The Order Nichan el-Anouar (fr. Ordre du Nichan el-Anouar) was founded in October 1887 by the Sultan of Tadjoura Hamed ben Mohamed as a military and civil merit order. By decrees of the French President Félix Faure on May 10th and 23rd, 1896, the order was incorporated into the French order system as the so-called Colonial Order.
With the foundation of the French Order of National Merit, the awarding of the Order of Nichan el-Anouar was discontinued in 1963.
Order classes
The order consists of five classes
• Grand Cross
• Grand Officer
• Commander
• Officer
• Knight
After it was adopted into the French order system, conditions were attached to the award of the order. Accordingly, the person to be honored had to be able to prove that they had served at least three years in the French colonies on the east coast of Africa and Central Africa, or that they had made special contributions to these colonies in the French metropolis.
On July 14, 1933, the statutes were changed so that in order to be awarded the award, people had to be 29 years old and have completed at least nine years of colonial service.
Order decoration
The order's emblem is a ten-pointed star hanging from a royal crown. Small golden five-pointed stars can be seen between the star arms. In the blue enameled medallion, which is surrounded by a red enameled circlet with the Arabic inscription Nichan el-Anouar, a silver five-pointed star.
Carrying method
The way the order was worn was based on the Legion of Honor. The Grand Cross was worn on a sash from the right shoulder to the left hip and with an enlarged medal as a breast star on the left side of the chest. Grand officers decorated the award on the ribbon on the left side of the chest with a rosette and a breast star on the right side of the chest. Commanders wore the decoration as a neck medal. Officers and knights wore the award on a ribbon on the left side of the chest. Officers also have a rosette on the ribbon.
The ribbon was originally red with a black central stripe and a blue-white edge stripe. Since the similarity to the red ribbon of the Legion of Honor was too great, it was decided on December 5, 1899 to use a blue ribbon with a wide white central stripe.
