Order of the Star of Romania

In 1863, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, the Domnitor of the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, asked the Romanian representative to Paris to contact the then well-known jewellery house Krétly, to manufacture a state decoration. Krétly presented a model, which was immediately accepted by the domnitor, and based on his agreement, 1,000 pieces of the order were made. It was decided that the order would have five ranks: Knight (Cavaler), Officer (Ofițer), Commander (Comandor), Grand Officer (Mare Ofițer), and Grand Cross (Mare Cruce).^[1]

Unlike all other decorations in that time that were mostly inspired on the French Légion d'honneur, or which had their insignia like a Maltese cross, the model proposed by Krétly for this order was a blue cross crosslet (cruce repetată), a design that was then unique in decorational design.^[1]

The domnitor decided that the name of the honour would be "The Order of the Union" ("Ordinul Unirii"). It was planned to institute the order on 24 January 1864, the date when the 5th anniversary of his election would be celebrated and a moment that marked the unification of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. Because of this, the motto of the new order would fit the event: "GENERE ET CORDES FRATRES" ("BROTHERS THROUGH ORIGINS AND FEELINGS"). The obverse of the insignia would bear the numbers "5" and "24", the days of January when he was elected in both Moldova and Wallachia.^[1]

However, due to the overthrow of Alexandru Ioan Cuza by a palace coup, he was unable to actually institute the order, and he awarded the insignia therefore only as a personal present, not as a state decoration. Most of the insignia produced for him remained stored in the Royal Palace's cellars.^[1]

In April 1877, when Romania gained independence from the Ottoman Empire, the debate regarding the institution of Romanian decorations was revived. Mihail Kogălniceanu, Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Ion Brătianu cabinet, took part in the debates in the Assembly of Deputies regarding the institution of a state decoration. Because of the already earlier supplied "Order of The Union", it was decided that the shape of the decoration would be the same, modifying only the domnitor's seal. The motto was also changed, because the old one was not appropriate to the moment, to "IN FIDE SALUS" ("IN FAITH IS THE SALVATION"). Regarding the name, Kogălniceanu insisted on "Steaua Dunării" ("The Star of The Danube").^[1]

The name "Steaua României" ("The Star of Romania") appeared on 10 May 1877, when the law was voted in the Parliament, as the first law of the Sovereign Romania.^[1]

By Royal Decree (no. 1545/1932), King Carol II changed the order of precedence in the Romanian honours system. As a result, in 1932, The Star of Romania dropped in precedence from second place (where it had been since 1906) to fourth place (after the Order of Carol I and the Order of Ferdinand I [ro]). In 1937, it dropped to seventh place. The main shape of the order, the blue repeated cross (called also "Romanian cross") was kept, but the rays between the cross' arms were replaced by four heraldic eagles with wings spread, the insignia of King Carol I was placed on the obverse, and the reverse bore the year of its establishment, "1877". Also the number of persons that could be awarded The Star of Romania was increased:^[1]

• Knight (Cavaler): 1,000 civilians and 350 military;
• Officer (Ofițer): 500 civilians and 150 military;
• Commander (Comandor): 200 civilians and 75 military;
• Grand Officer (Mare Ofițer): 75 civilians and 25 military;
• Grand Cross (Mare Cruce): 35 civilians and 10 military.

In 1938, the order was given a superior rank, called "Clasa I" (First Class in English), between the Grand Officer rank and the Grand Cross rank, with a maximum of 50 civilians and 15 military personnel.^[1]

The statutes established by King Carol II were changed by General Ion Antonescu (who became Conducător on 4 September 1940). Generally, the rules were the ones used during World War I. The order "The Star of Romania" became the second in the national hierarchy, after that of the Order of Michael the Brave.^[1]

Inspired by the German Iron Cross, Ion Antonescu decided that the first three grades of the orders the Star of Romania and the Crown of Romania, with spades (swords), and the ribbon of The Medal "The Military Virtue" would be awarded for exceptionally brave acts with an oak leaf, attached to the ribbon.^[1]

After 1948, all the existing decorations were outlawed, and their wearing was forbidden. Just by keeping the insignia, one was considered a delinquent in the first years of communism.^[1]

In 1993, the idea of reinstating the oldest Order was proposed within the Special Commission of the Chamber of Deputies. After several attempts, in 1998/1999 the National Order "The Star of Romania" was reinstituted, with a design similar to the one used in 1932, but without the insignia of King Carol I, and with the republican insignia.^[1]

As per Law 29/2000, regarding Romania's national system of decorations, there are currently six grades:^[2]

• 1st Class: Collar (Colan);
• 2nd Class: Grand Cross (Mare Cruce);
• 3rd Class: Grand Officer (Mare Ofițer);
• 4th Class: Commander (Comandor);
• 5th Class: Officer (Ofițer);
• 6th Class: Knight (Cavaler).

