The order was established in 1949 by President Mikola Abramchyk "with the purpose of awarding outstanding civilian or military merits in time of war or peace, made for the glory and benefit of the Belarusian People".

[2] In 1950, several Belarusian anti-Soviet partisans including Michał Vituška were awarded by decree of President Mikola Abramchyk.

On 24 March 2024, the Rada BNR renewed the awardings by granting the title of Member of the Order of the Pahonia to former leader of the Belarusian Popular Front Zianon Pazniak and Nobel Peace Prize winner and political prisoner Ales Bialiatski, as well as to four persons whose names were not disclosed for security reasons.

Since 2022, President Ivonka Survilla has awarded several Belarusian political prisoners with the Order of the Pahonia Medal.

Besides that, several Belarusian volunteer soldiers, who died fighting for Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War as well as protesters killed by the regime of Alyaksandr Lukashenka during the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests were awarded posthumously.