Grand Gold Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria

Order of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
Grand Cross, Special Class set of the Order
Type	State decoration
Eligibility	Civilians and military personnel
Awarded for	Meritorious service to the Austrian nation
Statistics
Established	2 April 1952
Precedence
Next (higher)	None (highest)
Next (lower)	Order for Science and the Arts

The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria or Order of Merit of the Austrian Republic (German: Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich) is a national honour awarded by the Republic of Austria.

The decoration is awarded in 15 grades and is Austria's highest national honour.

The "Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria" was established by the National Council in 1952. It is conferred by the Republic of Austria to honour people (from Austria and abroad) who have rendered meritorious services to the country. Recipients are selected by the government, the awards are made by the President in accordance with the respective laws. The President of Austria automatically receives the "Grand Star of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria" by being elected to the office and holds this honour for life. The decoration should not be confused with other decorations in the Austrian honours system such as the "Austrian Decoration for Science and Art".

The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria is divided into the 15 classes as follows:

The "Gold Medal for Services to the Republic of Austria" may also be conferred as "Gold Medal with Red Riband" awarded for bravery and lifesaving.

See also List of Austrian Honours awarded to Heads of State and Royals

Below a list with names of all Grand Star recipients and other notable recipients, in chronological order with the year of award in brackets: