| Royal Order of Vasa Kungliga Vasaorden | |
| Awarded By: | the monarch of Sweden |
| Type: | Five grade order of merit |
| House: | Bernadotte |
| Day: | 28 April |
| Eligibility: | Swedish and foreign citizens |
| For: | Services to agriculture, mining, art, trade, industry, crafts and education. |
| Status: | Active (since 1 February 2023) |
| Head Title: | Sovereign |
| Head: | King Carl XVI Gustaf |
| Head2 Title: | Chancellor |
| Head2: | Svante Lindqvist[1] |
| Access-Date: | 2022-01-29 |
| Grades: | Commander Grand Cross (KmstkVO) Commander 1st Class (KVO1kl) Commander (KVO) Knight/Member 1st Class (RVO1kl) Knight/Member (RVO) |
| Established: | 1772 |
| First Induction: | 1772 |
| Last Induction: | 21 March 2024[2] |
| Higher: | Royal Order of the Polar Star |
| Lower: | Order of Charles XIII |
The Royal Order of Vasa (Swedish: Kungliga Vasaorden) is a Swedish order of chivalry founded on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It is awarded to Swedish citizens for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce.
The order was founded on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. Its name is derived from the House of Vasa. Membership was unrestricted by birth or education, as opposed to the other orders which were reserved for nobility, military personnel or the learned professions. During the union between Sweden and Norway, the Order of Vasa was often awarded to Norwegians until the Order of Saint Olav was founded in 1847.
Following significant reforms to the Swedish honours system in 1974, the Order of Vasa and the Order of the Sword were considered dormant and membership in the Order of the Seraphim and the Order of the Polar Star were restricted to foreigners and, after 1995, the royal family.
In 2019, a parliamentary committee was instructed to establish guidelines on how to re-introduce the Swedish orders, including the Order of Vasa, into the Swedish honours system and how Swedish citizens again can be appointed to Swedish orders.[3] The committee presented its findings in September 2021 and the Government has declared that a bill on the subject will be presented to the Riksdag on 19 April 2022. Following the passage of the bill by a large majority on 19 June 2022, on 20 December 2022, the Swedish Government published a new regulation that repealed the 1974 regulation, and once again opened the Royal Orders to Swedish citizens again and reactivated the Order of the Sword and the Order of Vasa, which came in effect from 1 February 2023.[4] [5] [6]
On 21 March 2024, the order was awarded for the first time since 1974 to, among others, the members of ABBA.[7]
The Swedish royal barge Vasaorden takes its name from the order.
The Order had five classes:
Before 2023, clergymen and women were not made knights; instead, they were made Ledamot av andliga ståndet ("Member of the Cloth") and Ledamot ("Member"), respectively. However, since 2023, the order makes no distinction among clergy, men and women.[8]
Additionally, the Badge of Vasa and the Vasa Medal were both worn on a ribbon on the left chest.
Before 1975 each royal order had its own investiture ceremony. When the royal orders were reinstated, however, this practice was not restored. Instead, a new state ceremony was created in which all recipients of all orders are awarded. The new ceremony is held in the White Sea Hall of the Stockholm Palace, decorated with the banners and insignia of the royal orders. After the King and Queen have been announced by the Herald of the Royal Orders, by tapping his staff on the floor twice, and have made their entrance to the Seraphim March, the Chancellor of the Royal Orders makes an introductory speech and the King himself delivers a speech. Each recipient of each order is, one by one, one order at a time from highest to lowest in rank, announced and called upon by the Deputy Chancellor of the Royal Orders to receive the insignia from the King and shake his hand. After all recipients of a certain order have received their awards, the fanfare of that order is performed before the investiture of members of the next order begins. This ceremony was first held on 31 May 2024.[9] [10] [11] [12]
| Year | Name | Citizenship | Main occupation | Grade | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 2024[13] | -- auto-translated from Swedish by Module:CS1 translator --> (in Swedish) Kungl. Maj:ts Orden | Commander Grand Cross (KmstkVO) | |||
| Commander First Class (KVO1kl) | |||||
| Commander First Class (KVO1kl) | |||||
| Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Reuss) | Commander First Class (KVO1kl) | ||||
| Commander First Class (KVO1kl) | |||||
| Commander (KVO) | |||||
| Knight First Class (RVO1kl) | |||||
| Business Area Manager | Knight (RVO) |