The orders, decorations and medals of Finland form a system through which the Finnish government shows its respect to persons who have distinguished themselves on some walk of life. The legal basis of the system is the Act on the displays of public recognition (1215/1999) which grants the president the authority to issue decrees on orders, medals and titles.
The system is divided into three groups: orders decorations and medals titles
Orders, decorations, and medals
Orders There are three official Finnish orders: The Order of the Cross of Liberty, founded in 1918 The Order of the White Rose of Finland, founded in 1919 The Order of the Lion of Finland, founded in 1941
The President of Finland is the grand master of all orders. Of the orders, the Order of the Cross of Liberty is the most distinguished and awarded the most seldom. Its decorations are awarded only for military or national defence merits, although the order is not purely military: civilians may receive decorations of the order for national defence merits. The other two orders are awarded both for civilian and military merits. The bulk of the decorations are awarded twice a year, on 4 June on the Flag Day of the Finnish Defence Forces, and on the Independence Day, 6 December. In total, there are about 6.000 awards a year.
The orders of the White Rose and the Lion of Finland have a common board and chancellor, while the Order of the Cross of Liberty has a separate board and chancellor. All orders are awarded by the president of Finland.
The Order of the Cross of Liberty is always awarded "with swords" to military persons, with an additional ribbon in rosette form (see image in the beginning of the article) for combat or war-time merits. The decorations of the Order of the White Rose of Finland are awarded "with swords" only for combat merits and the decorations of the Order of the Lion of Finland only for war-time military merits. As such merits are usually recognised by decorations of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, the awards of the Order of the White Rose of Finland "with swords" have been vanishingly rare. The decorations of the Order of the Lion of Finland were awarded "with swords" mainly for merits incurred in home front service. No awards of either order have been issued "with swords" for merits incurred after the Second World War.Miekkojen kera. Ritarikuntien kanslia. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
In addition to the three official orders, there is one semi-official: the Order of the Holy Lamb of the Orthodox Church of Finland.
Decorations and medals
The individual areas of government have usually a separate awards system designed to show respect for those persons who do not qualify for an order. Such medals are founded by a presidential decree. Most typically, they include one or two classes: a cross and a medal. Thus far, the following medals have been founded Ritarikunnat. Muut viralliset kunniamerkit Retrieved 9-6-2004. The medal of merit of motor transport The medals of merit of customs service The crosses and medals of merit of Finnish sports and culture of physical exercise The Olympic cross (1st and 2nd class) and medal of merit The cross and medals of merit of Finnish Red Cross Life saving medal The memorial medal of the "War of Liberation", i.e. to the participants of the Troops of the Republic of Finland (Whites) in the Finnish Civil War (1918) The memorial medal of the Winter War (1939–1940) The memorial medal of the Continuation War (1941–1944) and Lapland War (1944–1945) Mine clearance medal Medal for humane benevolence (Pro Benignitate Humana) The cross of merit of the invalids of war The cross and medal of merit of police The cross and medal of merit of Finnish Border Guard The badge of merit of fire prevention The 1st and 2nd classes of the medal of merit of civil defence The cross of merit of prison service The cross of merit of customs service, with or without a clasp The military merit medal The golden medal of merit of Suomen Reserviupseeriliitto (Finnish reserve officers' association) Guild metal of merit The cross of merit of Reserviläisliitto – Reservin Aliupseerien Liitto (Reservists' association – Reserve NCOs' association) The medal of merit of Insinööriupseeriliitto (Engineer Officers' association) The medal of merit of Kadettikunta (Cadet Corps) The medal of merit of traffic safety branch The special medal of merit of work for working environment
In addition, there is a state decoration for 30 years of service of state. The corresponding decorations of the Central Chamber of Commerce and City of Helsinki the League of Finnish Municipalities are also approved for use with the official decorations. Other decorations of private bodies may only be used privately.
The awarding body of the medals and crosses of merits varies. Although the decorations are founded by the president, the awarding body is usually the chief of the authority in question, i.e. a minister or a high-level civil servant.
