Compilation of the MTVA Press Archive on the history of the award:
According to research, Abbot Odo Koptik from Dömölk already proposed the creation of a noble order of knights named after St. István in the 1741 parliament. In 1760, Count Ferenc Esterházy submitted a proposal to the ruler for the creation of a civil order of merit based on the model of the Military Order of Mary Theresia founded in 1757. Mária Terézia accepted Esterházy’s new draft on February 20, 1764, and appointed Esterházy as chancellor of the order to be founded. The reason behind the decision may have been that the queen called a parliament for June 1764, at which she wanted to increase the war tax, and did not try to win the goodwill of the orders with gestures.
The Queen’s eldest son, Archduke József – the later II. It took place on May 5, 1764, the day of József’s coronation as King of Rome, and the first donations were already made the next day. In order to emphasize the Hungarian character of the order, the queen appeared on the occasion in Hungarian dress, her entourage consisted exclusively of Hungarian nobles, and the Hungarian bodyguard played an important role in the ceremony. The feast of the order is August 20, the commemoration day of King Szent István, its Grand Master was the sovereign, and its motto in Latin was: “publicum meritorum praemium”, i.e. the reward for merits gained in public service.
The constitution defined the number of members of the order in 100 in three classes: 20 Grand Crosses, 30 Commanders and 50 Little Crosses, church members were not included in this number. Only men could receive the award (the only exception was the founder Mária Terézia), in the first two classes, in order to receive the award, it was necessary to prove noble descent going back four generations, although this was waived in exceptional cases.
The insignia of the three classes was a dark green enamel cross with a golden border of different sizes, with the image of the Hungarian royal crown above it, and a star attached to the large cross. The central shield of the cross is round, red enameled, inside it there is a white double cross on the crowning green triple pile, from the right, the initials MT, i.e. M(aria) T(eresia) in gold. The central shield is surrounded by a wedding ring with a gold border, inside it is the motto of the order. The insignia was worn in the first class on the shoulder strap over the right shoulder, in the second class on the neck, and in the third class in the buttonhole. The order also had a special dress.
After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1918, the Order of St. Stephen ceased to exist, and its re-establishment was hindered by the dispute between independent Austria and Hungary about whether Mária Theresia was the founder as Austrian archduchess, German-Roman empress or Hungarian queen. In 1938, after the Anschluss (German annexation of Austria), Governor Miklós Horthy decreed the granting of the Hungarian Royal Order of Saint Stephen and took over the position of Grand Master of the order, but the renewed order was only granted a few times.
The award primarily recognized civil services, politicians, diplomats, officials and, in the 19th century, artists and scientists could also receive it. (According to legend, János Arany refused the small cross, and even wrote The Welsh Bards in response – in reality, he wrote the poem in 1857, and ten years later, after the compromise, he received the award, which, despite his better convictions, he accepted at the urging of his friends, but did not (thanks.) The recognition was given for both protocol and foreign policy reasons, so the list includes Prince Windisch-Grätz, who crushed the freedom struggle, Haynau, who commanded the reprisals, or, after 1938, Hermann Göring, one of the leaders of the Nazi Third Reich, and Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop.
The Order of St. Stephen was abolished in 1946, when the republic was proclaimed, and then in 2011 by CCII of 2011. renewed by law.
The Hungarian Order of St. István, which is once again considered the highest Hungarian state decoration, serves to recognize the most outstanding, special merits, outstanding life works, and significant values gained in the international arena for the sake of Hungary. Since 2013, the award has been awarded on August 20 by the President of the Republic (who was also awarded by virtue of his position). The Order of St. Stephen of Hungary has no classes, women can also receive it, but the badge is the same as it was in Maria Theresa’s time.
Past honorees: In 2013, five-time Olympic champion swimmer Krisztina Egerszegi and Sándor Lámfalussy (1929-2015), economist, banker, “father of the euro”, in 2014 Imre Kertész (1929-2016), Nobel Prize-winning writer and Ernő Kossuth Prize-winning architect and inventor Rubik , in 2015 Judit Polgár, Olympic champion, international chess grandmaster, and Péter Eötvös (1944-2024), Kossuth Prize-winning composer-conductor. In 2016, Éva Marton is a Kossuth Prize-winning opera singer and Ádám Makkai (1935-2020) is a Kossuth Grand Prize-winning poet and linguist. In 2017, Cardinal Péter Erdő, Primate, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and Kossuth Prize-winning pianist and conductor Tamás Vásáry. In 2018, demographer György Pál Demény, in 2019, neurobiological researcher Roska Botond, in 2020, mathematician Endre Szemerédi, winner of the Abel and Széchenyi Prizes, in 2021, László Lovász, winner of the Abel Prize and Széchenyi Grand Prize, mathematician, former president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and Vizi E. Szilveszter Széchenyi Grand Prize winner and Széchenyi Prize winner doctor, pharmacologist, former president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, in 2022 Miklósa Erika Kossuth Prize-winning opera singer and Ferenc Rofusz Kossuth Prize-winning cartoon director, artist of the nation. In 2023, Nobel and Széchenyi Prize-winning biochemist and research biologist Katalin Karikó, three-time Olympic champion swordsman Áron Szilágyi and Sándor Csányi, president and CEO of OTP Bank, received it.
2024-08-20 11:15:06