Order of Military Merit (Yugoslavia)

Order of Military Merits
Type	Order of merit with 3 degrees
Awarded for	Outstanding achievements in national defense
Country	Yugoslavia
Presented by	Presidium of the National Assembly of Yugoslavia
Eligibility	Yugoslav civilian and military personnel
Status	Dissolved
Established	29 December 1951
First awarded	1951
Last awarded	1985
Total	2,609 (Class I) 24,141 (Class II) 94,684 (Class III)
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of Brotherhood and Unity (1945-1955) Order of Labour (after 1955)
Next (lower)	Order of Bravery
Related	Medal for Military Merits

Order of Military Merits (Serbo-Croatian: Orden za vojne zasluge/Орден за војне заслуге, Slovene: Red za vojaške zasluge, Macedonian: Орден на Воени заслуги) was a state decoration awarded in Yugoslavia, divided into three classes. It was awarded to commanders of units and civilians serving in the Yugoslav People's Army, as well as individuals in trade unions or other organizations with outstanding contributions and accomplishment of tasks of special immediate importance for national defense.[1][2]

History

The order was established by the Presidium of the National Assembly of Yugoslavia on 29 December 1951 together with the Medal for Military Merits and awarded until the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992. The number of times it was awarded has last been documented on 31 December 1985. The three classes of the order ranked as following in their importance, per the Law on Decorations of the FPR Yugoslavia from 1 March 1961:[1]

• Order of Military Merits with Great Star – Class I, 16th in order of importance, awarded 2,609 times
• Order of Military Merits with Golden Swords – Class II, 26th in order of importance, awarded 24,141 times
• Order of Military Merits with Silver Swords – Class III, 34th in order of importance, awarded 94,684 times

After the breakup of SFR Yugoslavia, the new union of Serbia and Montenegro, formally Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, established an equivalent Order of Merit in the Field of Defense and Security (Serbo-Croatian: Орден за заслуге у области одбране и безбедности, Orden za zasluge u oblasti odbrane i bezbednosti) on 4 December 1998. It looked the same, but the red star was replaced with the Coat of arms of Serbia and Montenegro and torches behind the shield were removed.[3]

Gallery

Order of Military Merits with Great Star (Class I)	Order of Military Merits with Golden Swords (Class II)	Order of Military Merits with Silver Swords (Class III)
Ribbons

References

1. Historical Archive of Belgrade 2015, p. 28–29.
2. Military Lexicon 1981, p. 370.
3. Shine of the Orders 2001.

Literature

• Vojna enciklopedija [Military Encyclopedia]. Vol. VI. Belgrade: Editorial office of the Military Encyclopedia. 1973. OCLC 180448376.
• General Encyclopedia of the Yugoslav Lexicographical Institute. Vol. VI. Belgrade: Yugoslav Lexicographical Institute. 1980. ISBN 978-86-7053-012-6. OCLC 31939890.
• Vojni leksikon [Military Lexicon]. Belgrade: Vojno izdavački zavod. 1981. OCLC 877809478.
• Sjaj ordena — Odlikovanja Savezne Republike Jugoslavije [Shine of the Orders — Decorations of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]. Belgrade: Vojni informator. 2001.
• Katalog izložbe: Odlikovanja iz legata Istorijskog arhiva Beograda [Catalog of the exhibition: Decorations from the legacy of the Historical Archive of Belgrade] (PDF). Belgrade: Historical Archive of Belgrade. 2015.
• Prister, Boris (2003). "Prve medalje za vojne zasluge" [The First Medals for Military Merit]. Numizmatičke vijesti (56). Zagreb: Croatian Numismatic Society: 240–244. COBISS 103662599.