Order of the Liberator

The Order of the Liberator was the highest distinction of Venezuela and was appointed for services to the country, outstanding merit and benefits made to the community. For Venezuelans the order ranks first in the order of precedence from other orders, national and foreign.

The President of Venezuela is the Chief of the Order and has the faculty of appointing. By right, he wears the Collar of the Order.

The order was created by Antonio Guzmán Blanco on September 14, 1880, and reformed in 1922 under the presidential term of Juan Vicente Gómez, the Order has as precedent the Medal of Distinction with the bust of the Liberator created on March 11, 1854 under the presidency of José Gregorio Monagas and before that, the Order of the Liberators created by Simón Bolívar in 1813.

In 2010, the National Assembly of Venezuela decided to officially abolish the distinction and replace it with the newly created Order of the Liberators of Venezuela - itself a revival of the very same medal created by no less than Simón Bolívar in 1813 mandated to honor participants of the Admirable Campaign. The new order, unlike its predecessor, has 3 classes, in ascending order:


 * Arrow of the Liberators
 * Lance of the Liberators
 * Sword of the Liberators

Just as the order that came before it, the President is the Order's Grand Master and has full authority over appointments to the Order. He or she wears the collar of the Sword of the Liberators class of the order.

Grades

 * Collar
 * First Class (Grand Cordon)''
 * Second Class (Grand Officer)''
 * Third Class (Commander)''
 * Fourth Class (Officer)''
 * Fifth Class (Knight)''

Recipients
Recipients of the Collar of the Order of the Liberator include:
 * Bashar al-Assad president of Syria
 * Juan Carlos I of Spain (08/09/1977)
 * Beatrix of the Netherlands
 * Andrew Bertie
 * Raúl Castro
 * Rafael Correa
 * Muammar Gaddafi