# Order of the Liberator General San Martín

The Order of the Liberator General San Martín (Spanish: Orden del Libertador General San Martín) is the highest decoration in Argentina. It is awarded to foreign politicians or military, deemed worthy of the highest recognition from Argentina. It is granted by the sitting President of Argentina.

## History

It owes its name to General José de San Martín, called Father of the Nation and Liberator. The original design was made by the Argentine engineer and sculptor Ángel Eusebio Ibarra García. It was created by Decree No. 5,000 of 17 August 1943; amended by Law No. 13. 202 of 21 May 1948; which in turn was repealed by Decree Law No. 16.628 of 17 December 1957, which re-creates the Order. The modifications introduced were only in the form. The regulations still in force were approved by Decree No. 16,643 of 18 December 1967.

## Grades

The Grades are:
* Collar (Spanish: Collar)
* Grand Cross (Spanish: Gran Cruz)
* Grand Officer (Spanish: Gran Oficial)
* Commander (Spanish: Comendador)
* Officer (Spanish: Oficial)
* Knight (Spanish: Caballero)

## Notable recipients

| Date | Recipient | Grade |
| 8 June 1947 | Spain – Caudillo Francisco Franco (1936–1975) | Collar |
| 16 August 1947 | Brazil – President Eurico Gaspar Dutra (1946–1951) | Collar |
| 20 December 1948 | Chile – Former president Arturo Alessandri (1920–1925; 1932-1938) | Grand Cross |
| 1950 | Peru – President Manuel Arturo Odría (1948–1950; 1950-1956) | Collar |
| 12 May 1950 | United States – General Dwight Eisenhower (1953–1961) | Grand Cross |
| 4 April 1951 | Netherlands – Prince Bernhard (1948–1980) | Grand Cross |
| 18 July 1952 | Argentina – First Lady Eva Duarte de Perón (1946–1952) | Extraordinary |
| 19 February 1953 | Chile – President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo (1927–1931; 1952–1958) | Collar |
| 15 August 1954 | Paraguay – President Alfredo Stroessner (1954–1989) | Collar |
| 2 February 1959 | Italy – Prime Minister Antonio Segni (1955–1957; 1959–1960) | Grand Cross |
| 1960 | Belgium – King Baudouin (1951–1993) | Collar |
| 8 May 1960 | France – President Charles De Gaulle (1959–1969) | Collar |
| June 1960 | Germany – Chancellor Konrad Adenauer (1949–1963) | Grand Cross |
| 1 July 1960 | Netherlands – Queen Juliana (1948–1980) | Collar |
| 4 July 1960 | United Kingdom – Queen Elizabeth II (1952–2022) | Collar |
| October 1960 | Taiwan – President Chiang Kai-shek (1950–1975) | Collar |
| 9 April 1961 | Italy – President Giovanni Gronchi (1955–1962) | Collar |
| 8 July 1961 | Bolivia – President Víctor Paz Estenssoro (1952–1956; 1960–1964; 1985–1989) | Collar |
| 8 December 1961 | Thailand – King Bhumibol Adulyadej (1946–2016) | Collar |
| 8 December 1961 | Thailand – Queen Sirikit (1950–2016) | Grand Cross |
| 8 December 1961 | Thailand – Prime Minister Sarit Thanarat (1959–1963) | Grand Cross |
| 22 March 1962 | United Kingdom – Prince Philip (1952–2021) | Grand Cross |
| 10 May 1965 | Iran – Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1941–1979) | Collar |
| 10 May 1965 | Iran – Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi (1961–1979) | Grand Cross |
| 15 September 1965 | Italy – President Giuseppe Saragat (1964–1971) | Collar |
| 29 October 1965 | Chile – President Eduardo Frei Montalva (1964–1970) | Collar |
