Politicians and heads of state •
Halla Tómasdóttir (current President of
Iceland) •
Guðni Th. Jóhannesson (former President of
Iceland) •
Guðni Ágústsson (former Minister of Agriculture) •
Jóhannes Jóhannesson (First Chairman of the order council) •
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (former President of Iceland) •
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (former president of Iceland; first popularly elected female president in the world) •
Lennart Meri (former President of
Estonia) •
Dalia Grybauskaitė (former President of
Lithuania) •
Alexander Stubb (President of
Finland) •
Sauli Niinistö (former President of
Finland) •
Tarja Halonen (former President of Finland) •
Martti Ahtisaari (former President of Finland) •
Mauno Koivisto (former President of Finland) •
Urho Kekkonen (former President of Finland) •
Juho Kusti Paasikivi (former President of Finland) •
Kyösti Kallio (former President of Finland) •
Frank-Walter Steinmeier (current President of
Germany) •
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (Awarded 1963), Royal Consort of
Elizabeth II •
Elizabeth II (former Queen of the
United Kingdom and the other
Commonwealth realms) Awarded in 1963 • Princess
Beatrix of the Netherlands •
Carl XVI Gustav (King of
Sweden) •
Silvia (Queen of
Sweden) •
Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden •
Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland •
Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland •
Princess Sofia, Duchess of Värmland •
Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland •
Christopher O'Neill •
Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson •
Albert II (former King of
Belgium) •
Juan Carlos I of Spain (former King of
Spain) •
Sofía (former Queen of
Spain) •
Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo •
Infanta Cristina of Spain •
Margrethe II (former Queen of
Denmark) •
Frederik X (King of
Denmark) •
Mary (Queen of
Denmark) •
Prince Joachim of Denmark •
Princess Marie of Denmark •
Princess Benedikte of Denmark •
Harald V (King of
Norway) •
Sonja (Queen of
Norway) •
Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway •
Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway •
Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway •
Princess Märtha Louise of Norway •
Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner •
Janis Johnson (Canadian Senator, Manitoba) Awarded 2000 •
Lisa Murkowski (United States Senator, Alaska)
Artists and entertainers •
Björk Guðmundsdóttir (singer, songwriter), 1997 •
Helga Bachmann (actress) •
Ragga Gísla (singer, composer, actor), 2012 •
Ólöf Pálsdóttir (sculptor), 1970 •
Steinunn Thorarinsdottir (sculptor) •
Vladimir Ashkenazy (pianist, conductor) •
Stefán Karl Stefánsson (actor, singer), 2018 •
Edda Björgvinsdóttir (actress), 2018 •
Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir (actress), 2023 •
Erling Bløndal Bengtsson (cellist) •
Brad Leithauser (writer, poet, scholar), awarded 2005. •
Victor Borge (Børge "Victor" Rosenbaum) (concert pianist, entertainer) •
Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson, Icelandic composer, awarded 1993. •
Jónas Jónasson (composer, radio host), 2006 •
Páll Ísólfsson (organist, composer, radio host), 1940 •
Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir (singer-songwriter), 2026
Scholars •
George P. L. Walker (Volcanologist) •
Andrew Wawn (Philologist) •
Thorbergur Thorvaldson, cement chemist, awarded 1939. •
Unnur Anna Valdimarsdóttir, Professor of Epidemiology, University of Iceland, awarded 2023. •
A. R. Taylor, Professor of medieval English, Old Norse and modern Icelandic Studies, University of Leeds, awarded 1963 •
Rory McTurk, Professor of Icelandic Studies, University of Leeds, awarded 2007 •
Mark Watson, archaeologist, dog breeder and benefactor, awarded 1965 •
William Paton Cleland (Surgeon) •
Anders Grubb, Professor of Clinical Chemistry, University of Lund, awarded 2007 for research on Icelandic hereditary diseases •
John Lindow, Professor Emeritus of Old Norse and Folklore at University of California, Berkeley, awarded 2018 for scholarly contributions in the area of Icelandic medieval literature. •
Carol J. Clover,
Professor of
Medieval Studies (Early Northern Europe) and American Film at the
University of California, Berkeley. •
Lee M. Hollander, translator of Kierkegaard and academic. •
John T. Casteen III, educator, awarded 2022 for his contribution to cultural exchange and support for students in Iceland and the United States. •
Sigrún Árnadóttir, awarded the Knight's Cross for the translation of several books to
Icelandic including
Alfie Atkins and for her contributions to Icelandic children's culture. •
George P. L. Walker (Volcanologist) •
Margrét Bjarnadóttir, for her research and "transformative approach to pay equity"
Other •
Friðrik Skúlason (computer scientist), 2018 •
Guðmundur Kjærnested (Commander, Icelandic Coast Guard) •
Iceland men's national handball team (Silver medalists in
handball at the
2008 Summer Olympics) •
Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson (chief
goði of the
Ásatrúarfélagið), 2018 •
Monika Helgadóttir (farmer), 1953 •
Orri Vigfússon (Chairman of the North Atlantic Salmon Fund) •
Sunna Olafson Furstenau (Founder/Pres Icelandic Roots; Þjóðræknisfélag Ísland, INL in USA & Canada), 2017 •
Anna Kisselgoff (Columbia Univ.) Awarded 2002 •
David Architzel (Vice Admiral, US Navy) •
James L. Kauffman, Vice-admiral during World War II •
John W. White, USAF General, Commander
Iceland Defense Force •
William S. Key, Major General during World War II •
Pike Ward, fisherman who started and developed the Icelandic fishing industry, awarded 1936 •
Sir Arthur Young, police officer •
Beverly Arason-Gaudet, (President, Icelandic National League of North America), 2019 •
Antti Tuuri (Writer) translated some Icelandic
sagas •
Koča Popović (Colonel General,
YPA) •
Signy Stefansson Eaton, socialite and philanthropist of Icelandic descent •
Leonor Beleza, lawyer, former Minister of Health and 1st President of the
Champalimaud Foundation ==Notes==