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| Order of Leopold Ordre de Léopold Leopoldsorde | |
|---|---|
 Order of Leopold (Civil Grand Cordon set of insignia) | |
Awarded by King of the Belgians | |
| Type | Order of Merit with five degrees |
| Established | 11 July 1832 |
| Motto | L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE - EENDRACHT MAAKT MACHT EINIGKEIT MACHT STARK (Union makes strength) (Unity Makes Strength) |
| Eligibility | Belgian and foreign citizens |
| Awarded for | meritorious service to the Belgian state or society |
| Status | Active |
| Grand Master | His MajestyKing Philippe |
| Grades |
|
| Statistics | |
| First induction | FrenchSapper Valentin Ausseil |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | None (highest) |
| Next (lower) | Order of the African Star |
 Ribbon (knight) | |
TheOrder of Leopold (Dutch:Leopoldsorde,French:Ordre de Léopold,German:Leopoldsorden) is one of the three currentBelgian national honoraryorders of knighthood. It is the oldest and highestorder of Belgium and is named in honour of its founder, KingLeopold I. It consists of a military, a maritime and a civil division. The maritime division is only awarded to personnel of the merchant navy, and the military division to military personnel. The decoration was established on 11 July 1832 and is awarded byRoyal decree.
When Belgium becameindependent of the Netherlands, there was an urgent need to create a national honour system that could serve as a diplomatic gift. The national congress provided this exclusive right to the sovereign, this military honour system was written in Article 76.[1]The first King of the Belgians,Leopold I of Belgium, used his constitutional right in a larger way than foreseen: not only military merit, but every service in honour of the Kingdom. Two years after the independence, the young King officially founded the dynastic Order of Leopold. The king approved the colour and grades both civil and military, and the official mottoL'Union fait la Force/Eendracht maakt Macht. In 1832 Felix de Merode had a design approved by the Chambers for military and civil merit. This system was adapted from other European countries. More specific, the Order of Leopold is based on the French honour tradition with 5 classes. On the 11th of June 1832 the law was promulgated, and the exact colours were defined; Article 2: "Le ruban sera ponceau moiré". The devise was presented in the 3rd article:L'union fait la Force.
| Wedding Gifts, Order of Leopold.[2] | 1832[3] | 1853[4] | 1857[5] | 1867[6] | 1881[7] | 1900[8] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Cordons | 1 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 20 | 15 |
| Grand Officers | / | 1 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 6 |
| Commanders | 5 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 19 | 10 |
| Officers | 6 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 19 | 3 |
| Knights | 4 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 30 | 20 |
| Total | 16 | 19 | 22 | 38 | 95 | 54 |
The Belgian court often used theGrand Cordon as a valuable diplomatic gift. However, in the 2nd half of the 19th century, the court also used it as a dynastic order to bestow on family members during major family celebrations. The founder gave his French family Grand Cordons as wedding gifts. During weddings the Belgian court sent large numbers of crosses to the new family and its court. For the wedding of Rudolf and Stephanie the father of the bride sent 20 Grand Cordons to the Austrian Court.[2] In return the Belgian court received decorations; these gifts were part of negotiations of the wedding. The order was bestowed by KingLeopold II on PrinceKarl Anton of Hohenzollern andErnst Gunther, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein as a personal marriage gift. In 1878 the King named several diplomatic dignitaries Grand Cordon in honour of his silver wedding celebration, among themVannutelli.[9]
In 1900 the occasion of the wedding of Prince Albert was used to send 15 Grand Cordons to the Bavarian Court.[2] Among the recipients wereLuitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria and his two sons, PrincesLudwig (the future Ludwig III of Bavaria) andArnulf, Duke Louis of Bavaria and the father of the brideKarl Theodor, Duke in Bavaria.[2]
The brother of the new Princess,Duke Ludwig Wilhelm was still a minor at the time of the wedding, and Minister de Favereau opposed this wedding gift for an adolescent. However, the young prince, aged 14, received the gift by royal decree.[2]
People who fought in theBelgian revolution became members in great numbers. In 1838 the King lost his right to create members, this was from then on the responsibility of the foreign office. In 1836 Meyerbeer was made knight of the Order, by royal Command.[10] At the end of his reign the major political elite were members of the order.
