Order of the Quetzal

Order of the Quetzal Orden del Quetzal
The star and the cordon of the order (Grand Cross Rank)
Awarded by  Guatemala
Type	Order
Awarded for	artistic, civic, humanitarian, or scientific merit
Status	Currently constituted
Sovereign	President of Guatemala
Grades (w/ post-nominals)	Chain Grand Cross Grand Officer Commander Officer Knight
Established	1936
Ribbon bar for Grand Cross Ribbon bar for Grand Officer Ribbon bar for Commander Ribbon bar for Officer Ribbon bar for Knight

Collar of the order

The Order of the Quetzal (Spanish: Orden del Quetzal) is Guatemala’s highest honor.

History and award conditions

Established in 1936, it is bestowed by the Government of Guatemala. The award acknowledges officials of nations, organizations and other entities whose artistic, civic, humanitarian, or scientific works merit special recognition.^[1]

Grades

• Collar: Golden chain around the neck
• Grand Cross: Badge hanging from a sash from right shoulder to left hip and star on the left chest
• Grand Officer: Badge hanging from a sash around the neck and non-enamelled star^[2] on the left chest.
• Commander: Badge hanging from a sash around the neck
• Officier: Badge hanging from a ribbon with rosette on the left chest
• Knight: Badge hanging from a ribbon without rosette on the left chest. The badge is noy golden.

Insignia

The badge is a ten-pointed cross with five branches and a medallion representing the coat of arms of Guatemala. The branches are light blue with a wide dark blue border. On the white ring is inscribed "AL MERITO GUATEMALA". The ribbon is light blue with thin white borders.

Recipients

Year	Awarded to
1936	Benito Mussolini
1949	Edwin Jackson Kyle[3]
1958	Roberto González Goyri
1960	Flavio Herrera
1960	General Manuel Francisco Sosa Avila
1961	Paul Carpenter Standley
1962	François Durafour
1962	Martha Bolaños de Prado
1963	Johannes Marré
1968	Augustus Ledyard Smith
1975	J. Eric S. Thompson
1980	Tatiana Proskouriakoff
1987	Richard von Weizsäcker
1995	Michel Gabaudan[4]
1995	Diego Molina Flores
1998	Teodoro Palacios Flores
2001	Jacques Diouf[5]
2003	René Lara
2004	Michael D. Coe[6]
2004	Jorge Briz
1957, 2009	Alberto Fuentes Mohr[7]
2009	Juan Carlos Plata
2009	Fidel Castro[8]
2010	Carlos Castresana[9]
2011	Rodolfo Mac Donald[10]
2011	Leonel Fernández[11]
2011	Stephen D. Houston[12]
2011	Julia Isabel Urrutia Castellanos
2013	Ricardo Arjona
2013	National Geographic Society[13]
2013	Rotary Foundation[14]
2013	Michael Wiley McCord, M.D.
2014	Luis von Ahn[15]
?	José Antonio Padilla Segura
?	Julio María Sanguinetti
?	Kjell Magne Bondevik
?	Rafael Arévalo Martínez
?	Julio Abril Valdez
?	Augusto Pinochet
?	Alfredo Stroessner
?	Juan Domingo Perón
?	¿Eva Perón?
?	¿Isabel Perón?
?	Jorge Rafael Videla
?	Sophia of Spain and Juan Carlos I of Spain

References

• World Medals Index - Guatemala: Order of the Quetzal

1. "USAID Director Receives "Orden del Quetzal" - the Nation’s Highest Honor" (PDF). usaid.gov. June 6, 2006. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
2. Grand officer's Star, World Medals Index - Guatemala: Order of the Quetzal
4. http://www.refugeesinternational.org/president
5. Acuerdo Gubernativo 459-2001.
6. condecoración al arqueólogo Michael D. Coe
7. Secretaría de la Paz (SEPAZ) (2009). "ACUERDO SOBRE EL FORTALECIMIENTO DEL PODER CIVIL Y FUNCIÓN DEL EJÉRCITO EN UNA SOCIEDAD DEMOCRÁTICA". Retrieved 26 September 2012.
8. Polémica por el otorgamiento de la Orden del Quetzal a Fidel Castro.
9. Gobierno condecora al magistrado español Carlos Castresana con la Orden del Quetzal
10. Orden del Quetzal para el Doctor Rodolfo Mac Donald
11. Presidente de República Dominicana Leonel Fernández es condecorado con la Orden del Quetzal
12. Houston receives Guatemala's highest order
13. ‘The Storm God enters the sky’: Archaeologists uncover a 1,400-year-old sculpture of Mayan gods in Guatemala, National Post
14. "The Rotary Foundation receives Guatemala’s highest honor". Retrieved 1 November 2013.
15. Von Ahn recibe Orden del Quetzal en grado de Gran Comendador