Langlete former Master of the Royal Household 1993 NorwayJørgen Hårek Kosmo former President of the Norwegian Parliament 2005 NorwayMärtha Louise Princess 1989 NorwayMette-Marit Crown Princess 2001 NorwayRagnhild Princess 1982 NorwayCarsten Smith former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Norway 2003 NorwaySonja Queen 1972 
PolandAleksander Kwaśniewski former President 1996 PolandLech Wałęsa former President 1995 
PortugalAntónio Ramalho Eanes 17th President 1978 PortugalJorge Sampaio former president 2004 PortugalAníbal Cavaco Silva current president 2008 
RomaniaEmil Constantinescu former President 1999 
SlovakiaIvan Gašparovič President 2010 
SloveniaDanilo Türk President 2011 
South AfricaNelson Mandela former President 1998 
SpainCristina Princess 1995 SpainElena Princess 1995 SpainFelipe Crown Prince 1995 SpainJuan Carlos I King 1982 SpainSofía Queen 1982 
SwedenCarl XVI Gustaf King 1974 SwedenCarl Philip Prince 2005 SwedenChristina Princess 1992 SwedenDésirée Princess 1992 SwedenLilian Princess 1992 SwedenMadeleine Princess 2005 SwedenSilvia Queen 1982 SwedenVictoria Crown Princess 1995 
ThailandBhumibol Adulyadej King 1960 ThailandSirikit Queen 1965 See also
References
External links
- Official website on the order
- The Collection of Henrik Revens Website features orders and medals of Norway as well as other Nordic countries.
Categories:- Order of St. Olav
- Monarchical orders
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