Order of the Yugoslav Star
The Order of the Yugoslav Star was the highest national order of merit awarded in Yugoslavia. It was divided into four classes. The highest class, the Yugoslav Great Star was the highest state decoration awarded in Yugoslavia. The order was mostly awarded to foreign heads of state for the development and strengthening of peace and cooperation between nations.

The Order of the Yugoslav Star was also the second highest order of merit in Serbia and Montenegro.

History
Order of the Yugoslav Star was founded by the President of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito on 1 February 1954 and had three Classes. Law on Decorations was amended on 1 March 1961, so from then on, the Order had four Classes:
Yugoslav Great Star — highest decoration in SFR Yugoslavia
Yugoslav Star with Sash (before 1961 Order of the Yugoslav Star, I Class) — 6th highest decoration in SFR Yugoslavia
Yugoslav Star with Golden Wreath (before 1961 Order of the Yugoslav Star, II Class) — 14th highest decoration in SFR Yugoslavia
Yugoslav Star on Cravat (before 1961 Order of the Yugoslav Star, III Class) — 24th highest decoration in SFR Yugoslavia

After the Breakup of Yugoslavia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (and later Serbia and Montenegro) continued to use some of the decorations of former Yugoslavia, among them Order of the Yugoslav Star. In the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Order of the Yugoslav Star was the second highest order after the Order of Yugoslavia. During this time the four Classes of the order were named:
Yugoslav Great Star — 2nd highest decoration in FR Yugoslavia (after the Order of Yugoslavia)
Yugoslav Star, I Class — 7th highest decoration in FR Yugoslavia
Yugoslav Star, II Class — 20th highest decoration in FR Yugoslavia
Yugoslav Star, III Class — 31st highest decoration in FR Yugoslavia

Recipients 
The Order was usually awarded to foreign heads of state and other distinguished foreigners who visited Yugoslavia. Up to 1985, the Yugoslav Great Star was awarded 127 times of which 115 to foreigners and 12 to Yugoslav citizens. Some of the notable recipients of the Yugoslav Great Star are:

