Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Special Class of the Grand Cross (reserved for heads of state)
Type	Order of merit with one special and eight regular classes
Country	Federal Republic of Germany
Presented by	the President of Germany
Eligibility	Civilian and military personnel
Established	7 September 1951 (7 September 1951)
Total	260,429 (as of January 10, 2021)[1]
Website	bundespraesident.de
Grand Cross Special Class Grand Cross 1st Class, Special Issue Grand Cross 1st Class Grand Cross Knight Commander Commander Officer Member Medal Ribbon bars of the Order of Merit

The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or Bundesverdienstorden, BVO)^[2] is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellectual or honorary fields. It was created by the first President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Theodor Heuss, on 7 September 1951. Colloquially, the decorations of the different classes of the Order are also known as the Federal Cross of Merit (Bundesverdienstkreuz).

It has been awarded to over 260,000 individuals in total, both Germans and foreigners.^[3] Since the 1990s, the number of annual awards has declined from over 4,000, first to around 2,500, then from 2015 to under 1,500, with a low of 918 awards in 2022.^[3] Since 2013, women have made up a steady 30–35% of recipients.^[3]

Most of the German federal states (Länder) have each their own order of merit as well, with the exception of the Free and Hanseatic Cities of Bremen and Hamburg, which reject any orders (by tradition their citizens, particularly former or present senators, will refuse any decoration in the form of an order, the most famous example being former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt).^[4]