In Hamburg, accepting a state decoration has long been considered improper for those in public office. The rule goes back to Hamburg city law of the 13th century. Today it is called Hanseatische Ablehnung, the Hanseatic refusal. It is still frowned upon among senators, members of the city parliament and public employees. Bremen’s Senate recorded the same custom in 1893. Helmut Schmidt, a former Hamburg senator, declined the Federal Order of Merit in 1968 in keeping with this tradition. He declined it several more times later.