Order of Léopold

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The Order of Léopold (Leopoldsorde in Dutch, Ordre de Léopold in French) is one of the three Belgian national honorary Orders. It is the highest military order of Belgium and is named in honour of King Léopold I. The decoration was established in 1832 and is awarded for extreme bravery in combat or for meritorious service of immense benefit to the Belgian nation.

During the Second World War, the Order of Léopold was bestowed to the several officers of foreign militaries who had helped to liberate Belgium from the occupation of German forces. Famous recipients include George S. Patton, Bernard Montgomery, Dwight Eisenhower, and Wesley Clark. The medal was also granted to Josip Broz Tito in 1970.

Membership can only be granted by his majesty, King Albert II and is reserved to the very most important Belgian nationals and to some distinguished foreign persons who contributed in one way to the Belgian military, the Belgian civil society or the Belgian State. Annually, there are two days when the King may grant membership, on April 8 (King Albert's birthday) and on November 15 (Day of the Belgian Dynasty).

No membership can be obtained if the person did not yet reach the age of 40

[edit] Classes

The Order of Léopold is issued in five classes:

Grand Cordon ('Grootlint'), who wears the badge on a collar (chain) or on a sash on the right shoulder, plus the star on the left chest;
Grand Officer ('Grootofficier'), who wears only a star on the left chest;
Commander ('Commandeur'), who wears the badge on a necklet;
Officer ('Officier'), who wears the badge on a ribbon with rosette on the left chest;
Knight ('Ridder'), who wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest.

All five classes come in three divisions (civil, military, maritime).

Only the Belgian king is entitled to chair the order and to be named Grand Master ('Grootmeester'). The Grand Cordon title is reserved to national and foreign royals.

[edit] Insignia

The collar of the Order is in gold, with nine crowns, nine face-to-face monograms "LR" (for King Léopold I), and eighteen lions.

The badge of the Order is a white-enamelled Maltese Cross, in silver for the Knight class and in gold for the higher classes, with a green-enamelled wreath of laurel and oak leaves between the arms of the cross. The obverse central disc features a lion on a black enamel background; the reverse central disc has the face-to-face monogram "LR" (for King Léopold I); both discs are surrounded by a red enamel ring with the motto "Unity Is Strength" in French (L'union fait la force) and in Flemish (Eendracht maakt macht). The cross is topped by a crown, which might have crossed swords or anchors underneath it, depending on the division.

The star of the Order is an eight-pointed faceted silver star for the Grand Cordon class, and a silver faceted Maltese 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.

The ribbon of the Order is plain purple.