Order of Leopold II
Encyclopedia
The Order of Leopold II is an order
of Belgium
and is named in honor of King Léopold II
. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as king of the Congo Free State
and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgium, incorporated into the Belgian awards system. The order is awarded for meritorious service to the Sovereign of Belgium, and as a token of his personal goodwill. It can be awarded to both Belgians and foreigners.
The order has become a long service order for people in the civil service and is awarded alternatively with the Order of the Crown
, as the Order of Leopold
is awarded under rarer circumstances. The Order currently stands third after the Order of Leopold (1st) and the Order of the Crown (2nd) in the Belgian honors hierarchy. The Order of Leopold II is awarded by Royal Decree.
Stars and borders or stripes can be awarded together, but these deviations are currently only rarely awarded.
Originally, the central stripe of the ribbon was white, as blue and white were the colours of the Congo Free State.
The ribbon bar
of the order, which is worn on the semi-formal dress uniform is:
Despite the fact that, contrary to the Order of Leopold, no maritime or military divisions of the Order of Leopold II exist, some unofficial decorations with crossed anchors or crossed swords under the suspension crown are known to exist.
of King 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 are published in the Belgian Official Journal (Moniteur Belge).
The Minister responsible for Foreign Affaires, currently the Federal Public Service (SPF/FOD) Foreign Affairs
, administers the national orders and has a role of advisor in cases not fitting within in 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 a combined hierarchy defined by law, whereby within one class the Order of Leopold is senior to the Order of the Crown
, which is senior to the Order of Leopold II. Except in some specific cases, one cannot be awarded a National Order at a level below the highest that the recipient has already received (e.g. a commissioned officer who become a Commander of the Order of Leopold II because of meritorious personal service to the King before he became a Knight of the Order of Leopold may not be awarded the latter decoration or that of Officer of the Order of Leopold).
Persons who are the subject of criminal proceedings will usually not be awarded a National Order until they are declared not guilty.
For awards to military personnel, there is no minimum age requirement.
For commissioned officers not members of the flying personnel, the Order of Leopold II is only awarded at the time of retirement, even if it is in fact earned before that in line with the rules presented above. Even then, because of the generic rule that one cannot be awarded a National Order at a level below the highest that the recipient has already received, the Order of Leopold II will not be awarded if the recipient has been awarded in the meantime a higher National Order than the Order of Leopold II at the Class he could receive. This apparent anomaly is due to the fact that King Albert I
, who was fond of aviation
, wanted to provide a special reward to aircraft pilots, and therefore ordererd that the Order of Leopold II only be awarded to them. In its early days, the Order of Leopold II awarded to pilots was adorned with a bar for every one hundred hours flown (a practice currently discontinued).
The Order of Leopold II is also sometimes awarded to military personnel not meeting the conditions above when they have performed especially meritorious services to the King that do not deserve a special award of the Order of Leopold
. This is in particular the case for commissioned officers who have been adjutant
to the King or Crown Prince (usually a part-time position for a few especially selected Major
), who are usually awarded the Order at the rank of commander.
The Knight's Cross of the Order of Leopold II is also awarded, after a tenure of 10 years, to the members of the provincial committees for the promotion of labour who have reached the age of 42.
The Officer's Cross of the Order of Leopold II is awarded, after a tenure of 30 years, to the members of the national committee for the promotion of labour who have reached the age of 42.
:Category:Order of Leopold II recipients
Order (decoration)
An order or order of merit is a visible honour, awarded by a government, dynastic house or international organization to an individual, usually in recognition of distinguished service to a nation or to humanity. The distinction between orders and decorations is somewhat vague, except that most...
of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and is named in honor of King Léopold II
Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free...
. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as king of the Congo Free State
Congo Free State
The Congo Free State was a large area in Central Africa which was privately controlled by Leopold II, King of the Belgians. Its origins lay in Leopold's attracting scientific, and humanitarian backing for a non-governmental organization, the Association internationale africaine...
and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgium, incorporated into the Belgian awards system. The order is awarded for meritorious service to the Sovereign of Belgium, and as a token of his personal goodwill. It can be awarded to both Belgians and foreigners.
The order has become a long service order for people in the civil service and is awarded alternatively with the Order of the Crown
Order of the Crown (Belgium)
The Order of the Crown is an Order of Belgium which was created on 15 October 1897 by King Leopold II in his capacity as ruler of the Congo Free State. The order was first intended to recognize heroic deeds and distinguished service achieved from service in the Congo Free State - many of which acts...
, as the Order of Leopold
Order of Leopold
Order of Leopold may refer to:* Order of Leopold , founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918* Order of Leopold , founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium...
is awarded under rarer circumstances. The Order currently stands third after the Order of Leopold (1st) and the Order of the Crown (2nd) in the Belgian honors hierarchy. The Order of Leopold II is awarded by Royal Decree.
Classes
The Order of Léopold II is issued in five classes and three medals:- Grand Cross, who wears the badge on a sash on the right shoulder, plus a plaque on the left chest;
- Grand Officer, who wears only a plaque on the left chest;
- Commander, who wears the badge on a necklet;
- Officer, who wears the badge on a ribbon with rosetteRosette (decoration)A rosette is a small, circular device that is presented with a medal. The rosettes are primarily for situations where wearing the medal is deemed inappropriate. Rosettes are issued in nations such as France, Italy and Japan...
on the left chest; - Knight, who wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest;
- Gold Medal, who wears the medal on the left chest;
- Silver Medal, who wears the medal on the left chest;
- Bronze Medal, who wears the medal on the left chest.
