Order of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes
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| Orden Carlos Manuel de Céspedes | |
|---|---|
| Awarded by Cuba | |
| Type | Order of merit |
| Awarded for | "To distinguish oneself in the struggle for the liberation of peoples, in friendship toward the Cuban Revolution, or through valuable contributions to world peace." |
| Status | Currently constituted |
| Precedence | |
| Next (lower) | Order of Carlos J. Finlay |
_ribbon.svg){kind=small} _-_ribbon_bar_v._1926.png){kind=small} _-_ribbon_bar_v._1926.png){kind=small} _-_ribbon_bar_v._1926.png){kind=small} _-_ribbon_bar_v._1926.png){kind=small} _-_ribbon_bar_v._1926.png){kind=small} The first ribbon bar is of the order's single rank since 1978. Below, ribbon bar pins of Grand Cross, Grand Officer, Commander, Officer and Knight of the order between 1926 and 1978. | |
The Order of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes is a decoration of the Republic of Cuba. It is named in honor of Cuban military commander and independence leader Carlos Manuel de Céspedes (1819–1874).
With the name of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes National Order of Merit, it was created by Presidential Decree No. 486 of Gerardo Machado, on April 18, 1926. It was awarded as a reward for services rendered to the country by nationals or foreigners in the exercise of diplomatic positions or other eminent services provided to Cuba and humanity. It was established as an order of which the Master, and therefore the person authorized to grant it, was the President of the Republic; the Secretary of State was the Chancellor and the Undersecretary of State was the Vice Chancellor.[1]
The ranks of the order were:
- Grand Cross (only for the President and heads of foreign States);
- Grand Cross of the second degree (for Secretary of State and foreign Ministers of Foreign Affairs);
- Grand Officer (for Undersecretaries of States and Extraordinary Envoys or Plenipotentiary Ministers);
- Commander (for Councilors, First Secretaries of embassy and legation with five years of service);
- Official (for first secretaries of embassy or legation and commercial attachés);
- Knight or Lady (for second secretaries of embassy or legation, third secretaries and diplomatic attachés).
There was also a necklace of the order, for ceremonial use by the president in office from 1955 onwards, which was made by the Vilardebó y Riera goldsmithing house – which made many other national decorations – and which was later lost.[2] The medal of the order consisted of the effigy of Céspedes in a circular gold medallion surrounded by a blue enamel band with the name of the hero and the year of the Demajagua uprising, 1868. Around it was a garland with four stars. which represent the four states into which the republic was divided in 1868: Oriente, Camagüey, Las Villas and Occidente and emerging from this ten rayed acanthus leaves that represent the tenth month of the year (October, month of the uprising). On the obverse the national coat of arms of Cuba appears on white enamel. The medal hangs from a navy blue moiré ribbon. Ten rays aligned with the acanthus are added to the Great Cross, five smooth and five diamond-shaped.
At this time the government only handed out the diploma of the order, the medal had to be paid for by the winner.[3]
In 1959, after the communist Cuban Revolution, all awards to Cuban citizens and institutions made by ousted President Fulgencio Batista were annulled and all those decorated were examined to expel those considered unworthy.[1] In 1960, the Venezuelan Ignacio Luis Arcaya, known as the "Chancellor of Dignity", was awarded.[4]