See Sources

Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country located in Southern Europe, with a population of approximately 11 million and a total area of 50,949 square miles. It is bordered by Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city and the official language is Greek. Greece is being the birthplace of the Olympic Games.

In the mid-15th century, the modern nation state of Greece emerged in 1830 following a war of independence. Ottoman and Turkish officials contributed to the death of several hundred thousand Asia Minor Greeks in 1914–1922. Following the catastrophic, the monarchy was abolished via a referendum in 1924 and the Second Hellenic Republic was declared. In World War II, the Greek Resistance, fought vehemently against the Nazis. After the liberation and the Allied victory over the Axis, Greece annexed the Dodecanese Islands from Italy and regained Western Thrace from Bulgaria. The country almost immediately descended into a bloody civil war until 1949. A democratic and republican constitution was promulgated on 11 June 1975 following a referendum which chose to not restore the monarchy. Greece was suffered greatly by the European sovereign debt crisis in the late-2000s. After the adoption of the euro, Greece had a big financial crisis.

The Order of the Redeemer was established by the Fourth National Assembly in 1829 and has remained the highest order of merit in Greece since its creation. Today, it is conferred upon Greek citizens for distinguished service in the Navy, the Army, and the diplomatic and judicial corps, as well as for outstanding service rendered to public service and administration, agriculture, industry, commerce, arts, and science, or for any other outstanding contributions to the nation.