List of bearers of the Great Federal Cross of Merit

This list shows the bearers of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany at the Grand Cross of Merit level with brief personal details.

A.

Nermin Abadan-Unat , scientist (1979)
Theodor Acker , railway worker (1964)
August Adenauer , lawyer (1952)
Mario Adorf , actor (2001)
Adolf Ahrens , entrepreneur and politician (1969)
Hans Albers , actor (1960)
Hermann Aldinger , General (1966)
Gerhardt Alleweldt , viticulture expert (1995)
Axel von Ambesser , author, director, actor (1985)
Armgard von Alvensleben , Abbess and General Manager of the Evangelical German Railway Mission (1959)
Alois Ammerschläger , entrepreneur (1990)
Stefan Andres , writer (1958)
Matthias Andresen , politician (CDU) (1968)
Thomas Andresen , politician (CDU) (1968)
Otto Appel , Phytomedicist (1952)
Carl-Christian Arfsten , politician (CDU) (1957)
Gottfried Arnold , politician (CDU) (2008)
Albrecht Aschoff , politician (FDP) (1971)
Rudolf Augstein , publisher (1997)

B.

Egon Bahr , politician (SPD) (1973)

Arnulf Baring , publicist (2011)

Heinrich Bartmann , architect and university professor (1965)

Friedrich von Bassermann-Jordan , viticulture historian (1952)

Walter Albert Bauer , entrepreneur (1961)

Reinhold Michael Baumstark , art historian and museum director (2011)

Augustin Cardinal Bea , Curia Cardinal (1954)

Hans-Georg Beck , Byzantinist and theologian (1981)

Franz Beckenbauer , soccer player and sports official (2006)

Margarita von Boch , founder of Kinderhilfe e. V. Saar (2016)

Erich Becker , civil engineer and manager (1980)

Karl Eugen Becker , engineer (1998)

Otto Beisheim , businessman and entrepreneur (1994)

Else Beitz , educationalist (2012)

Richard Benz , Germanist and writer (1959)

Herbert Berg , chemist (1968)

Heiner Berger , City Director of Aachen (1996)

Eduard Bergmann , entrepreneur and honorary consul (1966)

Karl Bergmann , politician (SPD) (1968)

Heinrich Berndl , politician (1957)

Fritz Beske , health politician (2012)

Hans Beutz , politician (1972)

Richard Bieling , physician and university professor (1958)

Wolf Biermann , songwriter and poet (2007)

Stephan Billinger , politician (Bavarian Party) (1957)

Hermann Bitter , politician (1969)

Peter Heinrich von Blanckenhagen , German-American archaeologist and art historian (1981)

Sepp Blatter , Swiss football official (2006)

Herbert Blomstedt , conductor (2003)

Hans Erhard Bock , physician and university professor (1973)

Peter Boenisch , journalist (2003)

Philipp Freiherr von Boeselager , resistance fighter, forest association official (1989)

Rolf Böhme , Lord Mayor of Freiburg im Breisgau (2005)

Rudolf Bohnstedt , dermatologist (1968)

Curt Bois , actor (1991)

Helmut Bonheim English studies and university professor

Gustav Borgner , member of the consumer cooperative (1954)

Kurt Boysen , politician and lawyer (2005)

Rolf Boysen , actor (2009)

Alexander von Branca , architect and home curator (1999)

Bruno O. Braun , engineer and manager (2015)

Leo Brawand , journalist (1988)

Hellmut Bredereck , chemist and university professor, reformer and founder (1969)

Theo Breider , writer (1981)

Andrea Breth , theater director (2015)

Julius Bretz , painter (1953)

Joseph Breuer , politician (1951)

Herbert Britz , medical officer, politician

Christoph Broelsch , physician (2004)

Elmar Brok , politician (2009)

Dietrich Bruckmann , entrepreneur (1955)

Martin Brüns , politician (1966)

Margarete Buber-Neumann , publicist (1980)

Ignatz Bubis , Chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany (1996)

Emil Bücherl , cardiac surgeon (1984)

Carl-Ernst Büchting , agricultural scientist and entrepreneur (1991)

Dorothea Buck , author, sculptor and activist of the movement for those with experience in psychiatry (2008)

Wilhelm Bühler , politician and district administrator (1989)

Hans-Jörg Bullinger , ergonomist (2006)

Hubert Burda , art historian and publisher (2002)

Alfred Burgemeister , politician (1968)

C.

