Order of the Sun of Peru

The Order of the Sun of Peru (Spanish: Orden El Sol del Perú), formerly known as the Order of the Sun, is the highest award bestowed by the nation of Peru to commend notable civil and military merit.

The imagery of the sun is associated with Inti, the Incan sun god and believed ancestor of the ruler to the Incan Empire once ruled over Peru.

[1] The Order was originally instituted on 8 October 1821 by General José de San Martín upon reaching Lima, to recognize those who had distinguished themselves in the campaign against the Spanish Royalists.

The Congress issued a law abolishing the Order of the Sun on 9 May 1825.

In 1921, the Order was re-established to commemorate the Centennial of Peruvian Independence.

Certificate confirming that the Order of the Sun of Peru was conferred on Ernesto Burzagli in the name of the President of the Peruvian Republic in 1924.
U.S. First Lady Pat Nixon is awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun for her efforts to deliver relief supplies after an earthquake in 1970. At left is Peruvian First Lady Consuelo Velasco ; at right is the Peruvian Ambassador to the United States.