Recipients of the SFRY 
 Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia – awarded on 1 February 1954
 Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia – awarded on 11 February 1954
 Celâl Bayar, President of Turkey – awarded on 13 April 1954
 Paul I, King of Greece – awarded on 2 June 1954
 Gamal Abdel Nasser, President of Egypt – awarded on 30 December 1955
 René Coty, President of the French Republic – awarded on 7 May 1956
 Sukarno, President of Indonesia – awarded on 12 September 1956
 Norodom Suramarit, King of Cambodia  – awarded on 6 August 1957
 Mohammed Zahir Shah, King of Afghanistan – awarded on 1 November 1960
 Ahmed Sékou Touré, President of Guinea – awarded on 7 January 1961
 William Tubman, President of Liberia – awarded on 13 March 1961
 Hassan II, King of Morocco – awarded on 1 April 1961
 Leonid Brezhnev, Soviet leader – awarded in 1962
 Adolfo López Mateos, President of Mexico – awarded on 30 March 1963
 Urho Kekkonen, President of Finland – awarded on 6 May 1963
 Ahmed Ben Bella, President of Algeria – awarded on 12 March 1964
 Władysław Gomułka, First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party – awarded on 25 June 1964
 Aleksander Zawadzki, Chairman of the Council of State of the People's Republic of Poland – awarded on 25 June 1964
 István Dobi, chairman of the Presidential Council – awarded on 15 September 1964
 János Kádár, Chairman of the Council of Ministers – awarded on 15 September 1964
 Antonín Novotný, President of Czechoslovakia – awarded on 26 September 1964
 Habib Bourguiba, President of Tunisia – awarded in 1965
 Olav V, King of Norway – awarded on 13 May 1965
 Walter Ulbricht, Chairman of the State Council – awarded on 9 June 1965
 Todor Zhivkov, General Secretary of the Bulgarian Communist Party and Prime Minister of Bulgaria – awarded on 22 September 1965
 Georgi Traykov, Chairman of the Presidium of the National Assembly – awarded on 22 September 1965
 Nicolae Ceaușescu, General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party – awarded on 18 April 1966
 Chivu Stoica, President of the State Council – awarded on 18 April 1966
 Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran – awarded on 3 June 1966
 Franz Jonas, President of Austria – awarded on 12 February 1967
 Norodom Sihanouk, King of Cambodia – awarded on 17 January 1968
 Hirohito, Emperor of Japan – awarded on 8 April 1968
 Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal, Prime Minister of Mongolia – awarded on 20 April 1968
 Jamsrangiin Sambuu, Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Great Khural – awarded on 20 April 1968
 Moktar Ould Daddah, President of Mauritania – awarded on 5 September 1968
 Giuseppe Saragat, President of Italy – awarded on 2 October 1969
 Edvard Kardelj – awarded on 23 January 1970
 Julius Nyerere, President of Tanzania – awarded on 27 January 1970
 Jomo Kenyatta, President of Kenya – awarded on 12 February 1970
 Kenneth Kaunda, President of Zambia – awarded on 7 May 1970
 Gaafar Nimeiry, Chairman of the National Revolutionary Command Council and Prime Minister of Sudan – awarded on 16 June 1970
 Juliana, Queen of the Netherlands – awarded on 20 August 1970
 Bernhard, Prince consort of the Netherlands – awarded on 20 August 1970
 Baudouin, King of the Belgians – awarded on 6 October 1970
 Dolores Ibárruri, honorary president of the Communist Party of Spain – awarded on 19 May 1971
 Jacques Chaban-Delmas, Prime Minister of France
 Vladimir Bakarić – awarded on 21 April 1972
 Petar Stambolić – awarded on 6 July 1972
 Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom – awarded on 19 October 1972
 Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh – awarded on 19 October 1972
 Edward Gierek, First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party – awarded on 4 May 1973
 Birendra, King of Nepal – awarded on 2 February 1974
 Lazar Koliševski, member of the Presidency of Yugoslavia – awarded on 13 February 1974
 Luis Echeverría, President of Mexico – awarded on 13 February 1974
 Ne Win, President of Burma – awarded on 7 October 1974
 Veljko Vlahović – awarded on 9 November 1974
 Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark – awarded on 31 October 1974
 Erich Honecker, first secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany – awarded on 12 November 1974
 Đuro Pucar – awarded on 12 December 1974
 Blažo Jovanović, President of the Constitutional court of Yugoslavia – awarded on 26 December 1974
 Miha Marinko – awarded on 14 May 1975
 Franc Leskošek – awarded on 14 May 1975
 Léopold Sédar Senghor, President of Senegal – awarded on 31 August 1975
 Soeharto, President of Indonesia – awarded on 1975
 Kurt Waldheim, Secretary-General of the United Nations
 Jean-Bédel Bokassa, President of the Central African Republic – awarded on 3 May 1972
 Francisco da Costa Gomes, President of Portugal – awarded on 23 October 1975
 Jovan Veselinov – awarded on 25 January 1976
 Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden – awarded on 29 March 1976
 Konstantinos Tsatsos, President of Greece – awarded on 10 May 1976
 Fahri Korutürk, President of Turkey – awarded on 8 June 1976
 Kim Il Sung, President of North Korea – awarded on 29 August 1977
 António Ramalho Eanes, President of Portugal – awarded on 17 October 1977
 Ziaur Rahman, President of Bangladesh – awarded on 22 November 1978
 Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait – awarded on 3 February 1979
 Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, President of Iraq – awarded on 4 February 1979
 Hussein I, King of Jordan – awarded on 11 February 1979
 Julio César Turbay Ayala, President of Colombia – awarded on 29 June 1979
 France-Albert René, President of Seychelles – awarded on 27 July 1979
 Sandro Pertini, President of Italy – awarded on 11 October 1979
 Fernando Belaúnde, President of Peru – awarded on 12 November 1980
 Omar Bongo, President of Gabon – awarded on 22 March 1982
 Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt – awarded on 26 February 1984
 Miguel de la Madrid, President of Mexico – awarded on 24 January 1985
 Mauno Koivisto, President of Finland
 Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand

Recipients of the FRY and Serbia and Montenegro 
 Muammar al-Gaddafi, leader of Libya – awarded on 26 October 1999
 Li Peng, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress – awarded on 12 June 2000
 Akihito, Emperor of Japan
  Ion Iliescu, President of Romania – awarded on 30 August 2004

See also
Orders, decorations, and medals of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Orders, decorations, and medals of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Notes

References

Yugoslav Star
Awards established in 1954
1954 establishments in Yugoslavia
Orders of chivalry awarded to heads of state, consorts and sovereign family members