1 Erich Honecker – International Olympic Committee: Olympic Gold Order. Original Collar Decoration awarded to Erich Honecker in 1985.
Olympic Order in Gold awarded in 1985 to Erich Honecker.
The decoration of the order in the form of the Olympic rings and laurel leaves worn on a collar chain. Gold plated.
The maker's mark "BERTONI MILANO" on the reverse.
Accompanied by the miniature pin in the shape of the decoration of the order.
Gold with pin with safety clasp. Reverse with gold mark "750" and maker's mark "BERTONI".
The Olympic Order is an award of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that was introduced in 1975 for people who have rendered outstanding services to the Olympic Games.
Until 1984, the Olympic Order was awarded in analogy to the Olympic medals in the classes bronze, silver and gold.
Since 1985, there has no longer been a subdivision into silver and bronze. These classes have been combined to the silver version.
The Order in Gold continues to be awarded as the highest level.
Before the introduction of the Olympic Order, deserving persons were awarded the Olympic Diploma. The first person to be honoured was the then US President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904.
The Olympic Order is only awarded to persons who have rendered outstanding services to the Olympic Movement. Posthumous awards are also possible.
Institutions, such as clubs and associations, are awarded the Olympic Goblet. This cup, introduced by Pierre de Coubertin, has been awarded since 1906.
A special commission has been set up to award the Olympic Order, chaired by the IOC President. All Vice-Presidents of the IOC must be members of the Commission. The Commission draws up nominations and then decides on the award of the Order. Current voting IOC members may not be nominated. Most recipients receive their Order during an IOC Session. The presenters are usually the IOC President, one of the Vice-Presidents or even the Presidents of the NOKs concerned.
The honouree is presented with the Order according to a special formula.
At the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Reinhold Messner and Jerzy Kukuczka were also to receive a Silver Olympic Order. Messner, however, refused the award on the grounds that he wanted to prevent a new edition of a competition. Kukuczka, on the other hand, who saw a crucial difference between the Olympic Order and an Olympic medal, accepted the award.
So far (as of June 2018), there have been four recipients who have been honoured twice with the Olympic Order. Spanish sports photographer Francisco Alguersvari Duran was awarded in 1984 (bronze) and 1988.
The Romanian artistic gymnast Nadia Comăneci received the Order in silver in 1984 and was honoured again in 2004. At 23, she was the youngest person to receive an Olympic Order in 1984.
The Cuban boxer Teófilo Stevenson was awarded in 1987 and 1991. The Swedish Crown Prince Bertil Bernadotte received the Order in Silver in 1978. In 1990, he was awarded the Order in Gold.
Only once has an awarded Order been returned. In 2006, Hans Wilhelm Gäb was decorated. In 2016, he returned the Order in protest before the IOC's controversial decision not to ban Russia completely from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. In a statement, he wrote: "I don't want to wear the award of an organisation that betrays the ideals of sport."
Awards of the Olympic Order in Gold are extremly rare. Among the recipients are:
Pope Johannes Paul II. (1981), India Ghandi (1983), Francois Mitterand (1984), Nicolae Causescu (1985), Erich Honecker (1985), Juan Carlos I. (1985), King Bhumibol of Thailand (1987), Boris Jelzin (1993), Nelson Mandela (1994), Richard v. Weizsäcker (1995), Helmut Kohl (2000), Papst Franziskus (2013), Xi Jinping (2013), Kofi Annan (2015).
From 1975 - 2018 a total of 58 awards only were made.
The latest award was made to Emanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris /see photo).
This is the highest level of the Olympic Order and as an award to GDR Party and State Council Chairman Erich Honecker of extraordinary historical interest and rarity.
To the best of my knowledge, the only piece ever offered at auction.
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