Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of the Cross.

The National Order of the Southern Cross (Portuguese: Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul) is a Brazilian order of chivalry founded by Emperor Pedro I on 1 December 1822. The order aimed to commemorate the independence of Brazil (7 September 1822) and the coronation of Pedro I (1 December 1822). The name derives from the geographical position of the country, under the constellation of the Southern Cross and also in memory of the name – Terra de Santa Cruz (Land of the Holy Cross) – given to Brazil following its first arrival by Europeans in 1500.

History

Originally known as the Imperial Order of the Cross (Portuguese: Ordem Imperial do Cruzeiro), the Order was created by Emperor Pedro I on the day of his Coronation, 1 December 1822. Also on the same date the first knights of the order were appointed, to commemorate the crowning of the Empire's first monarch. After the proclamation of the independence of Brazil on 7 September 1822 other honorific awards had been made, but of the Orders of chivalry shared with Portugal, Brazilian branches of which had been created upon independence; the Order of the Cross, created to mark the Coronation of the Empire's founder, was thus also the first purely Brazilian Order.

After the fall of the monarchy, Brazil's first republican Constitution, enacted on 24 February 1891, abolished all titles of nobility and all Imperial Orders and decorations. The Order was later re-established by the government of Getúlio Vargas on December 5, 1932, as the National Order of the Southern Cross.

The Grand Coat of Arms of the Empire of Brazil displayed the badge of the Imperial Order of the Cross suspended from a blue necklet.

During the Old Republic period (from the Proclamation of the Republic until the Revolution of 1930), National Orders did not exist and the Brazilian State bestowed only military medals. Restored in 1932, the Order of the Southern Cross was the first Order to be created in the re-established, republican honours system. It is considered the senior Brazilian National Order.

During the Imperial period, the Order of the Southern Cross was not the highest ranking of the Imperial Orders, as it ranked below the Brazilian branches of the ancient orders of chivalry, that originated with Portugal: the Order of Christ (the senior-most Order), the Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz and the Order of St. James of the Sword. Those Orders were shared by Brazil and Portugal; the Order of Christ was shared with the Holy See similar to the Austrian and a Spanish Orders of the Golden Fleece. However among the Brazilian created Orders, the Imperial Order of the Cross ranked first, having higher status than the Imperial Order of Pedro I and the Imperial Order of the Rose.

The Imperial Order of the Cross continues to be used by both branches of the Brazilian Imperial Family as a House Order, awarded by the rival claimants to the position of Head of the Imperial Family, but such awards are not recognized by the Republic of Brazil.

Just like the Emperors of Brazil were ex officio Grand Masters of the Imperial Order, Presidents of Brazil are ex officio Grand Masters of the successor National Order. Accordingly, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is the Order's current Grand Master.

Criteria

Pedro I, first Emperor of Brazil, founder and first Grand Master of the Order, wearing the Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of the Cross (then the Order's highest rank) among other orders.
Archduchess Maria Leopoldina of Austria, Empress consort of Brazil, wears the insignia of the Imperial Order of the Cross and other orders.
Emperor Pedro II of Brazil, Grand Master of the Order, wearing the Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of the Cross. The portrait displays both the star of the Order and the sash of a Knight Grand Cross.

Unlike the Imperial Order, that was awarded to Brazilians and foreigners alike, the republican National Order is awarded to foreigners only. When the Order was re-established in by presidential decree on January 13, 1932, it was restricted to foreigners only with the stipulation that all awards of the Order constitute an act of foreign relations on the part of the Brazilian Government.

Queen Maria II of Portugal, eldest daughter of Pedro I of Brazil and sister of Pedro II, wearing the Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of the Cross and other orders.

Brazilians were excluded deliberately. In the Old Republic, the State regarded Orders and decorations as contrary to the principles of republicanism, and thus maintained no honours system; the creation of an Order that would admit Brazilians to its ranks was a step too far. However, the Brazilian State also resented the lack of a decoration with which to honour foreign dignitaries, as is sometimes almost required by diplomatic protocol. For instance, during the celebrations of the Centennial of Brazilian Independence in 1922, several foreign dignitaries, including the King and Queen of the Belgians, came to Brazil for the celebrations. The King of the Belgians bestowed Belgian honours to some Brazilians. Brazilian nationals needed authorization from the Government to accept foreign titles of honour, or else face loss of citizenship, and under normal circumstances permission for the acceptance of appointment to Orders of Chivalry would not have been granted. While the government of Brazil relaxed its practice and authorized both accepting induction into foreign Orders and the wearing of foreign insignia, it lacked any decorations with which to reciprocate the Belgian gesture. The National Order of the Southern Cross was intended as an Order that would fill that gap. Today, accepting foreign honours and insignia without the need of prior Government approval is allowed, and several Brazilian Orders have been established to which Brazilians may be admitted, starting with the National Order of Merit (Ordem Nacional do Mérito), created in 1946. Even so, the governing statutes of the National Order of the Southern Cross have never been reformed, and it thus remains unavailable to Brazilians. Paradoxically, therefore, the Order's Grand Master — the sitting President of the Republic — is never a member of the Order he or she oversees, and the President's connection with the Order is severed once the President leaves office.

