Historical Orders of France - The French Fourth Republic (1945-1958))

The French Fourth Republic (1945-1958))

The Fourth Republic knew a very large quantity of knighthood orders and decorations. There were in 1945 16 knighthood orders. The traditional position of the Legion of Honour as highest and most and most prominent award remained formally intact but the French ministers founded for use in homeland and overseas no less than 11 new orders.

• Legion of Honour 1802
• Order of Liberation 1940

The French ministries kept on establishing Ministerial Orders so there were finally 19 :

• Order of the Public Instruction (French:"Ordre l’Instruction Publique") (1866) called :
• Order of the Academic Palms after 1955.
• Order of Agricultural Merit (French: "l'Ordre du Mérite Agricole") 1883
• Order of Maritime Merit (French:”Ordre du Mérite Maritime”) 1930
• Order of the Social Merit (French:”Ordre du Mérite social”) 1936
• Order of Public Health (French:”Ordre de la Santé publique”) 1938
• Order of the Commercial Merit (French:”Ordre du Mérite commercial”) 1939
• Order of the Artisanal Merit (French:”Ordre du Mérite artisanal”) 1948
• Order of the Touristic Merit (French:”Ordre du Mérite touristique”) 1949
• Order of the Postal Merit (France) (French:”Ordre du Mérite postal”) 1953
• Order of the Warrior Merit (French:”Ordre du Mérite combattant”) 1953
• Order of National Economy (French:”Ordre de l'Economie nationale”) 1954
• Order of the Sportive Merit (French:”Ordre du Mérite sportif “) 1956
• Order of the Labour Merit (French:”Ordre du Mérite du Travail”) 1957
• Order of the Military Merit (French:”Ordre du Mérite militaire”) 1957
• Order of the Civil Merit (French:”Ordre du Mérite civil”) 1957
• Order of Arts and Letters) (French: "Ordre des Arts et des Lettres") 1957
• Order of the Saharian Merit (French:”Ordre du Mérite saharien”) 1958

The French Republic knew following a decree of 1 September 1950 two "Orders of Overseas France" (French:"Ordre de la France d' Outre-mer") :

• Order of the Black Star 1889
• Order of the Star of Anjouan 1874

The two Orders were an heritage of the colonial time during which the decorations of the colonized states such as Dahomey and the Comores were included in the French orders system. The French government has awarded the Order of the Black Star in Europeuntil 1 January 1964. The decolonisation and restructuring of the French colonial empire, one speaks now of the " French Union", made necessary other adaptations in the French knighthood orders.

Three other colonial Orders incorporated in it since 1896, namely the Royal Order of Cambodia (Cambodja), the Order of the Dragon of Annam (Vietnam) and the Order of Nichan El-Anouar (Somaliland) became therefore on 1 September 1950 "Orders of Associated States of the French Union" (French:"Ordre des États Associés de l'Union Française"). The French government didn't award these honors themselves anymore. In 1963 the granting of the two French Overseas Orders were also discontinued. In their place, the new "National Order of Merit" was awarded. This Order replaced fifteen of the ministerial orders so that a much clearer decoration policy became possible.