Order of the Sun of Peru

The Order of the Sun of Peru (in Spanish: La Orden El Sol del Peru), formerly known as The Order of the Sun, is the highest award bestowed by the nation of Peru to commend notable civil and military merit. The award is the oldest civilian award in the Americas, first being established in 1821.

History
The Order was originally instituted on 8 October 1821 by General José de San Martín on reaching Lima to recognize those who had distinguished themselves in the campaign against the Spanish Royalist. It was discontinued four years later, after many grantees started to use the award as a nobility title, similar to the earlier Castile titles awarded by the colonial government. All such nobility titles were abolished by 1828.

The Order was re-established in 1921.

Classes
The award consists of the following classes:


 * Grand Cross with Diamonds
 * Grand Cross
 * Grand Officer
 * Commander
 * Officer
 * Knight

Notable recipients



 * José Mujica
 * Rafael Correa
 * Felipe, Prince of Asturias
 * Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
 * Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
 * Roberto Dañino
 * Rosa Campuzano
 * Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold
 * Lee Hsien Loong
 * G.E. Berrios
 * Ernesto Burzagli
 * Gerardo Chavez
 * Frank Freyer
 * Haakon VII of Norway
 * Thor Heyerdahl
 * Dmitry Medvedev
 * Alexei Kosygin
 * Ramón Miranda Ampuero
 * Pat Nixon, 1970
 * Olav V of Norway
 * Valentín Paniagua
 * Maria Reiche
 * Manuela Sáenz
 * Haile Selassie
 * Andrew B. Shea
 * Yma Sumac
 * Julio C. Tello
 * Pablo Grimberg Umansky
 * Donald Tusk
 * Disaku Ikeda
 * Somchai Wongsawat
 * Gian Marco Zignago
 * George Papandreou
 * Arturo "Zambo" Cavero
 * The 5th Marquess of Bristol
 * Plácido Domingo
 * Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala
 * Leonid Brezhnev
 * Paul McCartney
 * Jose Antonio Meier Espinosa
 * Alfredo Pareja Diezcanseco
 * Sergey Lavrov
 * Guillermo Hillcoat