Raban Freiherr von Canstein , Brigadier General (1966)
Jose Carreras , opera singer (2004)
Karl Christoffel , politician (CDU) (1959)
August Claas , entrepreneur (1957)
Josef Clemens , Titular Bishop, Secretary of the Pontifical Lay Council (2007)
Hedwig Conrad-Martius , philosopher (1958)
Albert Coppenrath , Catholic pastor
Fritz Corterier , politician (SPD) (1968)
Johann Cramer , politician (SPD) (1968)
Alfred Colsman , engineer and manager (1953)

D.

Heinz Dabelow , politician (1998)

Heinz Dähnhardt , journalist (1968)

Gustav Dahrendorf , consumer cooperative and SPD politician (1954)

Werner Danz , politician (FDP) (1982)

Carola Dauber , politician (SPD) (1969)

Karl Otto Dehnert , politician in Wuppertal (1984)

Heinz-Horst Deichmann , entrepreneur (2000)

Peter Demetz , literary scholar (1984)

Johann Josef Demmel , Bishop of the Old Catholic Church (1955)

Reinhard Demoll , German zoologist (1954)

Harro Dicks , opera director (1992)

Erika Dienstl , sports official (1996)

Carsten Diercks , TV journalist and technician (1985)

Karl Diller , politician (1987)

Stefan Dittrich , politician (CSU) (1968)

Otto Dix , artist (1959)

Carl Djerassi , chemist and writer (2003)

Otto Dockhorn , politician (1985)

Peter Dörfler , priest, children's home director and writer (1953)

Willi Döring , politician (CDU)

Günter Dörner , endocrinologist and sexologist (2002)

Hansjürgen Doss , architect (2007)

Hans Heinrich Driftmann , Entrepreneur (2013)

Joachim Dudeck , medical IT specialist (2004)

Hans-Peter Dürr , atomic physicist, winner of the Alternative Nobel Prize (2004)

E.

Fritz Eichbauer , building contractor (1993)
Otto K. Eitel , hotel manager of German descent in Chicago (1953)
Norbert Elias , German-Jewish sociologist, philosopher and poet (1986)
José Luis Encarnação , computer scientist (2006)
Engelbert Engel , Catholic priest (1960)
Wolf von Engelhardt , geologist and mineralogist (1985)
Heinz Erhardt , entertainer and comedian (1979)
Gerhard Ertl , physicist, Nobel laureate in chemistry (1992)

F.

Georg Fahrbach , Chairman of the Swabian Alb Association (1959)

Joseph Fassbender , painter and graphic artist (1964)

Giora Feidman , clarinetist (2001)

Ludwig E. Feinendegen , radiation medicine specialist (1994)

Joseph Ferche , Auxiliary Bishop of Breslau and Cologne (1958)

Benjamin Ferencz , Chief Prosecutor of the Nuremberg Trials (2010)

Norbert Fischer , lawyer and bank manager (1993)

Günther Fielmann , entrepreneur (2016)

Eugen Flegler , electrical engineer and university lecturer (1977)

August Flender , economist (1968)

Noah Flug , President International Auschwitz Committee (2006)

Elisabeth Flickenschildt , actress (1975)

Friedrich Förster , physicist (1976)

Albert H. Friedlander , Rabbi (1993)

Johannes Frömming , trotting athlete (1972)

Franklin Clark Fry , theologian (1953)

Wilhelm Fucks , physicist (1985)

