Order of Boyacá

The Order of Boyacá (Spanish: Orden de Boyacá) is the highest peacetime decoration of Colombia. The order is awarded for exceptional service to distinguished Colombian military officers and civilians as well as foreign citizens of friendly nations. Established in 1922, the Order of Boyacá traces its origin to a Cruz de Boyacá that was awarded to the generals who led their forces to victory in the Battle of Boyaca in 1819. Reestablished in 1919 as an award for military personnel the order has undergone revisions and expansions into its current form, with the biggest change happening in 1922 where civilians became eligible to be awarded the Order of Boyaca.

Order of Boyacá Orden de Boyacá
Insignia of the Order of Boyacá
Awarded by  Colombia
Awarded for	Exceptional service to Colombia
Status	Currently constituted
Grand Master	President of Colombia
Grades	Gran Collar, Gran Cruz Extraordinaria, Gran Cruz, Gran Official, Cruz de Plata, Comendador, Oficial, and Caballero
Precedence
Next (higher)	Military Order of St. Matthew[1]
Next (lower)	Order of San Carlos[1]
Ribbon bar of the Order of Boyacá

Grades

The Order of Boyacá is awarded in eight different grades:^[2]

• Grand Collar (Gran Collar), awarded to heads of state and to the President of Colombia upon his election.
• Grand Cross Extraordinary (Gran Cruz Extraordinaria), awarded to former heads of state and Colombian Cardinals.
• Grand Cross (Gran Cruz), awarded to Cardinals, Ambassadors, Ministers of State, Marshals, Generals of the Armed Forces, Lieutenant Generals, Admirals, or individuals of an equal or similar rank.
• Grand Officer (Gran Oficial), awarded to Envoys Extraordinary and Ministers Plenipotentiary, Archbishops, Major Generals, Brigadier Generals, Admirals, Vice Admirals, or individuals of an equal or similar rank.
• Silver Cross (Cruz de Plata), awarded to individuals and organizations as recognition for tenure and length of service.
• Commander (Comendador), awarded to Ministers Residents, business owners and managers, Bishops, Colonels, Lieutenant colonels, Majors, Captains, Commanders, Lieutenant Commanders, or individuals of an equal or similar rank.
• Officer (Oficial), Chargé d'affaires ad interim, Counselors, First Secretaries, Consuls General, Captains, Lieutenants, or individuals of an equal or similar rank.
• Knight (Caballero), awarded to Second and Third Secretaries, Consuls and Vice-Consuls, Attachés to embassies and legations, Lieutenants and Second Lieutenants, Lieutenants (junior grade) and Ensigns, or individuals of an equal or similar rank.

Ribbon bars of the Order of Boyacá
Grand Collar	Grand Cross Extraordinary	Grand Cross	Grand Officer
Silver Cross	Commander	Officer	Knight

Notable recipients

President Gustavo Petro awarding José Mujica with the Extraordinary Grand Cross of the Order of Boyacá in 2024

Country	Name	Charge	Grand Collar	Grand Cross	Year
Uruguay	José Mujica	Former President		Y	2024[3]
Chile	Gabriel Boric	President	Y		2023[4]
Dominican Republic	Luis Abinader	President	Y		2022[5]
South Korea	Moon Jae-in	President	Y		2021[6]
United States	Joe Biden	Vice President		Y	2016[7]
Spain	Felipe VI	King	Y		2015[8]
Spain	Letizia	Queen		Y	2015[9]
Brazil	Dilma Rousseff	President	Y		2015
Chile	Sebastián Piñera	President	Y		2010[10]
United Kingdom	Tony Blair	Former Prime Minister		Y	2011[11]
Brazil	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva	President	Y		2005
United Kingdom	Elizabeth II	Queen	Y		1993[12]
Morocco	Youssef Fassi Fihri	Ambassador		Y	1992[13]
Poland	Mieczyslaw Biernacki	Ambassador		Y	1992[14]
Finland	Urho Kekkonen	President	Y		1980[15]
Mexico	José López Portillo	President	Y		1979[16]
Spain	Juan Carlos I	King	Y		1976[17]
Spain	Sofia	Queen		Y	1976[18]
Republic of China	Chiang Kai-shek	President	Y		1963
Czechoslovakia	Tomáš Masaryk	Former President	Y		1937[19]
Czechoslovakia	Edvard Beneš	President	Y		1937[19]
Venezuela	Juan Vicente Gómez	President	Y		1925[20]
Spain	Alfonso XIII	King	Y		1925[21]
Spain	Victoria Eugenie	Queen		Y	1925[21]