| 1966 | Cambodia – King Norodom Sihanouk (1941–1970, 1993-2004) | Collar |
| 25 March 1966 | Denmark – Princess Margrethe (1940–1972; Queen: 1972–incumbent) | Grand Cross |
| 18 September 1967 | Norway – King Olav V (1957–1991) | Collar |
| 1970 | Ethiopia – Emperor Haile Selassie (1930–1974) | Collar |
| 18 April 1971 | Costa Rica – President José Figueres Ferrer (1948–1949; 1953–1958; 1970–1974) | Collar |
| 13 October 1971 | Peru – President Juan Velasco Alvaro (1968–1975) | Collar |
| 1972 | South Korea – President Park Chung-hee (1962-1979) | Collar |
| 1972 | Indonesia – President Suharto (1968-1998) | Collar |
| 1972 | Indonesia – First Lady Siti Hartinah (1968-1998) | Grand Cross |
| 16 June 1973 | Spain – President Luis Carrero Blanco (1973) | Grand Cross |
| 5 March 1974 | Romania – President Nicolae Ceausescu (1967–1989) | Collar |
| 5 March 1974 | Romania – First Lady Elena Ceausescu (1974–1989) | Grand Cross |
| 1976 | Chile – President Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) | Grand Cross |
| 4 March 1978 | Peru – President Francisco Morales Bermúdez (1975–1980) | Collar |
| 1 December 1978 | Spain – King Juan Carlos I (1975–2014) | Collar |
| 1 December 1978 | Spain – Queen Sofía (1975–2014) | Grand Cross |
| 8 October 1979 | Japan – Emperor Hirohito (1926–1989) | Collar |
| 7 June 1985 | Peru – President Fernando Belaúnde Terry (1963–1968; 1980–1985) | Collar |
| 17 July 1986 | Philippines – President Corazon Aquino (1986–1992) | Collar |
| 19 July 1986 | Saudi Arabia – King Fahd (1982–2005) | Collar |
| 28 July 1986 | Brazil – President José Sarney (1985–1990) | Collar |
| 5 July 1990 | Brazil – President Fernando Collor de Mello (1990–1992) | Collar |
| 27 August 1990 | Chile – President Patricio Aylwin (1990–1994) | Collar |
| 1991 | Malaysia – Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (1981–2003, 2018-2020) | Grand Cross |
| 1992 | Morocco – King Hassan II (1961–1999) | Collar |
| 1992 | Jordan – King Hussein (1952–1999) | Collar |
| 11 May 1992 | Egypt – President Hosni Moubarak (1981–2011) | Collar |
| 27 March 1994 | Spain – Infanta Elena (1963–1995) | Grand Cross |
| 27 March 1994 | Spain – Infanta Cristina (1965–1997) | Grand Cross |
| 6 May 1994 | Belgium – Prince Philippe (1993–2013) | Grand Cross |
| 1 December 1994 | Croatia – President Franjo Tuđman (1990–1999) | Collar |
| 21 February 1995 | Poland – President Lech Wałęsa (1990–1995) | Collar |
| 24 February 1995 | South Africa – President Nelson Mandela (1994–1999) | Collar |
| 31 May 1995 | Austria – President Thomas Klestil (1992–2004) | Collar |
| 14 March 1996 | Lithuania – President Algirdas Brazauskas (1992–1998) | Collar |
| 8 April 1996 | Brazil – President Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995–2002) | Collar |
| 16 July 1996 | Laos – President Nouhak Phoumsavanh (1992–1998) | Collar |
| 27 September 1996 | Czech Republic – President Vaclav Havel (1993–2003) | Collar |
| 12 November 1996 | Mexico – President Ernesto Zedillo (1994–2000) | Collar |
| 3 March 1997 | Finland – President Martti Ahtisaari (1994–2000) | Collar |
| 7 April 1997 | Hungary – President Árpád Göncz (1990–2000) | Collar |
| 9 April 1997 | Thailand – Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh (1996–1997) | Grand Cross |
| 21 April 1997 | Spain – President José María Aznar (1996–2004) | Grand Cross |
