Order of Civil Merit (Bulgaria)

The Bulgarian Order of Cvil Merit was established on either 2nd or the 14th August 1891 by then Prince Ferdinand, and was founded with six classes and a Grand Cross grade.

Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, the founder of the Order

• Grand Cross
• I Class – Great Cross
• II Class – Grand Officers cross
• III Class – Commanders cross
• IV Class – Officers cross
• V Class – Knights cross
• VI Class – Silver Cross

The most obvious way to distinguish between the Grand Cross and the 1st Class is the sash. The sash of the Grand Cross includes a large rosette more commonly seen in other grand crosses, while the 1st class sash is simply tied around the badge placement in a less extravagant design. Apart from the sash the breast star of the Grand Cross is made up of gold and silver rays, while the first class is only in silver, though the shape of the stars are identical.

Order of Civil Merit Орден за гражданска заслуга
The Commanders Medal of the Order
Awarded by The President of Bulgaria
Type	State Order
Religious affiliation	Bulgarian Orthodox
Ribbon	White with a Green Stripe on either side and a Red Stripe on either Edge (Colours of the Flag of Bulgaria)
Eligibility	Bulgarian citizens.
Awarded for	Awarded for great merit to the development and consolidation of the civil society.
Status	Currently awarded
Grand Master	President Rumen Radev
Grades	Commander Officer
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius
Next (lower)	Order of the Madara Horseman
Equivalent	Order of Military Merit
The ribbon of the Order

The Order was revived by the current Republic of Bulgaria. However today it is only awarded to Bulgarian citizens. In addition the Order now is only made up of the Officer and Commander grades, and the reverse and obverse of the modern order are switched around. What was the reverse on the Kingdom order is now the obverse and depicts the Bulgarian lion, however without the Saxon shield. The new reverse no longer depicts the royal monogram of Ferdinand I, and instead a rotated tricolour of the Bulgarian flag. While the exact shading has differed dramatically, the ribbon has remained mostly unchanged, interestingly as has also the crown suspension.

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  Order of Civil Merit in diamonds for ladies (Bulgaria before 1946) - Tallinn Museum of Orders
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  Order of Civil Merit Dame 5th Class for ladies (1946)
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  Bestowal document for the Order from the reign of Boris III.
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  Knight 5th Class of the order.
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  Officer 4th Class of the Order.
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  Order of Civil Merit Grand Cross badge and sash (Bulgaria before 1946) - Tallinn Museum of Orders
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  Grand Officer star.
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  Grand Officer case.
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  Grand Officer badge.
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  Set of the Grand Cross grade of the order.
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  Commander reverse (1891-1944).
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  Commander (1891-1944).
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  Commander reverse badge (1891-1944).
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  Commander obverse badge (1891-1944).
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  Commander grade and case from the reign of Boris III.