Distinguished foreign citizens of highest rank receive unique orders from Serbia for their conribution to strenghtening bonds among nations.The first Order of the Republic of Serbia on a large necklace was awarded in 2013 to the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. Other recipients include Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, Prime Minister of Hungary, Victor Orbán

State orders are the most credible public recognitions and are awarded all over the globe for exceptional achievements and deeds. Serbia expresses gratitude and respect to our friends from abroad, presidents and prime ministers of foreign countries, with the highest state order – the Order of the Republic of Serbia. Our country’s prestigious order that they wear on their chests is a mark of friendship and an indicator that their efforts have been imbued in the achievements of our country. In other words, this exclusive order is a confirmation that its recipients are sincere and true friends of Serbia.
This rare order is worn with pride by some of the most influential global leaders, forming a unique circle of privileged persons because of the fact that a sovereign country showed them respect with its highest order. Serbia, on the other hand, is proud that its highest order is worn by many world leaders, which testifies to strong ties and political and economic partnership.

The first Order of the Republic of Serbia on a large necklace was awarded in 2013 to the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, for his exceptional contribution to the development and strengthening of peaceful cooperation and friendly relations between Serbia and Russia. At the time, he was the only recipient of the highest state order, as other statesmen had previously only received 18 second-class orders, worn on a ribbon. The Order of Serbia, as it is called informally was awarded to him by the then-president, Tomislav Nikolić, who addressed him in Russian:

‘Dear brother Vladimir, the Serbian people are proud that you are waring the highest order of Serbia’.

‘I wish to assure you that Russia, just like it did in the past, will continue to accept Serbia as its greatest ally and that I will do everything to further develop our relations’, president Putin replied.

The highest order was also awarded to the President of PR China Xi Jinping (2016), the then-President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev (2016), Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus’ Kirill (2021), member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Milorad Dodik (2021) and Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán (2022).
When awarding the highest of recognitions to Orbán, President Aleksandar Vučić stressed that the Hungarian politician had stood by Serbia in its difficult times.
‘I am awarding this order to a great friend of the Republic of Serbia for his contribution to the development and consolidation of peaceful cooperation and friendly relations between our two countries’, Vučić said, while Orbán added that it is the mission of both Serbia and Hungary to ‘defend the southern gates of Europe’.

The Order of the Republic of Serbia, the ceremonial mark of international friendship, was established on 26 October 2009 by the Law on Orders and was created by the sculptor Mitar Petković, head of the design studio at the Topčider Institute for Manufacturing Banknotes and Coins. The order is awarded by decree of the President of the Republic on special occasions, usually on major state holidays such as Statehood Day or the Day of Saint Vitus – Vidovdan. The first class of the order is awarded on a large necklace and is reserved exclusively for sovereigns – monarchs or presidents. The second-class Order of Serbia is worn on a ribbon and can be awarded to heads of state and prime ministers.

Read more about the Order of the Republic of Serbia in our Dipos Magazine