Order of Boyacá

Order of Boyacá Orden de Boyacá
Grand Cross of the Order of Boyacá
Awarded by  Colombia
Awarded for	Exceptional service to Colombia
Status	Currently constituted
Grand Master	President of Colombia
Grades	Gran Collar, Gran Cruz Extraordinaria, Gran Cruz, Gran Official, Cruz de Plata, Comendador, Oficial, and Caballero
Precedence
Next (higher)	Military Order of St. Matthew[1]
Next (lower)	Order of San Carlos[1]
Ribbon bar of the Order of Boyacá

The Order of Boyacá (Spanish: Orden de Boyacá) is the highest peacetime decoration of Colombia. The order is awarded for exceptional service to distinguished Colombian military officers and civilians as well as foreign citizens of friendly nations. Established in 1922, the Order of Boyacá traces its origin to a Cruz de Boyacá that was awarded to the generals who led their forces to victory in the Battle of Boyaca in 1819. Reestablished in 1919 as an award for military personnel the order has undergone revisions and expansions into its current form, with the biggest change happening in 1922 where civilians became eligible to be awarded the Order of Boyaca.

Grades

The Order of Boyacá is awarded in eight different grades:[2]

• Grand Collar (Gran Collar), awarded to heads of state and to the President of Colombia upon his election.
• Grand Cross Extraordinary (Gran Cruz Extraordinaria), awarded to former heads of state and Colombian Cardinals.
• Grand Cross (Gran Cruz), awarded to Cardinals, Ambassadors, Ministers of State, Marshals, Generals of the Armed Forces, Lieutenant Generals, Admirals, or individuals of an equal or similar rank.
• Grand Officer (Gran Oficial), awarded to Envoys Extraordinary and Ministers Plenipotentiary, Archbishops, Major Generals, Brigadier Generals, Admirals, Vice Admirals, or individuals of an equal or similar rank.
• Silver Cross (Cruz de Plata), awarded to individuals and organizations as recognition for tenure and length of service.
• Commander (Comendador), awarded to Ministers Residents, business owners and managers, Bishops, Colonels, Lieutenant colonels, Majors, Captains, Commanders, Lieutenant Commanders, or individuals of an equal or similar rank.
• Officer (Oficial), Chargé d'affaires ad interim, Counselors, First Secretaries, Consuls General, Captains, Lieutenants, or individuals of an equal or similar rank.
• Knight (Caballero), awarded to Second and Third Secretaries, Consuls and Vice-Consuls, Attachés to embassies and legations, Lieutenants and Second Lieutenants, Lieutenants (junior grade) and Ensigns, or individuals of an equal or similar rank.

Ribbon bars of the Order of Boyacá
Grand Collar	Grand Cross Extraordinary	Grand Cross	Grand Officer
Silver Cross	Commander	Officer	Knight

Notable recipients

Country	Name	Charge	Grand Collar	Grand Cross	Year
Chile	Gabriel Boric	President	Y		2023[3]
Dominican Republic	Luis Abinader	President	Y		2022[4]
South Korea	Moon Jae-in	President	Y		2021[5]
United States	Joe Biden	Vice President		Y	2016[6]
Spain	Felipe VI	King	Y		2015[7]
Spain	Letizia	Queen		Y	2015[8]
Brazil	Dilma Rousseff	President	Y		2015
Chile	Sebastián Piñera	President	Y		2010[9]
United Kingdom	Tony Blair	Former Prime Minister		Y	2011[10]
Brazil	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva	President	Y		2005
United Kingdom	Elizabeth II	Queen	Y		1993[11]
Morocco	Youssef Fassi Fihri	Ambassador		Y	1992[12]
Poland	Mieczyslaw Biernacki	Ambassador		Y	1992[13]
Finland	Urho Kekkonen	President	Y		1980[14]
Mexico	José López Portillo	President	Y		1979[15]
Spain	Juan Carlos I	King	Y		1976[16]
Spain	Sofia	Queen		Y	1976[17]
Republic of China	Chiang Kai-shek	President	Y		1963
Czechoslovakia	Tomáš Masaryk	Former President	Y		1937[18]
Czechoslovakia	Edvard Beneš	President	Y		1937[18]
Venezuela	Juan Vicente Gómez	President	Y		1925[19]
Spain	Alfonso XIII	King	Y		1925[20]
Spain	Victoria Eugenie	Queen		Y	1925[20]

References

1. "DECRETO 4444 DE 2010 (noviembre 29) Diario Oficial No. 47.908 de 29 de noviembre de 2010". cancilleria.gov.co/. Cancilleria Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
2. "ORDEN DE BOYACÁ". Cancilleria Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
3. "Presidente Boric recibe a mandatario colombiano Gustavo Petro en el Palacio de La Moneda" [President Boric receive to colombian president at Palacio de la Moneda] (in Spanish). el Mostrador. 9 January 2023. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
4. Castillo, Laura (2022-04-29). "Duque y Abinader se condecoran mutuamente y sus gobiernos firman 6 documentos". Listín Diario (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-08-06.
5. 이재열 (2021-08-25). "Intercambio de medallas entre Corea del Sur y Colombia". Agencia de Noticias Yonhap (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-08-25.
6. "Santos le entregó la Cruz de Boyacá al vicepresidente Joe Biden". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 2016-11-17. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
7. "La Orden de Boyacá. La máxima distinción de la República de Colombia". Gabinete de Protocolo (in Spanish). 2015-03-03. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
8. Tiburcio, Núria (April 24, 2017). "Letizia, la condecorada: las 17 distinciones que le han otorgado a la Reina". vanitatis.elconfidencial.com. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
9. "Presidente Santos hará visitas de Estado en Chile y Argentina". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-08-06.
10. "Santos condecoró con la Orden de Boyacá al ex Primer Ministro británico Tony Blair". elheraldo.co. April 27, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
11. "Titles and Orders of HM Queen Elizabeth II". Archived from the original on 2009-12-01. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
12. "DECRETO 584 DE 1992 por medio del cual se confiere una condecoración de la Orden de Boyacá". Diario Oficial De Colombia (40412). 6 April 1992.
13. "DECRETO 305 DE 1992 por medio del cual se confiere una condecoración de la Orden de Boyacá". Diario Oficial De Colombia (40343). 19 February 1992.
14. kunniamerkki; Kolumbian Boyaga ritarikunnan suurristi rintatähden kera (in Finnish). Coin Chamber, The National Museum of Finland. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
15. "Decreto por el que se concede permiso al ciudadano Licenciado José López Portillo, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, para aceptar y usar la Condecoración de la Orden de Boyacá, en grado de Gran Cruz Extraordinaria que le confiere el Gobierno de Colombia". gob.mx (in Spanish). 8 June 1979. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
16. 1976 REYES DE ESPAÑA EN BOGOTA. FilmotecaEspañola. January 1, 1976. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
17. "Los Reyes de España viajan hoy a Colombia". elpais.com. October 9, 1976. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
18. "Řády a vyznamenání prezidentů republiky" (in Czech). vyznamenani.net. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
19. "El Liberal (Madrid. 1879). 20/6/1925".
20. "NOTICIAS DE PALACIO". 20 May 1925.

External links

• Decorations, Cancilleria Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores.
• World Awards