Order of the State of the Republic of Turkey
The Order of the State of Republic of Turkey is the highest state order awarded to foreign nationals by the President of the Republic of Turkey.
The Order of the State is conferred by the President, upon the decision of the Council of Ministers, to heads of state, presidents, and members of royal families in recognition of their contributions for enhancing the amicable relations between their respective countries and Turkey. The "Regulation on State Awards and Medals" was prepared and entered in the Official Gazette on 7 August 1988.
Characteristics
The medal of the Order of the Republic of Turkey has a diameter of 8.9 cm. Composed of gold and silver, there is 18 carat green gold in the hexagonal center, a white enamel crescent and star on a red background, and a pencil application on six crescents around it. There are a total of seven swords, four long and three short, with white and red metal applications from the middle of the crescents and six white and red star enamels at the ends of these swords. 18-carat green gold is used in the stars.The badge is a horizontal rectangle and measures. There is a silver frame pen application around it, a Turkish flag motif on the ground, and a rhodium-plated crescent and star enamel in white and red in the middle. The order consists of 61.5 grams of silver and 5.4 grams of gold. The rosette is 7.15 grams.
On 5 November 2013, with the regulation issued by the Justice and Development Party and approved by the President Abdullah Gül and published in the Official Gazette, the Mustafa Kemal Atatürk silhouette on the front of the state badge and the caption of "Turkish Republic Order of the State" on the back were removed. The Public Workers Unions Confederation of Turkey sued the State Council at the request of a stay of implementation and cancellation. In October 2016, the Council of State gave the cancellation of the missing regulation part of the state medal decision in the 6th article of the State Medals and Insignia Regulation, without including the "Atatürk Relief". The Prime Ministry appealed the decision. On 10 October 2018, a higher court of the Council of State, the Board of Trial Chambers, "emphasizing that Atatürk is the immortal leader", approved the decision of the lower court by majority vote and canceled the regulated part.
Ceremony
The Order of the State is given to the awardee together with the certificate and badge by the President of Turkey or a person appointed by the President at a ceremony. If the awardee is deceased, it is given to a son, starting from the eldest; to a daughter if there are no sons; to the father if there are no children; to the mother if there is no father; or to the spouse if there is no mother. In the absence of a spouse, it is transferred to the awardee's legal heirs in accordance with the provisions of the Turkish Civil Code.The ceremony follows certain protocol and procedures. It starts with the National Anthem of Turkey and then decision regarding the aiming parties is read. Then, the award presenter faces each recipient and attaches their medal, awards their badges and certificates, and congratulates them. Recipients stand at intervals from the right, separately for each medal and decoration group. The order of the groups is arranged according to the priority order of the awards or medal in the law, the priority of the persons according to state protocol for public officials, and the surname.