| 28 April 1997 | Haiti – President René Préval (1996–2001; 2006-2011) | Collar |
| 26 May 1998 | Sweden – King Carl XVI Gustav (1973–incumbent) | Collar |
| 26 May 1998 | Sweden – Queen Silvia (1976–incumbent) | Grand Cross |
| 26 May 1998 | Sweden – Princess Lilian (1976–2013) | Grand Cross |
| 16 July 1998 | United Nations – Secretary-General Kofi Annan (1997–2006) | Grand Cross |
| 10 August 1998 | Nicaragua – President Arnoldo Alemán (1997–2002) | Collar |
| 29 September 1998 | Japan – Prince Akishino (1990–Incumbent) | Grand Cross |
| 2 December 1998 | Japan – Emperor Akihito (1989–2019) | Collar |
| 2 December 1998 | Japan – Empress Michiko (1989–2019) | Grand Cross |
| 20 September 1999 | Philippines – President Joseph Estrada (1998–2001) | Collar |
| 15 May 2000 | Paraguay – President Luis González Macchi (1999–2003) | Collar |
| 18 May 2000 | Chile – President Ricardo Lagos (2000–2006) | Collar |
| 25 September 2000 | Saudi Arabia – Prince Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz al Saud (1982–2005) | Grand Cross |
| 12 October 2000 | Colombia – President Andrés Pastrana Arango (1998–2002) | Collar |
| 14 March 2001 | Italy – President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (1999–2006) | Collar |
| 21 August 2001 | Dominican Republic – President Hipólito Mejía (2000–2004) | Collar |
| 15 November 2001 | Portugal – President Jorge Sampaio (1996–2006) | Collar |
| 7 April 2003 | Sovereign Order of Malta – Prince and Grand Master Fra' Andrew Bertie (1988–2008) | Grand Cross |
| 29 April 2003 | Uruguay – President Jorge Batlle (2000–2005) | Collar |
| 7 December 2004 | Morocco – King Mohammed VI (1999–incumbent) | Collar |
| 21 April 2008 | Ecuador – President Rafael Correa (2007–2017) | Collar |
| 24 November 2008 | Mexico – President Felipe Calderón (2006–2012) | Collar |
| 9 February 2009 | Spain – Princess Letizia (2004–2014) | Grand Cross |
| 16 January 2011 | Kuwait – Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (2006–2020) | Collar |
| 16 January 2011 | Kuwait – Prince Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (2006–2020) | Grand Cross |
| 28 November 2012 | Peru – President Ollanta Humala (2011–2016) | Collar |
| 8 May 2013 | Venezuela – President Nicolás Maduro (2013–Incumbent) / Revoked by President Mauricio Macri. | Collar |
| 2016 | Japan – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (2006–2007, 2012–2020) | Grand Cross |
| 25 February 2016 | France – President François Hollande (2012–2017) | Collar |
| 29 July 2016 | Mexico – President Enrique Peña Nieto (2012–2018) | Collar |
| 8 August 2016 | United Nations – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (2007–2016) | Grand Cross |
| 9 August 2016 | Australia – Governor-General Peter Cosgrove (2014–2019) | Collar |
| 22 February 2017 | Spain – King Felipe VI (2014–Incumbent) | Collar |
| 27 March 2017 | Netherlands – King Willem-Alexander (2013–incumbent) | Collar |
| 13 November 2017 | United States – Former president Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) | Grand Cross |
| 8 May 2017 | Italy – President Sergio Mattarella (2015–Incumbent) | Collar |
| 6 March 2018 | Norway – King Harald V (1991–incumbent) | Collar |
| 2 December 2018 | China – President Xi Jinping (2013–Incumbent) | Collar |
| 25 January 2021 | Uruguay – Former president José Mujica (2010–2015) | Collar |