Order of precedence The official order of precedence is: NameIn English, Finnish, and Swedish Abbreviation 1 Grand Cross, with Collar, of the Order of the White Rose of FinlandSuomen Valkoisen Ruusun suurristi ketjuineenStorkorset med kedja av Finlands Vita Ros’ orden FWR GC collarSVR SR ketj.FVR SK kedj. 2 Grand Cross of the Order of the Cross of LibertyVapaudenristin suurristiFrihetskorsets storkors - VR SRFrK SK 3 Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose of FinlandSuomen Valkoisen Ruusun suurristiStorkorset av Finlands Vita Ros’ orden FWR GCSVR SRFVR SK 4 Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of FinlandSuomen Leijonan suurristiStorkorset av Finlands Lejons orden FL GCSL SRFLO SK 5 Mannerheim Cross, 1st Class, of the Order of the Cross of LibertyVapaudenristin 1. luokan Mannerheim -ristiFrihetskorsets Mannerheimkors av 1. klass -MR 1MK 1 6 Cross of Liberty, 1st Class with star1. luokan Vapaudenristi rintatähtineenFrihetskorsets 1. klass med kraschan -VR 1 rtk.FrK 1 mkr. 7 Commander, First Class, of the Order of the White Rose of FinlandSuomen Valkoisen Ruusun I luokan komentajamerkkiKommendörstecknet av I klass av Finlands Vita Ros’ orden FWR C ISVR K IFVR K I 8 Commander, First Class, of the Order of the Lion of FinlandSuomen Leijonan I luokan komentajamerkkiKommendörstecknet av I klass av Finlands Lejons orden FL C ISL K IFLO K I 9 Mannerheim Cross, 2nd Class, of the Order of the Cross of LibertyVapaudenristin 2. luokan MannerheimristiFrihetskorsets Mannerheimkors av 2. klass -MR 2MK 2 10 Cross of Liberty, 1st Class1. luokan VapaudenristiFrihetskorsets 1. klass -VR 1FrK 1 11 Commander of the Order of the White Rose of FinlandSuomen Valkoisen Ruusun komentajamerkkiKommendörstecknet av Finlands Vita Ros’ orden FWR CSVR KFVR K 12 Commander of the Order of the Lion of FinlandSuomen Leijonan komentajamerkkiKommendörstecknet av Finlands Lejons ordenFL CSL KFLO K 13 Great Cross of Merit of the Finnish SportsSuomenliikuntakulttuurin ja urheilun suuri ansioristiFinlands idrottskulturs stora förtjänstkors-SU s.arFl s. fk. 14 Finnish Olympic Cross of Merit, First ClassSuomen Olympialaisen ansioristin 1. luokkaFinlands Olympiska förtjänstkors av 1 klass-O ar 1O fk 1 15 Medal of Liberty, 1st Class with rosette, of the Order of the Cross of Liberty1. luokan Vapaudenmitali ruusukenauhassaFrihetsmedaljens 1. klass med rosett på bandet-Vm 1 rnk.Frm 1 mrb. 16 Medal of Merit in gold of the Order of the Cross of LibertyVapaudenristin kultainen ansiomitaliFrihetskorsets förtjänstmedalj i guld-VR kult.AmFrK Fm g. 17 Cross of Mourning of the Order of the Cross of LibertyVapaudenristin sururistiFrihetskorsets sorgekors-VR surur.FrK srk. 18 Medal of Mourning of the Order of the Cross of LibertyVapaudenristin surumitaliFrihetskorsets sorgemedalj-VR surum.FrK srm. 19 Cross of Liberty, 2nd Class, of the Order of the Cross of Liberty2. luokan VapaudenristiFrihetskorsets 2. klass-VR 2FrK 2 20 Cross of Liberty, 3rd Class, of the Order of the Cross of Liberty3. luokan VapaudenristiFrihetskorsets 3. klass-VR 3FrK 3 21 Cross of Liberty, 4th Class, of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, for war-time merits4. luokan Vapaudenristi sodanajan ansioistaFrihetskorsets 4. klass för krigstida förtjänster-VR 4FrK 4 22 Knight, First Class, of the Order of the White Rose of FinlandSuomen Valkoisen Ruusun I luokan ritarimerkkiRiddartecknet av I klass av Finlands Vita Ros’ ordenFWR K ISVR R IFVR R I 23 Pro Finlandia Medal of the Order of the Lion of FinlandSuomen Leijonan Pro Finlandia-mitaliPro Finlandia-medaljen av Finlands Lejons ordenFL PFSL PFFLO PF 24 Badge of Merit of the Order of the White Rose of Finland Changed to Cross of Merit of