Contents

Order of St. Olav

Norwegian chivalric order

Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden
Grand Cross set of the Order (1st type)
Awarded by King of Norway
Type	Chivalric order with five degrees
Established	21 August 1847; 176 years ago (1847-08-21)
Motto	RET OG SANDHED (Justice and Truth)
Criteria	Remarkable accomplishments on behalf of the country and humanity
Status	Currently constituted
Grand Master	King Harald V
Grades	Grand Cross with Collar Grand Cross Commander with Star Commander Knight 1st Class Knight
Precedence
Next (higher)	Medal for Outstanding Civic Service
Next (lower)	Royal Norwegian Order of Merit
Riband of the Order of St. Olav

The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (Norwegian: Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or Sanct Olafs Orden, the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav.^[1]

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 no appointments were awarded by his successor, King 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 used to reward individuals for remarkable accomplishments on behalf of the country and humanity. Since 1985, appointments to the order has only been conferred upon Norwegian citizens, though foreign heads of state and royalty may be appointed as a matter of courtesy.

Grades and classes[edit]

The reigning monarch of Norway is the order's Grand Master.^[2] The order consists of three grades, of which two are divided into two classes,^[1] and may be awarded for either civilian or military contributions, in descending order of distinction. The collar is awarded as a separate distinction of the Grand Cross to those recipients deemed exceptionally worthy.

• Grand Cross (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, which is divided into two classes:
  • 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, which is divided into two classes:
  • Knight 1st 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.

Ribbon bars
Grand Cross with Collar	Grand Cross	Commander with Star	Commander	Knight 1st Class	Knight

Insignia[edit]

The collar of the Order is in gold, with five enamelled and crowned monograms "O", 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" 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 Oscar'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;^[3] 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" 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.^[4]

The ribbon of the Order is red with white-blue-white edge stripes.^[1]

In very exceptional circumstances the Order may be awarded "with diamonds", in which case a ring of diamonds replaces the white-blue-white enamel ring surrounding the central disc on the front of the badge as well as in the crown.

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. The insignia are produced in Norway by craftsmen.

Eligibility and appointment[edit]

The King makes appointments upon the recommendation of a six-member commission, none of whom may be a member of the government, consisting of a chancellor, vice chancellor, the Lord Chamberlain (acting as treasurer), and three other representatives. The Lord Chamberlain nominates the members of the commission, and the monarch approves them.^[5] Nominations to the order are directed at the commission through the county governor.

Princes and Princesses with succession rights to the throne are appointed to the highest degree upon reaching their age of majority.^[6]

Ranking[edit]

The Order of St. Olav is the highest civilian honour currently conferred by Norway and only ranks after the military War Cross among all Norwegian decorations still awarded in the general 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 15th in the order of precedence, directly after the Mistress of the Robes 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 16th.

Current holders of the Grand Cross[edit]

This list contains holders of the Grand Cross, some of whom have also been awarded the Collar and gives the year of their appointment. The list is collated alphabetically by the last name; those recipients not possessing the last name, such as royalty and most Icelanders are collated by the first name. Six 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, appointments to 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.

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008)

