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Order of Merit

  
     
This article is about the Commonwealth realms order. For similarly-named orders, see Order of Merit (disambiguation).
Order of Merit
Ingilizliyakat.jpg
Insignia of the Order of Merit presented to Dorothy Hodgkin, displayed in the Royal Society in London
Awarded by the
Personal flag of Queen Elizabeth II.svg
sovereign of the Commonwealth realms
Type Order
Motto FOR MERIT
Eligibility All living citizens of the Commonwealth realms
Awarded for At the monarch's pleasure
Status Currently constituted
Sovereign Elizabeth II
Grades (w/ post-nominals) Member (OM)
Statistics
Established 1902
Precedence
Next (higher) Dependant on state
Next (lower) Dependant on state
Order of Merit UK ribbon.png
Ribbon of the Order of Merit

The Order of Merit is an order recognizing distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by King Edward VII, admission into the organization remains the personal gift of the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, and is limited to 24 living individuals from any of those countries, plus a minimal number of foreigners.[1] While all members receive the ability to use the post-nominal letters OM and a medallion for wear,[2] the Order of Merit's precedence amongst other honours differs from realm to realm.

Contents

History

Prior to the order's creation, it was thought by Queen Victoria and her courtiers that the established honours system did not sufficiently recognize achievement outside of public service, in realms such as art, music, literature, industry, and science.[2] The Prussian order Pour le Mérite served as a model for Victoria, but no British order was established until her son, Edward VII, did so when he founded the Order of Merit in 1902; all modern aspects of the order were established under his direction, including the division for military figures.[2] From the outset, prime ministers attempted to propose candidates or lobbied to influence the monarch's decision on appointments, but the Royal Household adamantly guarded information about potential names.[2] After 1931, when the Commonwealth of Nations came into being and the former Dominions of the British Empire became independent states, equal in status to the UK,[3][4] the Order of Merit remained an honour open to all the King's realms; thus, as with the monarch who conferred it, the order ceased to be purely British.[1][5] From its inception, the order has been open to women, Florence Nightingale being the first woman to receive the honour, in 1907. Several individuals have refused admission into the Order of Merit, such as Rudyard Kipling, Alfred Edward Housman, and George Bernard Shaw. To date, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, remains the youngest person ever inducted into the Order of Merit, having done so in 1968, at the age of 47.[2]

Eligibility and appointment

All citizens of the Commonwealth realms are eligible for appointment to the Order of Merit. There may be, however, only 24 living individuals in the organization at any given time, not including honorary appointees, and new members are personally selected by the reigning monarch of the 16 realms, presently Queen Elizabeth II, with the assistance of her private secretaries;[2] the order has thus been described as "quite possibly, the most prestigious honour one can receive on planet Earth."[6] Within the limited membership is a designated military division, with its own unique insignia; though it has not been abolished, it is currently unpopulated, The Earl Mountbatten of Burma having been the last person so honoured.[2] Honorary members form another group, to which there is no numerical limit, though such appointments are rare; individuals from countries in the Commonwealth of Nations that are not headed by Elizabeth II are still considered foreigners, and thus are granted only honorary admissions, such as Nelson Mandela (South Africa) and Mother Teresa (India).[1] Upon admission into the Order of Merit, members are entitled to use the post-nominal letters OM, and are gifted the medallion of the organization, which consists of a golden crown from which is suspended a red enamelled cross. itself centred by a disk of blue enamel, surrounded by a gold laurel wreath, and bearing in gold lettering the words FOR MERIT;[7] the insignia for the military grouping is distinguished by a pair of crossed swords behind the central medallion. The ribbon of the Order of Merit is divided into two stripes of red and blue; men may wear their badges on a neck ribbon, while women carry theirs on a ribbon bow pinned to the left chest, and aides-de-camp may wear the insignia on their aiguillettes.[7]

