The Order of Merit of Saxony, in German "Sächsische Verdienstordenorden", was established in 1996 and was awarded for the first time on 27 October 1997. Like many of the Federal States of the Federal Republic of Germany, the new Saxony state also wanted to have its own distinction. The order is given for long-term merit, but also a special act comes in favor of reward with this order.
There must be no more than 500 carriers, but the Saxon Prime Minister and the President of the Saxon Parliament are qualitative in the case of carriers.
The order is the successor to the Order of Civil Revenue, granted from 1915 to 1918. In the intervening 79 years there was no distinction between the Free State of Saxony or the successive powerless administrative areas in the Third Reich, the Russian occupation zone or in the so-called GDR.
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