The
Order of Liberty, or
Freedom, is a Portuguese honorific civil
order that distinguishes relevant services to the cause of democracy and freedom, in the defense of the values of civilization and human dignity. The order was created in 1976, after the
Carnation Revolution of 1974 in which the quasi-
fascist authoritarian
Estado Novo regime of
António de Oliveira Salazar and
Marcello Caetano was deposed . The Grand Collar can also be given by the
President of Portugal to former Heads of State and others whose deeds are of an extraordinary nature and particular relevance to Portugal, to making them worthy of such distinction.