G

Lothar Gaa , President of the State Parliament of Baden-Württemberg (1981)
Hans Wilhelm Gäb , communications consultant, honorary president of the German Table Tennis Association (2006)
Georg Gaßmann , Lord Mayor of Marburg (1972)
Gerhard Gaul , National Socialist judge, politician (1972)
Karl Geiler , politician and university professor (1952)
Ingeborg Geisendörfer , politician (CSU) (1968)
Wolfgang von Geldern , politician (CDU), parliamentary state secretary and lawyer (1990)
Manfred Gentz , Industry Manager (2002)
Arthur Georgi , bookseller and co-owner of Paul Parey Verlag (1957)
Rudolf Georgi , bookseller and co-owner of Paul Parey Verlag (1954)
Ernst Geprägs , farmer, association official and politician (CDU) (1997)
Rudolf-Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff , Major General, Founding President of Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe (1979)
Alexander Gerst , astronaut (2019)
Ralph Giordano , author (2009)
Helmuth von Glasenapp , Indologist and religious scholar, university lecturer (1961)
Michael Glos , politician (1996)
Ernst O. Göbel , physicist (2010)
Reinhard Goerdeler , lawyer and auditor (1994)
Rose Götte , politician (1987)
Franz Grave , auxiliary bishop emeritus in Essen (2010)
Hannelore Greve , entrepreneur (2008)
Claus Grimm , Vice President of the Federal Fiscal Court (1990)
Will Grohmann , art historian (1960)
Siegfried Großmann , physicist, co-founder of chaos theory (1996)
Wilhelm Groth , chemist, physical chemi (1970)
Bernhard Grzimek , zoologist and animal filmmaker (1969)
Erich Gutenberg , economist (1968)

H

Joseph Haas , composer (1952)
Karl-Otto Habermehl , doctor and virologist (1996)
Otto von Habsburg , German-Austrian politician (1987)
Klaus Hackert , skilled crafts official and local politician (2005)
Werner Hagedorn , trade unionist (1995)
Max Hagemann , President of the Federal Criminal Police Office (1952)
Karl Hahn , politician (CDU) (1968)
Werner Hahn , politician (CDU) (1982)
Oron J. Hale , American historian (1969)
Julius Hallervorden , brain researcher (1956)
Gail Halvorsen , American Air Force pilot during the Berlin Airlift (1974)
Heinrich Hamacher , politician (SPD) (1965)
Oscar Hanke , District Administrator (1970)
Hans Carl Graf von Hardenberg , diplomat (1969)
Franz Hartnagel , politician (CDU) and district administrator (1985)
Otto Eduard Hasse , actor, director and voice actor (1974)
Friedrich Haux , manufacturer and politician (1952)
Gustav Haydn , tailor, association official and politician (1966)
Hermann Hecht , shipping entrepreneur (1956)
Erich Heckel , painter (1956)
Johannes Freiherr Heereman , lawyer and Maltese (2008)
Hans Hege , farmer (1960)
Lothar Heffter , mathematician (1957)
Gerhard Heilfurth , folklorist (1959)
Walter Heinemeyer , historian (1983)
Herbert Helmrich , lawyer and politician (CDU) (1996)
Gotthilf Hempel , marine biologist (1993)
Wilhelm Henke , theologian (1958)
Werner Hennig , lawyer and judge (1968)
Dieter Henrich , lawyer (2003)
Dietrich Henschler , toxicologist (1975)
Hans Werner Henze , composer (2008)
Josef Herberger , football coach (1967)
Reinhard Herbig , classical archaeologist (1958)
Heinrich Hermelink , church historian (1953)
Hans Hertlein , architect (1957)
Karl Maria Hettlage , lawyer and finance scientist, politician, organizer of the so-called Berlin renting of Jews (1967)
Werner Heuser , painter (1955)
Regine Hildebrandt , politician (SPD) (2001)
Hermann Hoepke , doctor (1959)
Karl Hofer , painter (1953)
Werner Höfer , journalist (1973)
Hans Hoffmann , Mayor of Neckarsulm and Lord Mayor of Heilbronn (SPD) (1983)
Hilmar Hoffmann , Head of Cultural Affairs (1990)
Antonius Hofmann , 82nd Bishop of Passau (1979)
Otto Höhne , sports official (2001)
Thomas Holtzmann , actor (2009)
Hermann Honnef , civil engineer, inventor, wind power pioneer (1952)
Dietmar Hopp , entrepreneur (2010)
Karl Hoppe , Germanist and university lecturer (1968)
Karl Horn , Lord Mayor of Bad Homburg (CDU) (1958)
Diether Hummel , President of the Association of German Sektkellereien, Honorary President of the Wiesbaden Chamber of Commerce and Industry (1969)
Friedrich Hund , physicist (1965)
Hanns Dieter Hüsch , cabaret artist (1998)

