Austrian Decoration for Science and Art

The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the national honours system of that country.

History
The "Austrian Decoration for Science and Art" was established by the National Council as an honour for scientific or artistic achievements by Federal Law of May 1955 (Federal Law Gazette No. 96/1955 as amended BGBl I No 128/2001). At the same time, the National Council also established the "Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art", which is awarded as "Cross of Honour, First Class" (German: Ehrenkreuz 1. Klasse) and "Cross of Honour" (German: Ehrenkreuz). While not technically counted as lower classes of the Decoration for Science and Art, these crosses are nevertheless affiliated with it.

Decoration for Science and Art
The number of living recipients of the Decoration for Science and Art is limited to a maximum of 72 at any one time (36 recipients for science and 36 for arts). In each of these two groups there are 18 Austrian cititzens and 18 foreign nationals.

Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class
There are no limits on the number of recipients.

Cross of Honour for Science and Art
There are no limits on the number of recipients.

Decoration for Science and Art

 * 2012: Christoph Waltz, actor
 * 2010: Paul Holdengräber, curator
 * 2008: Marina Abramović, performance artist
 * 2007: Otto Tausig, actor
 * 2006: Bruno Ganz, actor; Stephen Toulmin, philosopher; Christian Meier, historian; Pierre Soulages, painter; Michael Mitterauer, historian
 * 2005: Václav Havel, writer, dissident and former president of the Czech Republic; Christian Attersee, painter; Eric Kandel, neuroscientist; Peter Palese, virologist
 * 2004: Klaus Wolff, dermatologist
 * 2003: Hermann Fillitz, art historian; Wolfgang M. Schmidt, mathematician
 * 2002: Arik Brauer, painter, poet and singer; Peter Wolf, Austrian-born producer and composer; Eugen Biser, religious philosopher; Horst Dreier, legal philosopher; Elliott H. Lieb, physicist and mathematician; Bogdan Bogdanović, architect
 * 2001: Anton Zeilinger, experimental physicist
 * 2000: Paul Kirchhof, constitutional and tax lawyer; Hans Müllejans, provost; Herwig Wolfram, historian; Gerardo Broggini, lawyer
 * 1999: Carl Pruscha, architect; Elisabeth Lichtenberger, geographer; Karl Acham, sociologist; Walter Kohn, physicist
 * 1998: Helmut Denk, pathologist
 * 1997: Bruno Gironcoli, artist; Kurt Schwertsik, composer; Hans Hass, biologist; Robert Walter, jurist; Albrecht Dihle, classical philologist; Cassos Karageorghis, archaeologist; Klemens von Klemperer, historian
 * 1996: Siegfried Josef Bauer, meteorologist and geophysicist
 * 1995: Horst Stein, conductor
 * 1994: Josef Mikl, painter
 * 1993: Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, architect; Peter Schuster, chemist; Gottfried Biegelmeier, physicist; Walter Thirring, physicist; Albert Eschenmoser, chemist; Albrecht Schöne, philologist; Günther Wilke, chemist
 * 1992: Carlos Kleiber, conductor; Krzysztof Penderecki, composer
 * 1991: H.C. Artmann, writer
 * 1990: Ernst Jandl, writer; Hans Hollein, architect
 * 1988: Dietmar Grieser, author and journalist
 * 1987: Friederike Mayröcker, writer
 * 1986: Johann Jascha, artist
 * 1985: Erika Mitterer, writer
 * 1983: Hans Plank, painter
 * 1982: Heinrich Harrer, mountaineer; Jacqueline de Romilly, philologist
 * 1981: Gertrud Fussenegger, writer; Werner Berg, painter
 * 1980: Alfred Uhl and Marcel Rubin, composer; Fritz Hochwälder, writer; Karl Popper, philosopher and science theorist
 * 1979: Roland Rainer, architect; Max Weiler, artist
 * 1978: Hans Nowotny, chemist
 * 1977: Ernst Schönwiese, writer
 * 1976: Friedrich Torberg, writer and translator; Manfred Eigen, chemist
 * 1975: Hans Tuppy, biochemist; Robert Stolz, composer
 * 1974: Gottfried von Einem, composer
 * 1972: Elias Canetti, writer
 * 1971: Fritz Wotruba, architect and artist
 * 1967: Karl Heinrich Waggerl, writer
 * 1966: Ludwig von Ficker, writer and publisher
 * 1964: Edmund Hlawka, mathematician; Ernst Lothar, writer and director
 * 1961: Herbert von Karajan, conductor; Rudolf von Laun, international lawyer
 * 1960: O. W. Fischer, actor
 * 1959: Otto Hahn, atomic physicist, Nobel laureate; Max Mell, writer
 * 1957: Clemens Holzmeister, architect

