New Zealand Order of Merit

The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of chivalry recognizing distinguished service to the Crown and nation. Established in 1996, it has five levels of membership.

Order of chivalry: An honorific institution whose members are appointed in ranks, traditionally with ceremonies and insignia. The New Zealand Order of Merit belongs to this tradition, adapted for a modern constitutional monarchy.
Appointment to the New Zealand Order of Merit: The formal process by which people are appointed to a rank in the New Zealand Order of Merit. Appointments turn nominations and recommendations into membership of the order.
1996 New Zealand honours reforms: The reforms that established a distinct New Zealand order and changed the use of British honours. These reforms created the New Zealand Order of Merit as the country’s principal order.
Order of New Zealand: New Zealand’s highest honour, limited to 20 living ordinary members and awarded for outstanding service to the Crown and people. It is more exclusive and less rank-based than the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Knighthoods and damehoods in New Zealand: The use of knight and dame titles within New Zealand’s honours system. The order’s top ranks have been central to debates over whether New Zealand should confer these titles.
New Zealand honours system: The system of official awards and titles recognizing service and achievement in New Zealand. This order is one of the system’s principal awards for distinguished service.
New Zealand honours list: An official published list of recipients of New Zealand honours announced on designated occasions. Appointments to the order are commonly announced in New Year and King’s Birthday honours lists.
Elizabeth II: Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death in 2022. Elizabeth II established the order in 1996 as Queen of New Zealand.
New Zealand Order of Merit in the military division: The military division of the order, recognizing distinguished service by members of the armed forces. Its military appointments distinguish service in uniform within the same order.
New Zealand honours reforms of 2000: The 2000 change that removed titles of knight and dame from the New Zealand Order of Merit. The reform altered the order’s highest ranks and reflected a move away from titular honours.

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