Order of the White Lion

Order of the White Lion
Order of the White Lion with chain
Awarded by the President of the Czech Republic
Type	Order
Motto	PRAVDA VÍTĚZÍ (Truth Prevails)
Day	October 28
Awarded for	Outstanding services to the Czech Republic
Status	Currently constituted
Sovereign	Miloš Zeman
Grades	Grand Cross Grand Officier Commander Officer Knight
Statistics
Established	December 7, 1922 July 9, 1994
Precedence
Next (lower)	Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk
Ribbon bar of the Order of the White Lion

The Order of the White Lion (Czech: Řád Bílého lva) is the highest order of the Czech Republic. It continues a Czechoslovak order of the same name created in 1922 as an award for foreigners. (Czechoslovakia had no civilian decoration for its citizens in the 1920s and 1930s). It was inspired by the Czech Nobility Cross created in 1814 by the Emperor and King Francis I and awarded to 37 Bohemian noblemen.

The order was created as an award for merit by Czechoslovakia for foreign citizens. The Order was established in five classes and two divisions, civil (with two crossed palms above the badge) and military (with two crossed swords above the badge). Medals were made of gold and silver. The numbers of recipients was originally limited, with the limits changing during later years. The Statutes of the order were amended in 1924, 1930, and 1936.

The badge of the Order was a five-sided red enameled star, the ends adorned with small balls, and with leaflets between the arms. In middle of the star is a silver lion, taken from the national coat of arms. The reverse or the Star is also red enameled, with the coat of arms of the former parts of Czechoslovakia (Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia).

Subsequent to World War II, the Order of the White Lion became an award to those who had helped liberate Czechoslovakia from occupation by Nazi Germany. Following the surrender of Germany in May 1945, a large number of foreign bestowals were made by presenting the Order of the White Lion to senior officers of the Allied militaries. A similar Order with the same name, Military Order of the White Lion was instituted in 1945 and could be conferred upon both Czechoslovak citizens and foreigners. Dwight D. Eisenhower and George S. Patton are two Americans who received the Military Order of the White Lion after the close of World War II.