The Ordre du Mérite saharien (Saharan Order of Merit) was established in 1958 as a reward for social, scientific, economic or administrative services rendered by French or foreign persons who participated in the development of Sahara

Sahara

The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...

n regions. The medal is fashioned in the form of the Agades cross, a traditional emblem of the Tuareg clans of the Sultanate of Agadez

Sultanate of Agadez

The Sultanate of Agadez is a traditional polity of the Aïr region centered in the city of Agadez, at the southern edge of the Sahara Desert in north central Niger. It was founded in 1449 by the Tuareg, then conquered by the Songhai Empire in 1500. After the defeat of Songhai in 1591, the sultanate...

, surrounding modern Agadez

Agadez

-Sources:* Aboubacar Adamou. "Agadez et sa région. Contribution à l'étude du Sahel et du Sahara nigériens", Études nigériennes, n°44, , 358 p.* Julien Brachet. Migrations transsahariennes. Vers un désert cosmopolite et morcelé . Paris: Le Croquant, , 324 p. ISBN : 978-2-91496865-2.*. Saudi Aaramco...

, Niger

Niger

Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...

.

The order was deprecated by decree on 3 December 1963, and superseded by the Ordre National du Mérite

Ordre National du Mérite

The Ordre national du Mérite is an Order of State awarded by the President of the French Republic. It was founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle...

. Extant members of the order are permitted to wear their original decorations.