The Decree that re-created the Order (Decree 22.165, signed by Vargas on 5 December 1932) does not mention the creation of a new Order, but the reestablishment of the old Order of the Southern Cross, that had been "created upon the advent of the political independence of Brazil". This was done to improve the prestige of the Order by linking it with the past, that is, by associating it with an Order that had been created more than one century earlier.

In 1932, the republican version of the Order had the same five grades as the old imperial version. In 1939, by a statute issued on 17 July of that year, the additional grade of the Grand Collar was created. Until the creation of the Grand Collar, awards of which are restricted to Heads of State, the Grand Cross was the Order's highest rank.

Awards of, and promotions in, the National Order of the Southern Cross are made by decree of the President of the Republic, in his capacity as the Order's Grand Master. The decree of appointment or promotion is, like all presidential decrees, published in the Federal Government's Official Journal, and, as per the Order's regulations, the appointment or promotion is also recorded in a book kept by the Order's secretary.

The Brazilian Minister of Foreign Relations serves as the Chancellor of the Order, and an officer of the Ministry of Foreign Relations that heads the ceremonial and protocol division serves as the Secretary to the Order. The Order also has a Council, chaired by its Chancellor, that recommends awards and promotions.

Classes

Empress Teresa Cristina of Brazil wearing the Sash of a Dame Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of the Cross, with the badge of the Order suspended from the sash.
The Marquis of Olinda, regent and Prime Minister of the Empire of Brazil wearing the Grand Cross and sash of the Order

Under its current regulations, the Order consists of the Grand Master and six Classes of members:

  • Grand Collar: the recipient wears the adorned "Grand Collar", a chain from which the badge of the order is suspended. The recipient is also allowed to combine the wearing of the Grand Collar with any of the following insignia, or with both: the "Star" of the Order (a plaque modelled after the badge of the Order, to be worn on the left breast); and the Sash of the Order, that is proper to those of Grand Cross rank (a light blue sash, to be worn on the right shoulder). Awards of the Grand Collar are restricted to foreign Heads of State.
  • Grand Cross: the recipient wears the Sash of the Order, and the badge of the Order hangs from the bottom part of that sash (given that the sash is worn on the right shoulder, the badge hangs close to the left leg, by the waist line). The recipient further wears the "star" of the Order, displayed on the left breast.
  • Grand Officer: the recipient wears the badge of the Order around the neck suspended from a blue ribbon necklet, and the star of the order is displayed on the left breast.
  • Commander: the recipient wears the badge of the order around the neck, suspended from a blue ribbon necklet.
  • Officer: the recipient wears the badge of the Order on left breast suspended from a ribbon with a rosette.
  • Badge of the Order of the Southern Cross - awarded to Admiral William Parker c.1867Imperial Order of the Southern Cross - Awarded to Admiral William Parker c. 1867Knight: the recipient wears the badge of the Order on the left breast suspended from a simple ribbon.
Ribbon bars
KnightOfficerCommanderGrand OfficerGrand CrossGrand Collar

Notable recipients

Foreigners

Republican era:

Queen Elizabeth II displays the "Grand Collar" and star of the National Order of the Southern Cross, 2006

Imperial era:

