Order of King Abdulaziz

Order of King Abdulaziz
Insignia of the Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud (2nd grade) Star of the Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud
Awarded by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Type	order of merit with 5 degrees
Established	20 March 1971
Status	currently constituted
Precedence
Next (higher)	Great Chain of Badr
Next (lower)	Order of King Faysal
Ribbon bar of the Order of King Abdulaziz Al Saud

The Order of King Abdulaziz is a Saudi-Arabian Order of Merit. The order was named after Abdulaziz Al Saud, founder of the modern Saudi state.

In 1971, the introduction of orders was announced in a decree. It was instituted by King Faisal on 20 March 1971. However, the order had been awarded before that date unsystematically. These earliest versions were produced by Bichay in Cairo, Egypt. The early version of the order was called Great Chain of Badr. The Saudi king, Fons honorum of the orders, confirmed the decree in his Royal decree.

The collar is regarded as a separate order. It also confers the highest rank in the Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud, and, unlike the Great Chain of Badr, is awarded to non-Muslim heads of state.

The order is awarded to citizens of Saudi Arabia and foreigners for meritorious service to the Kingdom. The Council of Ministers makes the nominations but the King confers awards to foreigners himself when he determines it to be appropriate. Awardees enter in the 4th class of the order, with the exception of ministers and appointees for bravery, who can enter the order in a higher class. Members of the order can advance to the next higher class every five years.

The number of Saudi conferments is limited annually. The statutes of the order stipulate no more than 20 grand sashes of the distinguished class. Up to 40, 60, 80 and 100 awards can be granted to members of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th classes, respectively.

The Classes include:

The Saudis avoid words like "cross" (as in "Grand-Cross") and "knight".

The order is sometimes referred to as the:

Lt General James Ahmann – USAF Commander USMTM