I.

Joseph Illerhaus , politician (CDU) and association official
Leo Imhoff , restaurateur and association official (1987)
Roland Issen , politician (SPD) and trade unionist (1994)
Otmar Issing , Economist, Member of the Board of Directors of the European Central Bank (2006)

J

Walter Jacob , President of the Abraham Geiger College at the University of Potsdam (1998)
Werner Jacobi , politician (1968)
Alfred Jahn , pediatric surgeon (2009)
Johann Janßen , Lord Mayor of Wilhelmshaven (1970)
Hans-Heinrich Jescheck , lawyer (1984)
Hanns Jess , detective and intelligence service (1955)
Lennart Johansson , sports official (2005)
Paul Jostock , President of the State Statistical Office of Baden-Württemberg (1962)
Peter Junge , Manager (1999)
Gottfried Jungmichel , politician (1972)
Erwin Jürgens , politician (CDU) (1967)

K

Georg Kalkbrenner , politician (1954)
Hugo Karpf , politician (1965)
Margot Käßmann , State Bishop (2008)
Rudolf Kassel , classical philologist (2003)
Walter Kempowski , writer (1996)
Gerhard Kessler , economist and social scientist (1953)
Gottfried Kiesow , Chairman of the Board of the German Foundation for Monument Protection (2000)
Hans Kindermann , sculptor and university rector (1978)
Theodor Klauser , Catholic theologian, science organizer (1954)
Josef Kleffner , politician (CDU) (1963)
Herbert Kleinherne , mining engineer
Hans Kleinschmidt , pediatrician (1955)
Helmut Klotz , opera singer and choir director (2005)
Alexander Kluge , author and filmmaker (2007)
Wolfgang Klüpfel , Sparkasse Manager (1984)
Nikolaus Knauf , Honorary Consul, Managing Partner (2007)
Arnold Knoblauch , architect (1953)
Charlotte Knobloch , President of the Israelite Religious Community (2008)
Karl-Heinz Koch , politician (1989)
Willi Koch , politician (1965)
Wilhelm Köhler , entrepreneur
Teddy Kollek , Israeli politician (1998)
Willy Könen , politician (SPD) (1968)
Otto Konz , hydraulic engineer (1951)
Bernhard Kötting , Catholic theologian, science officer (1980)
Viktor de Kowa , theater and film actor, chanson singer, director, storyteller and comedy poet (1972)
Herbert Kraus , legal scholar (1957)
Albert Krebs , judicial officer (1965)
Ernst Kretschmer , psychiatrist (1958)
Anastassios Kriekoukis , diplomat
Herbert Krimm , theologian (1976)
Hardy Krüger , film actor and writer (2009)
Horst Krüger , General (1973)
Friedrich Kühn , politician (CDU) (1968)
Elsie Kühn-Leitz , lawyer and patron (1984)
Walter Künneth , Lutheran theologian (1966)
Hans-Georg Kuhn , trade unionist (1994)
Reiner Kunze , writer (1993)
Georg Kurlbaum , politician (SPD) (1968)
Karl Kurz , entrepreneur (1967)

L.