King Leopold II bestowed the order upon notable Belgian artists, generals and clergy. His successors continued to bestow the Order; among the thousands of recipients are some famous people likePorfirio Díaz,Pope Leo XIII,[11]Mohamed Ennaceur,Pierre-Jean De Smet,Eugène Scribe,Alfred Belpaire,Victor Horta,Joseph Geefs,Gustave Van de Woestijne,Raymond Poincaré,Constant Permeke,Henry Morton Stanley,Lu Zhengxiang,Amschel Mayer Rothschild,Emile Claus,Fernand Khnopff,Paul Saintenoy,Joseph Jongen,Eugène Ysaÿe,Alfred Bastien,William-Adolphe Bouguereau,Antonio López de Santa Anna,Thomas Vinçotte, Mgr.Rafael Merry del Val,John Browning,James Blyth, 1st Baron Blyth,Brand Whitlock,Charles Lindbergh,George S. Patton,Bernard Montgomery,Dwight Eisenhower,Wesley Clark,Charles de Gaulle,Mstislav Rostropovich, CountKiyoura Keigo, CountJacques Rogge, PrinceFulco Ruffo di Calabria and PrinceEmmanuel de Merode. At the end ofWorld War I, the order became internationally recognised for its famous members.
In 1919 King Albert granted all Lieutenant-Generals of the Belgian Army the Grand Cordon in Brussels.[12] The King bestowed the Major Generals with the Grand Cordon, amongst the recipients some important generals likeAlphonse Jacques de Dixmude, knightAntonin de Selliers de Moranville and BaronÉdouard Michel du Faing d'Aigremont. Foreign recipients include admiralHugh Rodman andVice Admiral William Sowden Sims One of the rare Ladies in the order was CountessRenée de Merode.
The order can be bestowed posthumously; for example,Emile Verhaeren received the Grand Cordon after his death. Recipients can be deprived of the order, as for example happened duringWorld War I withAlfred Wotquenne.
After theSecond World War, the Order of Leopold was bestowed on the several officers of foreign military forces who had helped to liberate Belgium fromGerman occupation. Most illustrious was the grand Cordons with Palms given by the King to SirWinston Churchill andDwight D. Eisenhower in 1945. The medal was also granted toKarel Bossart in 1962, andJosip Broz Tito in 1970.
Today membership can only be granted by decree of HisMajestyKingPhilippe of the Belgians and is reserved to the very most important Belgian nationals and to some distinguished foreign persons who contributed in one way to the Belgianmilitary, the Belgiancivil society or the BelgianState. Annually, there are two major days when the king normally grants membership, 15 April (King Philip'sbirthday) and 15 November (Day of the Belgian Dynasty).
During state visits, the Order of Leopold is the most important diplomatic gift of the state. In 2015 some protest was noted when King Philippe offered the Grand Cordon to PresidentErdoğan of Turkey during his state visit in Belgium.[13] A parliamentary question was consequently submitted byBarbara Pas.[14]
In 2022, Belgian Prime MinisterAlexander De Croo presented honorary distinctions on behalf of the Belgian state at Belgium's Consulate General in New York. The Belgians honored were scientist and President of theChildren's Tumor Foundation Annette Bakker (Officer of the Order of Leopold), businessman and former CEO ofAB InBevCarlos Brito (Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown), bankerGeorges Ugeux (Commander of the Order of the Crown), psychiatristEsther Perel (Knight of the Order of the Crown), and artist Marie-Paule Martin (Knight of the Order of Leopold).[15]
The Order of Leopold is issued in five classes:
All five classes come in three divisions (civil, military, maritime). No membership can be granted to a person before the age of 42, except in the military division.
Only the Belgian king is entitled to chair the order and to be namedGrand Master ('Grand Maître/Grootmeester').
TheGrand Cordon title is reserved in general for other monarchs, heirs, foreign heads of state, generals, Cardinals, ministers of state, Prime Ministers and high diplomats. The Belgian Court has granted the Grand Cordon to all of its family members often considered a personal marriage gift of the king.
The court has sent grand cordons to other dignitaries like ambassadors, cardinals, important artists and high functionaries. As of the class of commander the decision must be approved by the Council of Ministers.
Following the tradition, it is not allowed that a Belgian minister can accept this gift from the King, during the period of public office.[16]
Thecollar of the order is in gold, with nine crowns, nine face-to-face monograms "LR" (for "Leopoldus Rex" for King Leopold I), and eighteen lions.