Country	Name	Charge	Grand Cross with Collar	Grand Cross	Year
Argentina	Mauricio Macri	Former President		Y	2018
Austria	Heinz Fischer				2007
Belgium	Albert II	Former King	Y		1964
	Mathilde	Queen		Y	2003
	Paola	Former Queen			1997
	Philippe	King			2003
Brazil	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva	President			2003
Bulgaria	Georgi Parvanov	Former President			2006
Croatia	Ivo Josipović	Former president			2011
Denmark	Benedikte	Princess			1974
	Frederik X	King (when Crown Prince)	Y		2024, 1990
	Joachim	Prince			1991
	Margrethe II	Former Queen (when Princess)	Y		1958
	Marie	Princess		Y	2014
	Mary	Queen (when Crown Princess)			2005
	Christian	Crown Prince (when Prince)			2023
Estonia	Toomas Hendrik Ilves	Former President			2014
	Arnold Rüütel				2002
Finland	Tellervo Koivisto	Former President's wife			1983
	Sauli Niinistö	Former President			2012
	Tarja Halonen	Former President			2000
Germany	Joachim Gauck	Former President			2014
	Horst Köhler				2007
	Marianne von Weizsäcker	Former first lady			1986
Iran	Farah Pahlavi	Former Empress			1965
Iceland	Guðni Th. Jóhannesson	President			2017
	Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson	Former President			1998
	Vigdís Finnbogadóttir		Y		1982
Italy	Sergio Mattarella	President		Y	2016
Japan	Akihito	Emperor Emeritus	Y		2001, 1953
	Masako	Empress (when Crown Princess)			2001
	Michiko	Empress Emerita			2001
	Naruhito	Emperor (when Crown Prince)			2001
	Nobuko	Princess			2001
Jordan	Abdullah II	King			2000
	Hussein	Crown Prince			2020
	Hassan	Prince (when Crown Prince)			1980
	Rania	Queen			2000
Latvia	Guntis Ulmanis	Former President			1998
	Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga				2000
	Andris Bērziņš				2015
Lithuania	Valdas Adamkus				1998
	Dalia Grybauskaitė				2011
Luxembourg	Henri	Grand Duke	Y		2011
	Maria Teresa	Grand Duchess		Y	1996
Netherlands	Beatrix	Former Queen (when Princess)	Y		1964
	Margriet	Princess		Y	1964
	Willem-Alexander	King	Y		2021, 1996
	Máxima	Queen			2013
Norway	Astrid	Princess	Y		1956
	Kjell Magne Bondevik	Former Prime Minister		Y	2004
	Lars Petter Forberg	Former Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Household			2004
	Åge Bernhard Grutle				2015
	Haakon	Crown Prince	Y		1991
	Magne Hagen	Former Cabinet Secretary to the King		Y	2000
	Harald V	King	Y Grand Master		1955, 1991
	Ingrid Alexandra	Princess		Y	2022
	Märtha Louise	Princess	Y		1989
	Mette-Marit	Crown Princess		Y	2016, 2001
	Edvard Moser	Professor, psychologist and neuroscientist, Nobel laureat			2018
	May-Britt Moser	Professor, psychologist and neuroscientist, Nobel laureat			2018
	Gry Mølleskog	Former Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Household			2022
	Arne Omholt	Former Marshal of the Court			2016
	Carsten Smith	Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Norway			2003
	Sonja	Queen	Y		1972
	Sverre Magnus	Prince		Y	2023
	Berit Tversland	Former Cabinet Secretary to the King			2012
Poland	Andrzej Duda	President			2016
	Bronislaw Komorowski	Former President			2012
	Aleksander Kwaśniewski	Former President			1996
	Lech Wałęsa	Former President			1995
Portugal	António Ramalho Eanes	Former President	Y		1978
	Aníbal Cavaco Silva	Former President		Y	2008
Romania	Emil Constantinescu	Former President			1999
South Korea	Moon Jae-in	Former President			2019
Slovakia	Andrej Kiska	Former President		Y	2018
	Ivan Gašparovič				2010
Slovenia	Borut Pahor	Former President			2019
	Danilo Türk	Former President			2011
Spain	Cristina	Princess			1995
	Elena				1995
	Felipe	King			1995
	Juan Carlos I	Former King	Y		1982
	Sofía	Former Queen		Y	1982
Sweden	Carl XVI Gustaf	King	Y		1974
	Carl Philip	Prince		Y	2005
	Christina	Princess			1992
	Daniel	Prince			2022
	Désirée	Princess			1992
	Madeleine				2005
	Silvia	Queen			1982
	Victoria	Crown Princess			1995
Thailand	Sirikit	Former Queen		Y	1965
Turkey	Abdullah Gül	Former President		Y	2013
South Africa	Nelson Mandela	Former President		Y	1998
United Kingdom	Charles III	King	Y		1978
	Andrew	Prince and Duke of York		Y	1988
	Edward	Prince and Duke of Kent			1988
	Richard	Prince and Duke of Gloucester			1973

• 
  Order of Saint Olav Grand Cross with swords badge 1st Type
• 
  Order of Saint Olav Grand Cross with swords badge 2nd Type
• 
  Order of St Olav - Commander
• 
  Order of St Olav - Commander
• 
  Order of St Olav - Commander
• 
  Order of St. Olav Grand Cross badge
• 
  Order of St. Olav Grand Cross Star
• 
  Order of St. Olav Knights Class
• 
  Order of St. Olav Grand Cross Star - 2nd Type
• 
  Order of St. Olav Grand Cross Star - 1st Type
• 
  Order of St. Olav Collar and Star
• 
  Order of St. Olav Grand Officer Star - 1st Type
• 
  Order of St. Olav Grand Officer Badge - 1st Type
• 
  Order of St. Olav Knight - 1st Type

See also[edit]

• Orders, decorations, and medals of Norway
• St. Olav's Medal

References[edit]

Works cited[edit]

• Hieronymussen, Poul Ohm; Lundø, Jørgen, eds. (1968). Eurooppalaiset kunniamerkit värikuvina [Europæiske ordner i farver] (in Finnish). Translated by Karnila, Christer. Porvoo: WSOY. OCLC 466954328.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Order of St. Olav.

• The Order of St. Olav Website of the Royal Court
• Statutes of the Order of St. Olav (in Norwegian) Website of the Royal Court