Friedrich Lademann , tram engineer (1955)
Manfred Lahnstein , politician (2007)
Wolfram Langer , economist (1969)
Ilse Langner , writer (1981)
Ronald Lauder , American entrepreneur, President of the World Jewish Congress (2015)
Ernst Lechner , politician and "father" of the Franconian Lake District
Karl Cardinal Lehmann , Bishop of Mainz, Chairman of the German Bishops' Conference (1988)
Klaus-Dieter Lehmann , President of the Goethe Institute (2011)
Berthold Leibinger , inventor, entrepreneur and patron (2007)
Lotte Lemke , welfare worker and chairwoman of the workers' welfare organization (1963)
Karl Heinz Lemmrich , engineer and politician (CSU) (1983)
Hans Lenk , philosopher and rower (2005)
Felix Lesser , judge (1957)
Karl Magnus Graf Leutrum von Ertingen , farmer and politician (2008)
Hans Liebherr , master bricklayer, inventor, company founder (1986)
Gotthilf Link , farmer and politician (1988)
Hanns-Gero von Lindeiner , forester, hunter, diplomat and politician
Fritz Lindner , biochemist (1967)
Maria Lipp , chemist (1962)
Wilfried Lochte , engineer (2006)
Steffen Lorenz , manager and IHK chairman (1992)
Gerhard Löwenstein , doctor (1980)
Heinrich Lübke , politician (1957)
Marie-Elisabeth Lüders , politician (1952)
Irene Ludwig , patroness (1992)
Karl-Heinz Ludwig , lawyer (1987)
Werner Ludwig , Lord Mayor of Ludwigshafen (1990)
Otto Lummitzsch , founder of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (1955)
Arno Lustiger , historian (2009)

M.

Georg Mack , politician (CSU) (1965)
Albrecht Magen , politician (2004)
Franz Magnis-Suseno , theologian (2001)
Karl Maier , judge (1977)
Karl Mailänder , Welfare Officer (1960)
Ernst Majonica , politician (CDU) (1968)
Walter Mallmann , politician (CDU) (2014)
Siegfried Mampel , lawyer (1983)
Kurt Mantel , forest scientist (1970)
Konrad Manthey , Major General (1988)
Andrei Marga , Romanian politician (2003)
Eugen Theodor Martin , entrepreneur and founder (2007)
Siegfried Maruhn , journalist (1975)
Siegfried Matthus , composer (2015)
Alexander Matting , engineer and university professor (1968)
Kurt Mattick , politician (SPD) (1968)
Helmut Maucher , Manager (1988)
Agnes Katharina Maxsein , politician (CDU) (1968)
Otto Meitinger , architect and university professor
Heinrich G. Merkel , newspaper and book publisher (1964)
Volker ter Meulen , physician (2008)
Reinhard Metz , Mayor of Bremen (1999)
Hans Joachim Meyer , politician (2005)
Hugo Meyer-Delius , pediatrician (1962)
Herta Meyer-Riekenberg , trade unionist (1971)
Klaus Miehlke , internist (1999)
Robert Minder , French literary scholar (1962)
Ludger Mintrop , geophysicist (1955)
Willy Minz , economist (1967)
Ladislao Mittner , Italian Germanist (1957)
Liz Mohn , publisher (2010)
Heinz Mohnen , lawyer and city director of Cologne
Robert Mohrhoff , Head of the Lower Saxony State Chancellery
Wolfgang A. Mommsen , historian, President of the Federal Archives Koblenz (1972)
Hans-Jürgen Moog , local politician (2003)
Eberhard Müller , Pastor and Managing Director of the Evangelical Academy Bad Boll (1971)
Friedrich Müller , politician (SPD) (1976)
Heinrich Müller , politician (SPD)
Nikolaus Müller , Lord Mayor of the City of Augsburg (1956)
Werner Müller , politician (2010)
Maximilian Müller-Jabusch , journalist and writer (1954)
Karl Münchinger , conductor (1955)

N

Estrongo Nachama , Chief Cantor of the Jewish Community in Berlin (1995)

Max Näder , entrepreneur (1970)

Hartmut Nassauer , politician (2006)

John Neumeier , choreographer (2011)

Hedwig Neven DuMont , publisher's wife (2006)

