Order of Karađorđe's Star (Serbia)

Royal Order of the Star of Karađorđe
The Grand Cordon set
Awarded by Head of the Yugoslav Royal Family
Type	Dynastic Order
Established	1 January 1904
Status	Currently constituted
Sovereign	Crown Prince Alexander
Grand Master	Prince Peter
Grades	Knight Grand Cordon, Special Class Knight Grand Cordon
Former grades	Knight Grand Officer Knight Commander Knight Officer Knight
Precedence
Next (higher)	Royal Order of Saint Prince Lazar
Next (lower)	Royal Order of the White Eagle
Ribbon bar of the order

Order of Karađorđe's Star
The Grand Cross set of the Order
Awarded by  Republic of Serbia
Type	State Order
Status	Currently constituted
Grand Master	President Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia
Grades	Grand Cross Grand Officer Commander Officer Member
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of the Republic
Next (lower)	Order of the White Eagle
Related	Royal Order of the Star of Karađorđe

The Order of Karađorđe's Star (Serbian: Orden Karađorđeve zvezde, Cyrillic: Орден Карађорђеве звезде) is Serbia's highest civilian and military decoration. It originated in the Kingdom of Serbia, and was initially awarded exclusively to Serbian citizens in return for services rendered to the Serbian monarchy, the Serb people and the Serbian state, though it is now bestowed upon Serbs and non-Serbs alike. During the Balkan Wars and World War I, the Order was mostly awarded for acts of bravery on the battlefield. The post-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia retained the Order, and it was awarded by the Yugoslav government-in-exile until the end of World War II, in some cases to individuals who collaborated with the Axis powers. Following the war, the monarchy was outlawed and a communist government came to power. Along with other monarchist symbols, the Order was suppressed during the administration of Josip Broz Tito, and replaced with communist decorations such as the Order of the People's Hero.

Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, Serbia ceased using many of the awards and decorations established during the communist period, though it was not until 2010 that the Serbian Government officially reinstated the Order of Karađorđe's Star as Serbia's highest decoration. During the Cold War, it had been awarded by the Karađorđević family in exile. The first person to receive it following its reinstatement as a state order was the tennis player Novak Djokovic, in February 2012.

The Order of Karađorđe's Star was instituted by the royal decree of King Peter I on 1 January 1904, commemorating his recent accession to the Serbian throne, as well as the one-hundredth anniversary of the First Serbian Uprising. It was meant to replace the Order of the Cross of Takovo and the Order of Miloš the Great, two decorations that had been awarded by the rival Obrenović dynasty, which ruled Serbia prior to the May 1903 coup d'état that reinstated Peter's Karađorđević dynasty after several decades in exile. The first award was disagreeable to the Karađorđevićes and their supporters because it was named after Takovo, the village where Obrenović dynasty founder Miloš Obrenović had launched the Second Serbian Uprising. The Order of Miloš the Great had to be replaced as it was named after Obrenović himself.