Cross (and Cross 1st Class)

 * 2012: Ronny Reich, Israeli Archaeologist
 * 2010: Boris Pahor, Slovene writer;
 * 2009: Grita Insam, gallerist; Hans Werner Scheidl, journalist and author; Stefan Größing, sports scientists; Bruno Mamoli, specialist in neurology and psychiatry, Fredmund Malik, management scientist
 * 2008: Gerhard Haszprunar, Zoologe;Ernst von Glasersfeld, Austro-American constructivist, Michael Ludwig, Michael Kaufmann, manager of German culture; Reinhard Putz, anatomist; Jessye Norman, American soprano; Hannes Androsch, Finance Minister and Vice Chancellor a.D.
 * 2007: Herbert W. Franke, scientist, writer, artist; Hans Walter Lack, botanist; Josef Burg, writer; Reginald Vospernik, high school director; Nuria Nono-Schönberg, Lawrence Schönberg, Ronald Schönberg, the three children of Arnold Schoenberg
 * 2006: Peter Ruzicka, German composer and artistic director, Lothar Bruckmeier, painter, Peter Wegner, computer scientist
 * 2005: Gottfried Kumpf, painter, architect, sculptor, Georg Ratzinger, choirmaster, Heinz Zemanek, computer pioneer
 * 2004: Oswald Oberhuber, artist
 * 2003: Erich Schleyer, actor and author, Günther Granser, economist
 * 2002: Fabio Luisi, Italian conductor, Kurt Rudolf Fischer, philosopher, Wolfdietrich Schmied-Kowarzik, philosopher; John Ross, chemist; Seiji Ozawa, conductor
 * 2001: Klaus-Peter Sattler, composer, Hermann Maurer, computer scientist, Walter Homolka, rabbi; Hannspeter Winter, physicist; Johann Grander, inventor.
 * 1999: Peter Simonischek, actor, Erich Gruen, historian
 * 1998: Senta Berger, actress, Kiki Kogelnik, artist (posthumously awarded)
 * 1997: Herbert Willi, composer; Lucian O. Meysels, author; Ernest Manheim, American sociologist of Hungarian origin
 * 1996: Ronald S. Calinger, American historian of Mathematics
 * 1989: Norbert Pawlicki, pianist and composer
 * 1987: Alois Hergouth, writer and poet; Helen Adolf, literature scholar and linguist
 * 1984: Frank Sinatra, singer and actor, Fritz Muliar, actor and director, Ludwig Schwarzer, painter
 * 1983: Walter Bitterlich, forest scientist, Wolf Häfele, physicist
 * 1980: Alfred Uhl, composer
 * 1978: Kurt Neumüller, pianist and pedagogue
 * 1977: Wolfgang Rehm, musicologist
 * 1976: Wolfgang Mayer König, writer
 * 1974: Erika Mitterer, writer; Marcel Rubin, composer; Arthur Hilton, chemist,
 * 1971: Gustav Zelibor, pianist and conductor
 * 1970: Enver Čolaković, writer and poet
 * 1968: Alphons Barb, author
 * 1965: Kurt Roger, Composer / Professor Georg Szell Conductor Nathan Milstein Violin
 * 1961: Günther Baszel, artist; Ernst Lothar, author and director
 * 1960: Karl Schiske, composer

Forfeiture
Forfeiture of this honour became possible with Federal Law Gazette I No 128/2001, changing Act § 8a. It allows the government to strip recipients of their honours if deemed unworthy. The best known example of such a forfeiture is of the Nazi physician Heinrich Gross.

On August 5, 2008 the Austrian Science Minister Johannes Hahn decided not to withdraw the award from inventor Johann Grander. - see also Wikipedia German version and see also Austrian ministry