Order of the Yugoslav Star ( or Orden jugoslovenske zvezde, ; ) was the highest National order of merit awarded in Yugoslavia

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...

. It was divided into four classes. The highest class, the Yugoslav Great Star was the highest state decoration awarded in Yugoslavia. The order was mostly awarded to foreign heads of state for the development and strengthening of peace and cooperation between nations.

The Order of the Yugoslav Star was also the second highest order of merit in Serbia and Montenegro

Serbia and Montenegro

Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...

.

History

Order of the Yugoslav Star was founded by the President of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito

Josip Broz Tito

Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...

 on 1 February 1954 and had three Classes. Law on Decorations was amended on 1 March 1961, so from then on, the Order had four Classes:

• Yugoslav Great Star — highest decoration in SFR Yugoslavia
• Yugoslav Star with Sash (before 1961 Order of the Yugoslav Star, I Class) — 8th highest decoration in SFR Yugoslavia
• Yugoslav Star with Golden Wreath (before 1961 Order of the Yugoslav Star, II Class) — 14th highest decoration in SFR Yugoslavia
• Yugoslav Star on Cravat (before 1961 Order of the Yugoslav Star, III Class) — 24th highest decoration in SFR Yugoslavia

After the dissolution of SFR Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (and later Serbia and Montenegro

Serbia and Montenegro

Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...

) continued to use some of the decorations of former Yugoslavia, among them Order of the Yugoslav Star. In the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Order of the Yugoslav Star was the second highest order after the Order of Yugoslavia. During this time the four Classes of the order were named:

• Yugoslav Great Star — 2nd highest decoration in FR Yugoslavia (after the Order of Yugoslavia)
• Yugoslav Star, I Class — 7th highest decoration in FR Yugoslavia
• Yugoslav Star, II Class — 20th highest decoration in FR Yugoslavia
• Yugoslav Star, III Class — 31st highest decoration in FR Yugoslavia

Recipients

The Order was usually awarded to foreign heads of state and other distinguished foreigners who visited Yugoslavia. Up to 1985, the Yugoslav Great Star was awarded 127 times of which 115 to foreigners and 12 to Yugoslav citizens.

Some of the notable recipients of the Yugoslav Great Star (or Yugoslav Star, I Class before 1961) are: Josip Broz Tito

Josip Broz Tito

Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...

, President of Yugoslavia - awarded on 1 February 1954 Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia

Emperor of Ethiopia

The Emperor of Ethiopia was the hereditary ruler of Ethiopia until the abolition of the monarchy in 1974. The Emperor was the head of state and head of government, with ultimate executive, judicial and legislative power in that country...

 - awarded on 21 July 1954 Mohammed Zahir Shah

Mohammed Zahir Shah

Mohammed Zahir Shah was the last King of Afghanistan, reigning for four decades, from 1933 until he was ousted by a coup in 1973...

, King of Afghanistan - awarded on 1 November 1960 Hassan II, King of Morocco - awarded on 1 April 1961 Leonid Brezhnev

Leonid Brezhnev

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev  – 10 November 1982) was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , presiding over the country from 1964 until his death in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in...

, Soviet leader - awarded in 1962 Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...

, Shah of Iran - awarded in on 3 June 1966 Norodom Sihanouk

Norodom Sihanouk

Norodom Sihanouk regular script was the King of Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 until his semi-retirement and voluntary abdication on 7 October 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni...

, King of Cambodia

King of Cambodia

The King of Cambodia is the head of state of the Kingdom of Cambodia. The King's power is limited to that of a symbolic figurehead to whom people are to give love and respect...

 - awarded on 17 January 1968 Jacques Chaban-Delmas

Jacques Chaban-Delmas

Jacques Chaban-Delmas was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Prime Minister under Georges Pompidou from 1969 to 1972. In addition, for almost half a century, he was Mayor of Bordeaux and a deputy for the Gironde département....

, Prime Minister of France

Prime Minister of France

The Prime Minister of France in the Fifth Republic is the head of government and of the Council of Ministers of France. The head of state is the President of the French Republic...

 Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom - awarded on 19 October 1972 Prince Philip

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....

, Duke of Edinburgh

Duke of Edinburgh

The Duke of Edinburgh is a British royal title, named after the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, which has been conferred upon members of the British royal family only four times times since its creation in 1726...

 - awarded on 19 October 1972 Olav V

Olav V of Norway

Olav V was the king of Norway from 1957 until his death. A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Olav was born in the United Kingdom as the son of King Haakon VII of Norway and Queen Maud of Norway...

, King of Norway Harald V, King of Norway Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark

Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark

Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark , is the husband of the Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II.-Early life:Henrik was born in Talence, Gironde, France...

 Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal, Prime Minister of Mongolia

Prime Minister of Mongolia

The Prime Minister of Mongolia is the highest member of the Mongolian government's executive arm, and heads the Mongolian cabinet. The Prime Minister is appointed by Parliament, and can be removed by a vote of no confidence.-Powers:...

 Gaafar Nimeiry

Gaafar Nimeiry

Gaafar Muhammad an-Nimeiry was the Nubian President of Sudan from 1969 to 1985...

, President of the Sudan Birendra, King of Nepal - awarded on 2 February 1974 Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah

Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah

Jaber III al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, GCB , GCMG of the al-Sabah dynasty, was the Emir and thirteenth Sheikh of Kuwait, serving from December 31, 1977 until his death on January 15, 2006...

, Emir of Kuwait - awarded on 3 February 1979 Juliana

Juliana of the Netherlands

Juliana was the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands between 1948 and 1980. She was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry...

, Queen of the Netherlands

Monarchy of the Netherlands

The Netherlands has been an independent monarchy since 16 March 1815, and has been governed by members of the House of Orange-Nassau since.-Constitutional role and position of the monarch:...

 Bernhard

Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld

Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld , later Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, was prince consort of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and father of six children, including the current monarch Queen Beatrix....

, Prince consort of the Netherlands Beatrix

Beatrix of the Netherlands

Beatrix is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands comprising the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and Aruba. She is the first daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She studied law at Leiden University...

, Queen of the Netherlands

Monarchy of the Netherlands

The Netherlands has been an independent monarchy since 16 March 1815, and has been governed by members of the House of Orange-Nassau since.-Constitutional role and position of the monarch:...

 Hussein I

Hussein of Jordan

Hussein bin Talal was the third King of Jordan from the abdication of his father, King Talal, in 1952, until his death. Hussein's rule extended through the Cold War and four decades of Arab-Israeli conflict...

, King of Jordan - awarded on 11 February 1979 Akihito

Akihito

is the current , the 125th emperor of his line according to Japan's traditional order of succession. He acceded to the throne in 1989.-Name:In Japan, the emperor is never referred to by his given name, but rather is referred to as "His Imperial Majesty the Emperor" which may be shortened to . In...

, Emperor of Japan

Emperor of Japan

The Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...

 Muammar al-Gaddafi

Muammar al-Gaddafi

Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...

, leader of Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

 - awarded on 26 October 1999

See also

• Orders, decorations, and medals of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
• Orders and medals of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
  Orders and medals of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
  Orders and medals were awarded in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia between 1998 and 2006. Before the 1992 dissolution of SFR Yugoslavia, the Orders and medals of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia were awarded. Some of the old pre-1992 SFRY orders and medals were retained by FR...