Order of St. Olav


The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav.
Just before the union with Sweden was dissolved in 1905, the Order of the Norwegian Lion was instituted in 1904 by King Oscar II, but no appointments were awarded by his successor, King Haakon VII. The Order of St. Olav thus became the kingdom's only order of chivalry for the next 80 years. The Grand Master of the order is the reigning monarch of Norway. It is used to reward individuals for remarkable accomplishments on behalf of the country and humanity. Since 1985, appointments to the order have only been conferred upon Norwegian citizens, though foreign heads of state and royalty may be appointed as a matter of courtesy.

Grades and classes

The reigning monarch of Norway is the order's Grand Master. The order consists of three grades, of which two are divided into two classes, and may be awarded for either civilian or military contributions, in descending order of distinction. The collar is awarded as a separate distinction of the Grand Cross to those recipients deemed exceptionally worthy.
  • Grand Cross awarded to heads of state as a courtesy and in rare cases to individuals for merit; wears the badge on a collar, plus the star on the left chest. If the collar is not worn the badge may be worn on a sash on the right shoulder;
  • Commander, which is divided into two classes:
  • * Commander with Star wears the badge on a necklet, plus the star on the left chest;
  • * Commander wears the badge on a necklet;
  • Knight, which is divided into two classes:
  • * Knight 1st Class wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest;
  • * Knight wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest.

    Insignia

The collar of the Order is in gold, with five enamelled and crowned monograms "O", five enamelled and crowned coat-of-arms of Norway, and 10 gold crosses bottony each flanked by two battle axes with silver blades and golden shafts.
The badge of the Order is a white enamelled Maltese Cross, in silver for the knight class and in gilt of the higher classes; crowned monograms "O" appear between the arms of the cross. The obverse central disc is red with the golden Norwegian lion rampart bearing a battle-axe; the reverse disc bears the King Oscar's motto «Ret og Sandhed» "Justice and Truth" in Norwegian; both discs are surrounded by a white-blue-white ring. The cross is topped by a crown; military awards have crossed swords between the crown and the cross.
The star of the Order for the Grand Cross is an eight-pointed silver star with faceted rays, bearing the obverse of the badge of the Order.
The star for Commander with Star is a silver faceted Maltese Cross, with gilt crowned monograms "O" between the arms of the cross. The central disc is red with the golden Norwegian lion rampart bearing a battle axe, surrounded by a white-blue-white ring.
The ribbon of the Order is red with white-blue-white edge stripes.
In very exceptional circumstances the Order may be awarded "with diamonds", in which case a ring of diamonds replaces the white-blue-white enamel ring surrounding the central disc on the front of the badge as well as in the crown.
The insignia are expected to be returned either upon the receiver's advancement to a higher level of the order or upon his or her death. The insignia are produced in Norway by craftsmen.

Eligibility and appointment

The King makes appointments upon the recommendation of a six-member commission, none of whom may be a member of the government, consisting of a chancellor, vice chancellor, the Lord Chamberlain, and three other representatives. The Lord Chamberlain nominates the members of the commission, and the monarch approves them. Nominations to the order are directed at the commission through the county governor.
Princes and Princesses with succession rights to the throne are appointed to the highest degree upon reaching their age of majority.

Ranking

The Order of St. Olav is the highest civilian honour currently conferred by Norway and only ranks after the military War Cross among all Norwegian decorations still awarded in the general ranking.
In the order of precedence used at the royal court of Norway, bearers of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav with collar are ranked 15th in the order of precedence, directly after the Mistress of the Robes and generals and directly before recipients of the War Cross with Sword. Bearers of the Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav are ranked 16th.

Current holders of the Grand Cross

This list contains holders of the Grand Cross, some of whom have also been awarded the Collar and gives the year of their appointment. The list is collated alphabetically by the last name; those recipients not possessing the last name, such as royalty and most Icelanders are collated by the first name. Six of the listed are not heads of states or royals; these are marked by names in bold. Before the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit was created in 1985, appointments to the Order of St Olav was awarded to members of a foreign delegation during state visits. Many holders of the Grand Cross who are not heads of state are not listed here.
CountryNameChargeGrand Cross
with Collar		Grand CrossYear
Mauricio MacriFormer President2018
Heinz FischerFormer President2007
Albert IIFormer King1964
MathildeQueen2003
PaolaFormer Queen1997
PhilippeKing2003
Luiz Inácio Lula da SilvaPresident2003
Georgi ParvanovFormer President2006
Ivo JosipovićFormer President2011
BenediktePrincess1974
Frederik XKing 2024, 1990
JoachimPrince1991
Margrethe IIQueen 1958
MariePrincess2014
MaryQueen 2005
ChristianCrown Prince 2023
Toomas Hendrik IlvesFormer President2014
Alexander StubbPresident2024
Sauli NiinistöFormer President2012
Tarja HalonenFormer President2000
Tellervo KoivistoFormer President's wife1983
Emmanuel MacronPresident2025
Joachim GauckFormer President2014
Marianne von WeizsäckerFormer first lady1986
Farah PahlaviFormer Empress1965
Halla TómasdóttirPresident2025
Guðni Th. JóhannessonFormer President2017
Ólafur Ragnar GrímssonFormer President1982
Vigdís FinnbogadóttirFormer President?
Sergio MattarellaPresident2016
AkihitoEmperor Emeritus2001, 1953
MasakoEmpress 2001
MichikoEmpress Emerita2001
NaruhitoEmperor 2001
NobukoPrincess2001
Abdullah IIKing2000
HusseinCrown Prince2020
HassanPrince 1980
RaniaQueen2000
Guntis UlmanisFormer President1998
Vaira Vīķe-FreibergaFormer President2000
Andris BērziņšFormer President2015
Valdas AdamkusFormer President1998
Dalia GrybauskaitėFormer President2011
HenriFormer Grand Duke2011
Maria TeresaFormer Grand Duchess1996
BeatrixFormer Queen 1964
MargrietPrincess1964
Willem-AlexanderKing2021, 1996
MáximaQueen2013
AstridPrincess1956
Kjell Magne BondevikFormer Prime Minister2004
Lars Petter ForbergFormer Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Household2004
Åge Bernhard GrutleFormer Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Household2015
HaakonCrown Prince1991
Magne HagenFormer Cabinet Secretary to the King2000
Harald VKing
Grand Master		1955, 1991
Ingrid AlexandraPrincess2022
Märtha LouisePrincess1989
Mette-MaritCrown Princess2016, 2001
Edvard MoserProfessor, psychologist and neuroscientist, Nobel laureat2018
May-Britt MoserProfessor, psychologist and neuroscientist, Nobel laureat2018
Gry MølleskogFormer Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Household2022
Arne OmholtFormer Marshal of the Court2016
Carsten SmithFormer Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Norway2003
SonjaQueen1972
Sverre MagnusPrince2023
Berit TverslandFormer Cabinet Secretary to the King2012
Andrzej DudaFormer President2016
Bronislaw KomorowskiFormer President2012
Aleksander KwaśniewskiFormer President1996
Lech WałęsaFormer President1995
António Ramalho EanesFormer President1978
Aníbal Cavaco SilvaFormer President2008
Emil ConstantinescuFormer President1999
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