| Bavarian Order of Merit | |
|---|---|
| Badge of the order for women | |
| Awarded by the Minister-President of Bavaria | |
| Type | Order of Merit |
| Established | 11 June 1957 |
| Country | Bavaria, Germany |
| Eligibility | Men and women without distinction of nationality or class [1] |
| Awarded for | Outstanding contributions to the Free State of Bavaria and the Bavarian people [1] |
| Status | Currently awarded |
| Founder | Wilhelm Hoegner |
| Ordensherr | Markus Söder |
| Statistics | |
| Total inductees | 5,602 (as of August 2018) [2] |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art |
| Related | Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown Order of the Lion of Bavaria |
| Ribbon bar of the order | |
The Bavarian Order of Merit (German : Bayerischer Verdienstorden) is the Order of Merit of the Free State of Bavaria. It is awarded by the Minister-President of Bavaria as a "recognition of outstanding contributions to the Free State of Bavaria and the Bavarian people". [1]
The order was instituted by law on 11 June 1957. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet can nominate awardees.
Hemmerle, [3] a German jewellery house based in Munich founded in 1893, is the exclusive maker of the Bavarian Order of Merit since it was instituted in 1957.