Ernst Niermann , Military Vicar General of the German Military Ordinary (1995)

Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann , pollster (1976)

Leo Nowak , Former Bishop of Magdeburg (2007)

Friedrich Nowottny , journalist (1986)

Heinz-Josef Nüchel , politician (2001)

Robert Nünighoff , Director, President of the Wetzlar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (1968)

O

Dieter Oberndörfer , political scientist and university lecturer (1994)
Dietrich Oppenberg , publisher (1977)
Oscar Orth , doctor (1957)

P

Rüdiger von Pachelbel , diplomat

Rudi-Karl Pahnke , theologian (2010)

Pietro Parolin , Italian Archbishop and Vatican Diplomat (2009)

Joseph Pascher , Catholic theologian and advisor to the Second Vatican Council

Friedrich Pauwels , orthopedist and biomechanic (1962)

Alfred Petersen , Bishop for the Schleswig District (1978)

Filippos Petsalnikos , Greek politician (2009)

Herbert Petzold , lawyer (2002)

Nikolaus Pevsner , art historian (1967)

Sigrid Peyerimhoff , chemist (2008)

Kurt Pfeiffer , initiator of the Charlemagne Prize of the City of Aachen (1981)

Rudolf Pichlmayr , transplant doctor (1995)

Edmund Piszcz , Old Archbishop of Warmia (2004)

Wilhelm Pitz , choirmaster and conductor (1967)

Hippolyt Poschinger von Frauenau , entrepreneur, forest manager and politician (1968)

Franz Pöggeler , pedagogue and university professor (1986)

Max Pohlenz , classical philologist (1955)

Paul-Günter Pötz , Ministerial Director (1988)

Alfred Prang (1887–1967), Ministerial Officer (1957)

Marek Prawda , Polish Ambassador (2012)

Werner Premauer , bank manager (1972)

Hermann Prey , baritone (1981)

Marian Przykucki , Archbishop of Szczecin (2006)

Hans Puvogel , politician (1973)

Q

Fazu Qiu , Chinese surgeon (1985)
Johanna Quandt , industrialist's wife (2009)
Thomas Quasthoff , singer (bass-baritone) (2005)

R.

Franz Radziwill , painter (1971)
Elgar von Randow , diplomat (1968)
Alfred Rauch , engineer and politician (1963)
Dietrich Rauschning , lawyer and political scientist (2006)
Georg Ress , university professor (2008)
Eva Gabriele Reichmann , historian (1983)
Hans Reinauer , physician (2004)
Edgar Reitz , film director (2006)
Stefie Restle , politician (1967)
Franz Riemer , priest (1953)
Fritz Rettig , trade unionist (1966)
Gustav Rheinberger , entrepreneur (1954)
Wilhelm Rieger , economist (1957)
Fritz Ries , industrialist (1967)
Ernst Theodor Rietschel , chemist (2010)
Günter Rinsche , politician (CDU) (1999)
Gerhard A. Ritter , historian (2008)
Rudi Rohlmann , politician (1982)
Wilhelm Rohwedder , politician (1964)
Otto Rombach , writer and journalist (1964)
Wilhelm Rombach , administrative lawyer (1952)
Walter Rösch , lawyer (1969)
Josef Rösing , politician (CDU) (1968)
Eugen Roth , poet (1965)
Georg Rückert , founder of the Collegium Augustinum (1974)
Bruno Rühl , politician (1986)
Josef Rudnick , entrepreneur and politician (1993)
Heinz Rühmann , actor (1966)
Reinhard Rürup , historian (2010)
Jürgen Rüttgers , politician (CDU) (1997)

S.

