The Order of the Sun of Peru (Spanish: Orden El Sol del Perú), formerly known as the Order of the Sun, is the highest award bestowed by the nation of Peru to commend notable civil and military merit. The award is the oldest civilian award in the Americas, first being established in 1821. The imagery of the sun is associated with Inti, the Incan sun god and believed ancestor of the ruler to the Incan Empire once ruled over Peru.[1]
History
The Order was originally instituted on 8 October 1821 by General José de San Martín upon reaching Lima, to recognize those who had distinguished themselves in the campaign against the Spanish Royalists. The three classes of appointment to the Order were, in descending order of precedence: Founder, Meritorious and Associate.
It was discontinued four years later, after many grantees started to use the award as a nobility title, similar to the earlier Castile titles awarded by the colonial government. The Congress issued a law abolishing the Order of the Sun on 9 May 1825.
In 1921, the Order was re-established to commemorate the Centennial of Peruvian Independence.
Classes
The award consists of the following classes:
Grand Collar
Grand Cross with Diamonds
Grand Cross
Grand Officer
Commander
Officer
Knight
Ribbon bars
Grand Collar
Grand Cross with Diamonds
Grand Cross
Grand Officer
Commander
Officer
Knight
Notable recipients
Certificate confirming that the Order of the Sun of Peru was conferred on Ernesto Burzagli in the name of the President of the Peruvian Republic in 1924.
King Leopold III of Belgium (as Prince of Belgium), Grand Cross with Diamonds (1922)
Other people
U.S. First Lady Pat Nixon is awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun for her efforts to deliver relief supplies after an earthquake in 1970. At left is Peruvian First Lady Consuelo Velasco; at right is the Peruvian Ambassador to the United States.
^Silverman, Helaine (September 2002). "Touring Ancient Times: The Present and Presented Past in Contemporary Peru". American Anthropologist. 104 (3): 882. doi:10.1525/aa.2002.104.3.881.
