Order of Merit of Duarte, Sanchez and Mella

Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella
Ribbon bar of the order
Awarded by Head of State of the Dominican Republic
Country	Dominican Republic
Type	seven grade order
Eligibility	Military and Civilian
Awarded for	Distinguished services to the Dominican Republic
Statistics
Established	9 September 1954
Precedence
Next (higher)	None
Next (lower)	Order of Christopher Columbus

The Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella (Orden al Mérito de Duarte, Sánchez y Mella) is the principal order of the Dominican Republic. It was established on 24 February 1931 as the Juan Pablo Duarte Order of Merit and renamed on 9 September 1954. The Head of State confers the order both to civilians and military personnel for distinguished services.

The order is divided in seven grades:

The collar of the Order will be solid, of platinum and gold, formed for various parts, compound each one of a laurel's coronet and of the Duarte, Sánchez and Mella's bust; in the center of the collar will have (in a big size and enameled in natural colors) the Coat of Arms of the Republic, which above will be adorned with twelve brilliant. Below, will suspended the order's badge. The laurel's coronet, the coat of arms and the badge will be adorned with precious stones.