Current members

Members
  1. (113) Flag of EIIR.jpg The Duke of Edinburgh PC KG KT OM GBE AC QSO GCL CD PC ADC(P), Royal Consort, appointed 1968
  2. (136) Flag of the United Kingdom The Reverend William Owen Chadwick OM KBE FBA FRSE, theological historian, appointed 1983
  3. (137) Flag of the United Kingdom Sir Andrew Fielding Huxley OM FRS, physiologist, Nobel Laureate, and former President of the Royal Society, appointed 1983
  4. (141) Flag of the United Kingdom Dr. Frederick Sanger OM CH CBE FRS, biochemist and double Nobel Laureate, appointed 1986
  5. (148) Flag of the United Kingdom The Lady Thatcher LG OM PC FRS, former British Prime Minister, appointed 1990
  6. (149) Flag of Australia Dame Joan Alston Sutherland OM AC DBE, coloratura soprano, appointed 1991
  7. (152) Flag of the United Kingdom Sir Michael Francis Atiyah OM FRS FRSE, mathematician, Fields medalist, Abel Laureate, and President of the Royal Society, appointed 1992
  8. (153) Flag of the United Kingdom/Flag of Germany Lucian Michael Freud OM CH, portraitist, appointed 1993
  9. (155) Flag of the United Kingdom/Flag of Lithuania Sir Aaron Klug OM FRS, biophysicist, Nobel Laureate, and former President of the Royal Society, appointed 1995
  10. (158) Flag of the United Kingdom The Lord Foster of Thames Bank OM FRIBA FCSD RDI, architect and Pritzker Laureate, appointed 1997
  11. (162) Flag of the United Kingdom Sir James Whyte Black OM FRS FRSE FRCP, pharmacologist and Nobel Laureate, appointed 2000
  12. (163) Flag of the United Kingdom Sir Anthony Alfred Caro OM CBE, sculptor, appointed 2000
  13. (164) Flag of the United Kingdom Sir Roger Penrose OM FRS, mathematical physicist, appointed 2000
  14. (165) Flag of the United Kingdom Sir Tom Stoppard OM CBE FRSL, playwright, appointed 2000
  15. (166) Flag of EIIR.jpg The Prince of Wales KG KT GCB OM AK QSO GCL SOM CD PC ADC(P), heir to the throne and conservationist, appointed 2002
  16. (167) Flag of Australia The Lord May of Oxford OM AC FRS, ecologist and former President of the Royal Society, appointed 2002
  17. (168) Flag of the United Kingdom The Lord Rothschild Bt OM GBE FBA, philanthropist, appointed 2002
  18. (169) Flag of the United Kingdom Sir David Frederick Attenborough OM CH CVO CBE FRS FZS, Broadcaster, appointed 2005
  19. (170) Flag of the United Kingdom The Lady Boothroyd OM PC, first female Speaker of the British House of Commons, appointed 2005
  20. (171) Flag of the United Kingdom Sir Michael Eliot Howard OM CH CBE MC FBA, military historian, appointed 2005
  21. (172) Flag of the United Kingdom Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee OM KBE FRS FREng FRSA, inventor of the World Wide Web and Director of the World Wide Web Consortium, appointed 2007
  22. (173) Flag of the United Kingdom The Lord Rees of Ludlow OM PRS, Astronomer Royal and President of the Royal Society, appointed 2007
  23. (174) Flag of the United Kingdom The Lord Eames OM, Anglican Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh, appointed 2007
  24. (175) Flag of Canada The Right Honourable Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien PC CC OM QC, former Canadian Prime Minister, appointed 2009
Honorary Members
  1. (11) Flag of South Africa Nelson Mandela OM CC AC QC, statesman and Nobel Laureate, appointed 1995

Precedence in each realm

As the Order of Merit is open to the citizens of sixteen different countries, each with their own system of orders, decorations, and medals, the order's place of precedence varies from country to country. While in the United Kingdom, members rank below Knights and Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, it has been claimed by Stanley Martin, in his book The Order of Merit 1902-2002: One Hundred Years of Matchless Honour, that the Order of Merit is actually the pinnacle of the British honours system.[8] Similarly, though it is not listed in the Canadian order of precedence for honours, decorations, and medals, except relating to those who were appointed to the order prior to 1 June 1972,[9] Christopher McCreery stated in his book The Order of Canada: Its Origins, History and Development that the Order of Merit was the highest civilian award for merit a Canadian could receive.[10] McCreery reiterated this point in the press following the appointment of Jean Chrétien to the Order of Merit on 13 July 2009, stating "it [the Order of Merit] is ahead even of the Order of Canada,"[11] and Rafal Heydel-Mankoo, an editor of Burke's Peerage, echoed McCreery's views in stating that the Order of Merit outranked the Order of Canada.[12]

