Order of Prince Henry
The Order of Prince Henry the Navigator (Portuguese: Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique) is a Portuguese National Order of Knighthood created on June 2, 1960, to commemorate the fifth centenary of the death of the Infante Henry the Navigator (known in Portuguese as Henrique), fifth son of King John I of Portugal and his queen, Philippa of Lancaster. Minor reforms of the constitution of the Order occurred in 1962 and 1980.[1]
It is a five-tier order, whose titles are awarded for relevant services to Portugal and for services in the expansion of the Portuguese culture, its history and its values (with a particular focus on its maritime history). The number of members in each grade is restricted by its constitution, and titles are attributed by special decree by the Grand Master of the Order, i.e. the President of the Republic of Portugal.
The order includes several classes; in decreasing order of seniority, these are:
- Grand Collar (Grande Colar - GColIH)
- Grand Cross (Grã-Cruz - GCIH)
- Grand Officer (Grande-Oficial - GOIH)
- Commander (Comendador - ComIH)
- Officer (Oficial - OIH)
- Knight / Dame (Cavaleiro / Dama - CavIH / DamIH)
There is also a Silver Medal (Medalha de Prata - MedPIH) and a Gold Medal (Medalha de Ouro - MedOIH).
Ribbons and medals are characterized by equal stripes of blue, white and black (either horizontal or vertical) and a ruby-enamelled golden Jerusalem cross. The stars of Grand Officer and Grand Cross bears the inscription "Talant de bien faire".
Membership to the Order can be granted by the President of his own initiative, or as a result of suggestions made by his Ministers, or following suggestion by the Council of the Order.
Grand Collars of the Order as of May 2008
- Marshal Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslav President, on October 17, 1977
- HM King Juan Carlos I of Spain, on April 17, 1978
- Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, President of the Republic of France, on October 21, 1978
- HM King Baudouin of Belgium, on August 24, 1982
- Samora Moisés Machel, President of the People's Republic of Mozambique, on August 30, 1982
- Hosni Mubarak, President of the Republic of Egypt, on August 19, 1983
- His Most Eminent Highness Angelo de Mojana di Cologna, Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, on September 2, 1983
- François Mitterrand, President of the Republic of France, on September 29, 1983
- Rudolf Kirchschläger, President of the Republic of Austria, on April 18, 1984
- HM Queen Margaret II of Denmark, on November 1, 1984
- HRH Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, on January 29, 1985
- Aristides Pereira, President of the Republic of Cape Verde, on January 31, 1986
- HM King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, on January 31, 1987
- Richard von Weizsäcker, President of the Republic of Germany, on June 19, 1989
- Francesco Cossiga, President of the Italian Republic, on June 19, 1990
- His Most Eminent Highness Fra Andrew Willoughby Ninian Bertie, Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, Most Humble Guardian of the Poor of Jesus Christ, on June 29, 1990
- Christos Sartzetakis, President of the Republic of Greece, on November 4, 1991
- Brunó Ferenc Straub, President of the Republic of Hungary, on November 4, 1991
- HM Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, on December 14, 1991
- Mauno Henrik Koivisto, President of the Republic of Finland, on November 4, 1991
- Joaquim Alberto Chissano, President of the Republic of Mozambique, on April 27, 1993
- HM King Hassan II of Morocco, on February 18, 1994
- Lech Wałęsa, President of the Republic of Poland, on March 3, 1995
- Nelson Mandela, President of the Republic of South Africa, on March 9, 1996
- Aleksander Kwaśniewski, President of the Republic of Poland, on March 3, 1995
- HIM Emperor Akihito of Japan, on June 24, 1998
- Roman Herzog, President of the Republic of Germany, on May 21, 1999
- Jacques Chirac, President of the Republic of France, on July 8, 1999
- Constantinos Stephanopoulos, President of the Republic of Greece, on February 21, 2000
- HM King Albert II of Belgium, on February 21, 2000
- Milan Kučan, President of the Republic of Slovenia, on May 17, 2000
- António Manuel Mascarenhas Gomes Monteiro, President of the Republic of Cape Verde, on August 1, 2000
- General Vasco Joaquim Rocha Vieira, on August 9, 2001
- Pedro Pires, President of the Republic of Cape Verde, on May 28, 2002
- General Peter Cosgrove, on May 28, 2002
- Arnold Rüütel, President of the Republic of Estonia, on July 30, 2003
- Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, President of the Republic of Latvia, on August 12, 2003
- HM King Harald V of Norway, on March 31, 2004
- Heinz Fischer, President of the Austrian Republic, on April 21, 2005
- Abdullah Gül, President of the Republic of Turkey, on May 12, 2009