First issue (1877–1948)

• Ernesto Burzagli
• Archduke Eugen of Austria (1881)
• Aurel Vlaicu (1911)
• Pratap Singh of Idar (1921)
• Jan Karcz
• Aristide Razu (1918)
• Harry Gideon Wells (1919)
• Ismail of Johor (1920)
• Hendrik Pieter Nicolaas Muller (1922)
• Scarlat Cantacuzino
• Artur Phleps
• Edward Rydz-Śmigły
• Jack Corbu (1930)
• Stanisław Maczek
• Amha Selassie of Ethiopia
• Rudolf Walden
• Fritz Witt (1942)
• Martin Unrein
• Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala (1935)
• Walter Staudinger (1942)
• Ismail of Johor (1942)
• Walther Wenck (1943)
• Emmerich Jordan (1944)
• Samuel C. Cumming
• Paul de Smet de Naeyer
• Joseph Maria von Radowitz
• Klement Gottwald (1947)^[3]

Second issue (since 1998)

Foreign citizens

No.	Name	Known for	Year Appointed
1	Jacques Chirac	President of France	1998
2	Alberto Fujimori	President of Peru
3	Martti Ahtisaari	President of Finland
4	Petar Stoyanov	President of Bulgaria
5	Aleksander Kwaśniewski	President of Poland	1999
6	Thomas Klestil	President of Austria
7	Konstantinos Stephanopoulos	President of Greece
8	Süleyman Demirel	President of Turkey
9	Harald V	King of Norway
10	Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani	Emir of Qatar
11	Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah	Emir of Kuwait
12	Nursultan Nazarbayev	President of Kazakhstan
13	Rexhep Meidani	President of Albania
14	Ezer Weizman	President of Israel
15	Petru Lucinschi	President of Moldova	2000
16	Elizabeth II	Queen of the United Kingdom
17	Jorge Sampaio	President of Portugal
18	Árpád Göncz	President of Hungary
19	Margrethe II	Queen of Denmark
20	Rudolf Schuster	President of Slovakia
21	Stjepan Mesić	President of Croatia
22	Ernesto Zedillo	President of Mexico
23	Fernando Henrique Cardoso	President of Brazil
24	Bhumibol Adulyadej	King of Thailand
25	Leonid Kuchma	President of Ukraine
26	Émile Lahoud	President of Lebanon	2001
27	Kofi Annan	Secretary-General of the United Nations
28	Beatrix	Queen of the Netherlands
29	Valdas Adamkus	President of Lithuania
30	Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga	President of Latvia
31	Andrew Bertie	Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta	2002
32	Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan	President of United Arab Emirates
33	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo	President of Philippines
34	Milan Kučan	President of Slovenia
35	Ferenc Mádl	President of Hungary
36	George W. Bush	President of the United States
37	Mauro Chiaruzzi	Captains Regent of San Marino
38	Giuseppe Maria Morganti	Captains Regent of San Marino
39	Zine El Abidine Ben Ali	President of Tunisia	2003
40	Carl XVI Gustaf	King of Sweden
41	Juan Carlos I	King of Spain
42	Carlo Azeglio Ciampi	President of Italy
43	Arnold Rüütel	President of Estonia
44	Condoleezza Rice	United States Secretary of State
45	Henri I	Grand Duke of Luxembourg	2004
46	Angelo Sodano	Cardinal Secretary of State
47	Eddie Fenech Adami	President of Malta
48	Giuseppe Arzilli	Captains Regent of San Marino
49	Roberto Raschi	Captains Regent of San Marino
50	Ricardo Lagos	President of Chile
51	Ilham Aliyev	President of Azerbaijan
52	Abdullah II	King of Jordan	2005
53	Tarja Halonen	President of Finland	2006
54	George Emil Palade	Professor	2007
55	Tarcisio Bertone	Cardinal Secretary of State	2008
56	Matthew Festing	Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta
57	Lech Kaczyński	President of Poland	2009
58	Michel Suleiman	President of Lebanon
59	Albert II	Prince of Monaco
60	Albert II	King of the Belgians
61	Mihai Ghimpu	President of Moldova	2010
62	George Abela	President of Malta
63	Valdis Zatlers	President of Latvia	2011
65	Toomas Hendrik Ilves	President of Estonia
66	Giorgio Napolitano	President of Italy
67	Pietro Parolin	Cardinal Secretary of State	2015
68	Aníbal Cavaco Silva	President of Portugal
69	Dennis Deletant	Professor
70	Dalia Grybauskaitė	President of Lithuania
71	Sergio Mattarella	President of Italy	2016
72	Rosen Plevneliev	President of Bulgaria
73	Joachim Gauck[4]	President of Germany
74	Andrzej Duda	President of Poland
75	François Hollande	President of France
76	Andrej Kiska	President of Slovakia
77	Nicolae Timofti	President of Moldova	2017
78	Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović	President of Croatia
79	Charles III	King of the United Kingdom
80	Dominique Prince de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel	Grand Hospitaler of Order of Malta (SMOM)
81	Frédéric Jenny	Professor
82	Kersti Kaljulaid	President of Estonia	2021
81	Gitanas Nausėda	President of Lithuania	2022

By class

• List of military decorations
• National Decorations System (Romania)

• (in Romanian) Ordinul național "Steaua României", Presidency of Romania website
• (in Romanian) Recipients of the order (Excel sheet), Presidency of Romania website