The Order of Merit in the orders of precedence of various Commonwealth realms
Country Preceding Following
Flag of Australia Australia
Order of precedence		 Kight/Lady of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle (KT/LT) Knight/Dame of the Order of Australia (AK/AD)
Flag of Canada Canada[‡ 1]
Order of precedence		 Cross of Valour (CV) Companion of the Order of Canada (CC)
Flag of New Zealand New Zealand
Order of precedence		 Knight/Dame Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (GCB) Member of the Order of New Zealand (ONZ)[13]
Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom Flag of England.svg England and
Flag of Wales 2.svg Wales
Order of precedence		 Knight/Dame Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (GCB) Knight/Dame Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (KCB/DCB)
  1. ^ Not included in the official order of precedence for wear of orders, decorations, and medals.

Past members

Substantive members

The Earl Roberts, one of the original inductees into the Order of Merit in 1902.
The Lord Rutherford of Nelson, the first New Zealander appointed to the Order of Merit.
William Lyon Mackenzie King, the first Canadian appointed to the Order of Merit.

Honorary members

Agnesë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, known as Mother Teresa, appointed to the Order of Merit in 1983.

The following people were previously made honorary members of the Order:

References

  1. ^ a b c The Royal Household. "The Queen and the UK > Queen and Honours > Order of Merit". Queen's Printer. http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchUK/Honours/OrderofMerit.aspx. Retrieved on 28 July 2009. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Jackson, Michael D. (2007). "The Order of Merit 1902-2002: One Hundred Years of Matchless Honour". Canadian Monarchist News (Toronto: Monarchist League of Canada) Summer 2007 (26): 15. http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2007/Summer_2007_CMN.pdf. Retrieved on 28 July 2009. 
  3. ^ Arthur, Balfour (November 1926). "Imperial Conference 1926: Inter-Imperial Relations Committee Report". London: King's Printer. p. 1. E (I.R./26) Series. 
  4. ^ George V (11 December 1931), The Statute of Westminster, 1931, 2.2, Westminster: King's Printer, http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/StatuteofWestminster.html, retrieved on 29 July 2009 
  5. ^ "Chretien says Order of Merit 'humbling experience'" (in English). CTV. 14 July 2009. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090714/jean_chretien_090714/20090714?hub=TopStories&s_name=. Retrieved on 29 July 2009. 
  6. ^ Editorial Board (15 July 2009), "Order Worthy?", National Post, http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=1791001, retrieved on 29 July 2009 
  7. ^ a b Clarence House. "For Children > Medals and Uniforms > Medals > Picture 4: The Order of Merit". Queen's Printer. http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/forchildren/medalsanduniforms/medals/index.html. Retrieved on 29 July 2009. 
  8. ^ Martin, Stanley (2007), The Order of Merit 1902-2002: One Hundred Years of Matchless Honour, written at London and New York, in Jackson, Michael D., "The Order of Merit 1902-2002: One Hundred Years of Matchless Honour", Canadian Monarchist News (Toronto: Monarchist League of Canada) Summer 2007 (26): 15, http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2007/Summer_2007_CMN.pdf, retrieved on 28 July 2009 
  9. ^ Office of the Governor General of Canada. "Honours > Order of Precedence". Queen's Printer for Canada. http://www.gg.ca/honours/op/index_e.asp. Retrieved on 24 July 2009. 
  10. ^ McCreery, Christopher (2005). The Order of Canada: Its Origins, History and Development. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-3940-5. 
  11. ^ Taber, Jane (15 July 2009), "Chrétien 'thrilled' by rare honour from Queen", The Globe and Mail, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/chrtien-thrilled-by-rare-honour-from-queen/article1216381/, retrieved on 24 July 2009 
  12. ^ Heydel-Mankoo, Rafal (2009), Letter, in The Monarchist, "A Letter from Burke's Peerage and Gentry", The Monarchist (London: The Monarchist), 25 July 2009 
  13. ^ New Zealand Defence Force. "Medals Home > general medals information > order of wear". Queen's Printer for New Zealand. http://medals.nzdf.mil.nz/info/orderofwear.html. Retrieved on 30 July 2009. 

Further reading

  • Martin, Stanley (2007). The Order of Merit 1902-2002: One Hundred Years of Matchless Honour. I. B. Tauris. ISBN 1-86064-848-7. 

External links

   • d •   
Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom
Current orders
Former orders
Other honours
See also : Revocations

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