Jerzy Samiec , Polish theologian and bishop (2018)

Horst von Sanden , mathematician and university professor (1957)

Gerd Sandstede , chemist (2005)

Fritz singer , journalist and politician (1969)

Dieter Schäfer , historian (2002)

Hans Schaefer , doctor (1975)

Arthur Scharmann , physicist (1993)

Fritz W. Scharpf , legal and political scientist (2004)

Josef Schaub , newspaper publisher (1959)

Wolfgang Schäuble , politician (CDU) (1991)

Lothar Scheche , lawyer (1955)

Harald Schering , physicist (1957)

Otto Schily , lawyer, politician (2004)

Annemarie Schimmel , Islamic scholar (1989)

Nora Schimming-Chase , politician (1997)

Otto Schlenzka , sports official (1984)

Willy Schleunung , Bavarian Senator (1982)

Anton Schlueter (Entrepreneur) (1987)

Max Schmeling , boxer (1971)

Heinrich Schmidhuber , MdL, President of the Bavarian Savings Banks and Giro Association (2007)

Peter Schmidhuber , politician (CSU), EU commissioner (1982)

August Schmid-Lindner , composer and university lecturer (1953)

Albrecht Schmidt , lawyer and bank manager (2000)

Gerhard Schmidt , founder (2007)

Guido Schmidt , Judge at the Federal Court of Justice (1958)

Konrad Schmidt-Torner , President of Bundesdruckerei (1972)

Matthias Schmitt , national economist (1974)

Karl Schmitt-Walter , opera and lieder singer (1960)

Günter Schmölders , economist (1969)

Karl Schnabel , politician (2005)

Hans Karl Schneider , economist (1996)

Paul Schneider-Esleben , architect (1987)

Wolfgang Schneiderhan , General Inspector of the Bundeswehr (2009)

Arno Scholz , publisher (1964)

Franz Schramm , politician (1952)

Franz Schriewer , librarian (1959)

Ernst Schröder , garden architect and politician (DVP, FDP) (1953)

Manfred Schubert (lawyer) , administrative lawyer (1968)

Wolfgang Schulhoff , politician (CDU) (2007)

Rudolf Schulten , nuclear technologist (1989)

Erich Schulze , board member of GEMA (1978)

Johannes Schulze , theologian, state superintendent (1968)

Hubert Schulze-Pellengahr , politician, Member of the Bundestag (CDU) and District Administrator (1969)

Georg Schumann , pianist, composer, conductor, first recipient of the Great Cross of Merit (1951)

Annemarie Schuster , politician (CDU)

Max Schwarz , politician (SPD), Member of the Lower Saxony parliament (1969)

Fritz Schwerdtfeger , forest scientist and zoologist (1971)

Wilhelm Graf Schwerin von Schwanenfeld , farmer and forest manager, President of Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe (1998)

Richard Sedlmaier , art historian and university professor (1958)

Uwe Seeler , soccer player (1970)

Kurt Seelmann , entrepreneur (2008)

Hinrich Seidel , President of the University of Hanover (1990)

Ludwig Seiterich , District Administrator (1968)

Elisabeth Selbert , politician and lawyer (1958)

Christel Sembach-Krone , circus director (1999)

Josef Siedler , politician (1975)

Michael Siegel , lawyer (1971)

Johann Sierks , trade unionist and politician (1980)

Renée Sintenis , sculptor (1953)

Kurt Wilhelm Söldner , social association functionary (1999)

Siegfried Sorge , politician (SPD, FWG) and district administrator (1990)

Ernst Speer , psychiatrist (1959)

Karlheinz Spielmann , lawyer and public prosecutor (1979)

Günter Spielmeyer , Richter (1991)

Hermann Josef Spital , Bishop of Trier (1991)

Adolf Spotka , politician (2007)

Bernhard Sprengel , chocolate manufacturer (1959)

Klaus Staeck , poster artist (2007)

Hans-Georg Stemann , Bundeswehr Inspector (1971)

David Stetter , politician (SPD) and union leader (1952)

Günter Stock , Physiologist (2012)

Martin Storz , farmer, administrative officer and politician (1966)

Gustav Stratil-Sauer , Austrian geographer (1964)

Georg Strickrodt , politician (1978)

Hinrich Struve , Fire Brigade Association official (1994)

Georg Sturmowski , politician (CDU) (1990)

Michael Succow , biologist and agricultural scientist (2015)