Thebadge of the order is a white-enameledMaltese Cross, in silver for the Knight class and in gold for the higher classes, with a green-enameled wreath oflaurel andoak leaves between the arms of the cross. The obverse central disc features alion on a black enamel background; the reverse central disc has the face-to-face monogram "LR" (for King Leopold I); both discs are surrounded by a red enamel ring with the motto "Unity Is Strength" inFrench (L'union fait la force) and inDutch (Eendracht maakt macht). The cross is topped by a crown, which might have crossedswords (military division) oranchors (maritime division) underneath it. The civil division has neither swords nor anchors.
Theplaque of the order is an eight-pointed faceted silver star for the Grand Cordon class, and a silver facetedMaltese Cross with straight rays between the arms for the Grand Officer class. The central disc has a lion on a black enamel background, surrounded by a red enamel ring with the motto as on the badge. Golden crossed swords or anchors might be added behind the medallion, depending on division.
Theribbon of the order is usually plain purple. However, if the order is awarded in special circumstances, the ribbon of the Officer and Knight classes show the following variations:
Stars and borders or stripes can be awarded together, but these deviations are currently only rarely awarded. The colour of the ribbon has varied during the nineteenth century from red to purple.
Theribbon bar of the order, which is worn on the semi-formal dress uniform is:
| Ribbon bars | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Grand Cordon |  Grand Officer |  Commander |  Officer | Knight |
Since 1921, insignias of the order not awarded in wartime have to be purchased by the recipient.
National orders are awarded by royal decree at fixed dates: 8 April (Birthday ofKing Albert I), 15 November (King's Feast), and in some cases on 21 July (Belgian national holiday) to reward meritorious services to the Kingdom of Belgium based on the career path and age of the recipient. A number of different regulations rule the award of national order for the various ministries. In addition, the national orders may be awarded by the king for especially meritorious deeds. The royal decrees, except for conferrals on foreigners, are published in theBelgian Official Journal (Belgisch Staatsblad/Moniteur Belge).
The minister responsible for Foreign Affairs, currently theFederal Public Service (SPF/FOD) Foreign Affairs, administers the national orders and has a role of advisor in cases not fitting within a regulation.
For the award of national orders for persons to which no regulation apply or has been adopted, the number of awards is limited every year by decision of the Council of Ministers (contingent).
The classes of the national orders are integrated in acombined hierarchy defined by law, whereby within one class the Order of Leopold is senior to theOrder of the Crown, which is senior to theOrder of Leopold II.One cannot be awarded a National Order at a level below the highest that the recipient has already received.
Persons who are the subject of criminal proceedings will usually not be awarded a national order until they are declared not guilty.
The Order of Leopold in the Military Division (with crossed swords under the crown) is mostly awarded to military personnel on the basis of their length of service, although exceptions to that rule exist where the order is presented to military personnel for exceptional or meritorious service. (e.g. awards to officers or non-commissioned officers for devoted service to His Majesy the King).
The years of service that are counted to calculate the eligibility of the award are not necessarily equal to the (calendar) years of duty. Additional bonuses can be earned for service in the air (a heritage coming fromKing Albert who want to bestow extra credit upon the pilots in thefirst World War, who often faced great danger in a new and experimental military branch) or on the battlefield (during wartime) and years of service as a non-commissioned officer or as enlisted personnel count as half for the awards made to officers.For awards to military personnel, there is no minimum age requirement.
The order in the Maritime Division (with crossed anchors under the crown) is only awarded to members of the merchant navy, as members of theBelgian Navy are awarded the order in the Military Division. The Order of Leopold is currently almost never awarded in the Maritime Division.
The Knight's Cross of the Order of Leopold may be awarded to workers in the private sector or contractual employees of the public sector after fifty-five years of professional activity.
The Knight's Cross of the Order of Leopold is also awarded to the members of the national and provincial committees for the promotion of labour[17] who have reached the age of 42 after a tenure of 20 years (national committee) or 30 years (provincial committee).
Founded in 1932 on the occasion of the centenary of the creation of the Order of Leopold as "Société d'entraide des membres de l'Ordre de Léopold" / "Vereniging tot onderlinge hulp aan de leden van de Leopoldsorde" (Mutual aid society for the members of the Order of Leopold), the Association of the Order of Leopold (Vereniging van de Leopoldsorde inDutch,Société de l'Ordre de Léopold inFrench) is a private association, that is headquartered in Brussels.
Even though orders from different states are not always easy to compare, the Order of Leopold is modeled like the French honour system. TheLegion of Honour, which is the highest French order, has the same classes and award conditions. German orders have often different older honour systems, often with only 3 classes or less. The Order of Leopold is roughly equivalent to the following orders from other States.
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Media related toOrder of Leopold (Belgium) at Wikimedia Commons
