Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

E3475

civilian order of merit state decoration

The Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is one of Germany’s highest civilian honors, awarded for outstanding service to the nation in political, economic, social, or intellectual fields.

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All labels observed (22)

Label	Occurrences
Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany canonical	31
Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany	12
Grand Cross 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany	9
Grand Cross with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany	5
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany	5
Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany	3
Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany	2
Großes Verdienstkreuz mit Stern und Schulterband des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland	2
Großkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland	2
Grand Cross 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the FRG	1
Grand Cross 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany	1
Grand Cross 2nd Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany	1
Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the FRG	1
Grand Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany	1
Grand Merit Cross of the Federal Republic of Germany	1
Großes Bundesverdienstkreuz	1
Großes Verdienstkreuz (Grand Cross of Merit)	1
Großes Verdienstkreuz mit Stern (Grand Cross of Merit with Star)	1
Großkreuz 1. Klasse des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland	1
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Grand Cross	1
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Grand Cross Special Class	1
Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany)	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T40842 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Context triple: [Angela Merkel, awardReceived, Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]

A. Order of Merit
The Order of Merit is a highly prestigious British honor awarded to individuals of exceptional distinction in the arts, sciences, literature, and public service.
B. Légion d'honneur
The Légion d'honneur is France’s highest order of merit, awarded for outstanding military or civil achievements.
C. Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star
The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star is a high-ranking Japanese honor awarded by the government for distinguished achievements in international relations, culture, and public service.
D. Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
The Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is the knight rank of France’s highest order of merit, awarded for distinguished military or civil achievements.
E. Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction
The Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction is the highest grade of the United States’ foremost civilian honor, reserved for individuals who have made especially eminent contributions to the security or national interests of the country, world peace, or other significant public or private endeavors.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Target entity description: The Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is one of Germany’s highest civilian honors, awarded for outstanding service to the nation in political, economic, social, or intellectual fields.

A. Order of Merit
The Order of Merit is a highly prestigious British honor awarded to individuals of exceptional distinction in the arts, sciences, literature, and public service.
B. Légion d'honneur
The Légion d'honneur is France’s highest order of merit, awarded for outstanding military or civil achievements.
C. Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star
The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star is a high-ranking Japanese honor awarded by the government for distinguished achievements in international relations, culture, and public service.
D. Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
The Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is the knight rank of France’s highest order of merit, awarded for distinguished military or civil achievements.
E. Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction
The Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction is the highest grade of the United States’ foremost civilian honor, reserved for individuals who have made especially eminent contributions to the security or national interests of the country, world peace, or other significant public or private endeavors.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (40)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	civilian order of merit ⓘ state decoration ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the FRG ⓘ linked to: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Großkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland ⓘ linked to: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
awardedBy	Federal Republic of Germany ⓘ linked to: Germany
awardedFor	longstanding and exceptional public service ⓘ outstanding achievements in culture and science ⓘ outstanding achievements in social engagement ⓘ promoting Germany’s international reputation ⓘ
awardFor	economic merit ⓘ intellectual merit ⓘ outstanding service to the nation ⓘ political merit ⓘ social merit ⓘ
conferredBy	decree of the Federal President ⓘ
country	Federal Republic of Germany ⓘ linked to: Germany
eligibility	civilians ⓘ foreign nationals ⓘ military personnel ⓘ
established	1951 ⓘ
establishedBy	Federal President Theodor Heuss ⓘ Federal Republic of Germany ⓘ linked to: Germany
gradeOf	Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany ⓘ linked to: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
hasRecipientCategory	German citizens ⓘ heads of state ⓘ high-ranking foreign dignitaries ⓘ
higherThan	Grand Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany ⓘ
includesInsignia	badge worn on a sash ⓘ breast star ⓘ
jurisdiction	federal level of Germany ⓘ
legalBasis	Act on Titles, Orders and Decorations of 1951 ⓘ
lowerThan	Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany ⓘ linked to: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
orderMotto	Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany) ⓘ linked to: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
partOf	Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany ⓘ linked to: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
presenter	President of Germany ⓘ
rank	one of the highest classes of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany ⓘ
ribbonColor	red with gold-black-white stripes (typical Order of Merit ribbon pattern) ⓘ
status	currently awarded ⓘ
symbolizes	recognition of exceptional contributions to the Federal Republic of Germany ⓘ
typeOf	order of merit decoration ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (84)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Angela Merkel → awardReceived → Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany ⓘ

Herbert von Karajan → awardReceived → Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany ⓘ