Herbert Sulzbach , cultural officer in the Featherstone officers' camp

Ulf Sundberg , Swedish forest scientist (1974)

Walther Sundermeyer , administrative lawyer (1965)

T

Gustav Tauber , pharmacist (1968)

Meinhard Tenné , German-Israeli representative of Judaism (2015)

Jürgen Thee , politician (1968)

Josef Thesing , politician (2008)

Claus Thierschmann , Lieutenant General of the Bundeswehr

Rudolf Titzck , politician (1976)

Ernst Toch , composer (1958)

Klaus Töpfer , politician (1990)

Erich Topp , naval officer (1969)

Heinrich Traublinger , President of the Chamber of Crafts for Munich and Upper Bavaria, MdL (2007)

Thomas Treu , Chief Medical Officer of the Austrian Armed Forces (2009)

Hellmut Trute , business lawyer

U

Siegfried Unseld , publisher (1993)
Peter Ustinov , actor (1998)

V

Caterina Valente , singer and actress (1986)
Bruno Valentin , orthopedist and university professor (1965)
Josephus Joannes Maria van der Ven , Dutch lawyer (1976)
Miloslav Vlk , Czech clergyman, Archbishop of Prague (1999)
August Vochtel , engine driver (1953)

Wolfgang Voelkner , engineer and university lecturer (2005)

Günter Vogelsang , industry manager and business consultant (1989)

Antje Vollmer , politician (2005)

Martin Viessmann , entrepreneur (2017)

W.

Bernhard Wachowsky , pastor (1966)
Joseph Wagenbach , politician (CDU) (1963)
Georg Wagner , geologist and university professor
Ruth Wagner , politician (FDP) (2006)
Valentin Wallauer , politician (FDP) (1962)
Bernhard Walter , founder of the foundation for the reconstruction of the Dresden Frauenkirche (2007)
Fritz Walter , soccer player (1970)
Max Wartemann , politician (1971)
Helene Weber , politician (center, CDU) (1956)
Wilhelm Weber , Lord Mayor of Hanover (1954)
Ulrich Wegener , Brigadier General in the Federal Border Guard (1977)
Ernst Weisenfeld , journalist (2004)
Richard von Weizsäcker , politician (1975)
Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker , environmental scientist and politician (2009)
Herbert Welling , physicist (2010)
August Wenzel , football official (1982)
Herbert Werner , politician (CDU) (2007)
Hilde Westrick , medical doctor (1969)
Heinrich Wiesen , OLG President Düsseldorf (1993)
Martin Wiesend , Auxiliary Bishop of Bamberg (1987)
Klaus Wilkens , economist and honorary president of the Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft e. V. (2003)
Helmut Willmann , Lieutenant General (2001)
Thomas Wimmer , Mayor of Munich from 1948 to 1960 (1955)
Adolf Wingler , lawyer (1964)
Cuno Winkler , nuclear medicine specialist
Heinrich August Winkler , historian (2018)
Richard Winkler , entrepreneur (1959)
Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker , university professor, President of the German Research Foundation (2006)
August Winnig , writer (1955)
Friedrich Winter , politician (SPD) and district administrator (1964)
Albrecht Woeste , entrepreneur and sports official (2001)
Gabriele Wohmann , writer (1997)
Heinz Heinrich Anton Wolf , politician (CDU)
Notker Wolf , Benedictine Abbot (2007)
Hanns Egon Wörlen , architect (2007)
Hans-Georg Wormit , President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation
Franz Wosnitza , Catholic priest, committed to German-Polish reconciliation (1972)
Zhongbi Wu , Chinese pathologist (1986)
Heinrich Wullenhaupt , politician (CDU) (1968)

Y

Yun I-sang , Korean-German composer (1988)

Z

Peter Zadek , director (2002)
Arthur Zitscher , chemist (1954)
Manfred Zollner , entrepreneur (2010)
Walter Zuber , politician (2005)
Georg Zundel , physicist, entrepreneur and philanthropist engaged in peace politics (2003)