among others

Brazilians

among others

Cities

Recipients by class
Grand Collars Akihito Bashar al-Assad List of titles and honours of Beatrix of the Netherlands Andrew Bertie Felipe Calderón Carl XVI Gustaf Jacques Chirac Francesco Cossiga List of titles and honours of Elizabeth II Charles de Gaulle Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Haile Selassie Harald V of Norway Václav Havel Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Theodor Heuss List of titles and honours of Juan Carlos I of Spain Juliana of the Netherlands Aleksander Kwaśniewski Mauricio Macri Margrethe II of Denmark Mohammed VI of Morocco Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Narendra Modi José Mujica Enrique Peña Nieto Rosen Plevneliev Mário Soares Ronald Venetiaan Grand Crosses Prince Adalbert of Prussia (1811–1873) Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale Alexander III of Russia Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias Amha Selassie Henry H. Arnold Prince August Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Prince August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Jan Peter Balkenende Baudouin of Belgium Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg Prince Oscar Bernadotte Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust Carlos I of Portugal Maria Cavaco Silva Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen List of titles and honours of Charles, Prince of Wales Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Constantine, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen Rohan Daluwatte Aida Desta Fernando de Quintanilha e Mendonça Dias Jacques Diouf Edward VIII Dwight D. Eisenhower Ferdinand I of Austria Ferdinand II of Portugal Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor François d'Orléans, Prince of Joinville Wacław Frankowski Archduke Franz Karl of Austria Frederick III, German Emperor Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark Gaston, Count of Eu Che Guevara Gustaf V Gustaf VI Adolf António Guterres Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway Walter Hallstein Tarja Halonen Sir Arthur Harris Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark Hirohito Ja'afar of Negeri Sembilan Prince Joachim of Denmark Jacek Junosza-Kisielewski Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria Thanat Khoman Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark Konstantin of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst François Lefebvre de Laboulaye Curtis LeMay Leopold I of Belgium Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany Charles de Limburg Stirum Erling Lorentzen Prince Ludwig August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Luís I of Portugal Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Maria II of Portugal Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark Queen Máxima of the Netherlands Maximilian I of Mexico Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway Miguel I of Portugal Napoleon III Nicholas II of Russia Oscar II Georgi Parvanov Pedro V of Portugal Prince Pedro Augusto of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Eva Perón Friis Arne Petersen List of titles and honours of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders Józef Piłsudski Francisco Pinto Balsemão Princess Ragnhild, Mrs. Lorentzen Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria Anders Fogh Rasmussen Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria Nicolas Sarkozy Queen Silvia of Sweden List of titles and honours of Queen Sofía of Spain Queen Sonja of Norway Sukarno Jan Szembek (diplomat) Sarit Thanarat Frans Timmermans Josip Broz Tito Umberto Vattani Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden Wilhelm II, German Emperor Wilhelmina of the Netherlands William I, German Emperor Elmo Zumwalt Grand Officers Mark W. Clark Ira C. Eaker Tim Fischer Wallace M. Greene Emmanuel Macron William R. Munroe Henry Conger Pratt Benoît Puga Kiyoshi Sumiya Commanders Howard H. J. Benson Asa White Kenney Billings James H. Billington Hélène Carrère d'Encausse Charles Lyon Chandler Chiang Kai-shek Ismael Crespo Duarte de Freitas do Amaral Jean-Louis Georgelin Ann Hartness Henry Kent Hewitt Daisaku Ikeda Claude Lévi-Strauss Charles P. Mason Ghillean Prance Dorrit Reventlow David Rockefeller Dominique Vian Officers Jean Batten Jérôme Champagne Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Jean-Baptiste Nothomb Robert Olds Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná Jean-François Revel Knights Gunnar Ring Amundsen Harold L. George José Paranhos, Baron of Rio Branco Peter Ustinov Unknown Class José Antonio Abreu Konrad Adenauer Bhumibol Adulyadej Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia Neil Armstrong Arie Aroch Hugo Banzer José Luís Mena Barreto Francisco Manuel Barroso, Baron of Amazonas Beatrix of the Netherlands Jeanne Behrend Juan Carlos I Horacio Cartes Nicolae Ceaușescu Charles, Prince of Wales Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald Michael Collins (astronaut) Eleazar López Contreras Gabriel P. Disosway Louis Dreller Elizabeth II Albert Fishlow Deodoro da Fonseca Alberto Fujimori Yuri Gagarin Felix Grant John Pascoe Grenfell Tarja Halonen María Ángela Holguín Maria Quitéria António Horta-Osório (banker) Jonas H. Ingram Isabella II of Spain Helen Keller Blaže Koneski Carlos Frederico Lecor, Viscount of Laguna Pedro de Araújo Lima, Marquis of Olinda Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma City of Medellín Benjamin Netanyahu Masayoshi Ōhira Manuel Luís Osório, Marquis of Erval Afonso Celso, Viscount of Ouro Preto José Paranhos, Viscount of Rio Branco Pedro II of Brazil Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh William Alfred Pickwoad Manuel Marques de Sousa, Count of Porto Alegre Juan Rivero Torres Nelson Rockefeller Ivan Rukavina Ricardo Salgado Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Giovanni Sartori Stephan Schmidheiny Domingos Sequeira James Sherwood Stanisław Skarżyński Queen Sofía of Spain Maurice Strong Michel Suleiman Yasuo Tanaka (politician) Shoichiro Toyoda Arturo Valenzuela Julio de Vido Lech Wałęsa Vera Weizmann Robert B. Williams (general) Stefan Zweig

External links