Insignia
- The badge of the Order is a metal Maltese CrossMaltese crossThe Maltese cross, also known as the Amalfi cross, is identified as the symbol of an order of Christian warriors known as the Knights Hospitaller or Knights of Malta and through them came to be identified with the Mediterranean island of Malta and is one of the National symbols of Malta...
, in silver for the Knight class and in gold for the higher classes, with a wreath of laurelBay LaurelThe bay laurel , also known as sweet bay, bay tree, true laurel, Grecian laurel, laurel tree, or simply laurel, is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glossy leaves, native to the Mediterranean region. It is the source of the bay leaf used in cooking...
leaves of the same metal between the arms of the cross. The obverse central disc features a lionLionThe lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
on a black enamel background surrounded by a blue enamel ring with the motto "Unity Is Strength" in FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
(L'union fait la forceL'union fait la forceL’union fait la force is a French language game show airing weekdays on Radio-Canada. It is hosted by Patrice L'Ecuyer....
) and in DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
(Eendracht maakt macht). The badge is topped by a crown of the same metal. Up to the inclusion of the Order of Leoplold II in the Belgian National Orders, the central disk showed an enamelled blue, black and white crest of the Congo Free State and the motto Travail et Progrès. - The plaque for Grand Cross is a faceted silver five-pointed star with golden rays between the branches of the star. The centre shows the obverse of a commander's cross. The plaque for Grand Officer is a faceted five-armed 'Maltese Asterisk' (see Maltese CrossMaltese crossThe Maltese cross, also known as the Amalfi cross, is identified as the symbol of an order of Christian warriors known as the Knights Hospitaller or Knights of Malta and through them came to be identified with the Mediterranean island of Malta and is one of the National symbols of Malta...
), with golden rays between the arms. The centre shows the obverse of an officer's cross. - The medal shows the shape of the Order badge imprinted in a metal shape that is vaguely octagonal and looks like a closed florian cross. The metal of the Medal is gold for the Gold Medal, Silver for the Silver Medal and Bronze for the Bronze Medal.
- The ribbon of the Order is blue with a central black stripe. However, if the Order is awarded in special circumstances, the ribbon of the Officer and Knight classes show the following variations:
- Crossed swords are added to the ribbon when awarded in wartime (if the Order was awarded during the Second World War or during the Korean WarKorean WarThe Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, a small bar is added to the ribbon mentioning the name of the war); - The ribbon has a vertical gold border on both sides when awarded for a special act of valour;
- The ribbon has a central vertical gold stripe in the middle of the black stripe when awarded for an exceptionally meritorious act;
- A gold star is added to the ribbon when the recitpent has been mentioned in despatches at the national level;
- Silver or gold palms are added to the ribbon when awarded in wartime to military personnel.
- Crossed swords are added to the ribbon when awarded in wartime (if the Order was awarded during the Second World War or during the Korean War
Stars and borders or stripes can be awarded together, but these deviations are currently only rarely awarded.
Originally, the central stripe of the ribbon was white, as blue and white were the colours of the Congo Free State.
The ribbon bar
Ribbon bar
Ribbon bars are small decorations that are worn by military, police, and fire service personnel or by civilians. Ribbon bars are mainly used when wearing either full decoration, or when wearing medals is considered inappropriate or impractical. Each military force has its own rules on what ribbons...
of the order, which is worn on the semi-formal dress uniform is:
| Ribbon bars | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Cross |
Grand Officer |
Commander |
Officer |
Knight |
Gold Medal |
Silver Medal |
Bronze Medal |
||
Despite the fact that, contrary to the Order of Leopold, no maritime or military divisions of the Order of Leopold II exist, some unofficial decorations with crossed anchors or crossed swords under the suspension crown are known to exist.
Current Award Conditions of Belgian National Orders
National Orders are awarded by Royal Decree at fixed dates: 8 April (BirthdayBirthday
A birthday is a day or anniversary where a person celebrates his or her date of birth. Birthdays are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with a gift, party or rite of passage. Although the major religions celebrate the birth of their founders , Christmas – which is celebrated widely by...
of King Albert I
Albert I of Belgium
Albert I reigned as King of the Belgians from 1909 until 1934.-Early life:Born Albert Léopold Clément Marie Meinrad in Brussels, he was the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and his wife, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen...
), 15 November (King's Feast
King's Feast
The King's Feast has been celebrated in Belgium on November 15 since 1866. Since 2001, the Belgian Federal Parliament holds a ceremony in honour of the King, in the presence of members of the Belgian Royal Family and other dignitaries. Federal ministries are closed on this day...
), 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 are published in the Belgian Official Journal (Moniteur Belge).
FPS Foreign Affairs Belgium
The FPS Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation , more commonly known as the FPS Foreign Affairs, is a Federal Public Service of Belgium. It was created by Royal Order on March 8, 2002, as part of the plans of the first Verhofstadt Government to modernise the federal administration...
, administers the national orders and has a role of advisor in cases not fitting within in 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 a combined hierarchy defined by law, whereby within one class the Order of Leopold is senior to the Order of the Crown
Order of the Crown (Belgium)
The Order of the Crown is an Order of Belgium which was created on 15 October 1897 by King Leopold II in his capacity as ruler of the Congo Free State. The order was first intended to recognize heroic deeds and distinguished service achieved from service in the Congo Free State - many of which acts...
, which is senior to the Order of Leopold II. Except in some specific cases, one cannot be awarded a National Order at a level below the highest that the recipient has already received (e.g. a commissioned officer who become a Commander of the Order of Leopold II because of meritorious personal service to the King before he became a Knight of the Order of Leopold may not be awarded the latter decoration or that of Officer of the Order of Leopold).
Persons who are the subject of criminal proceedings will usually not be awarded a National Order until they are declared not guilty.
Award Conditions to Military Personnel
The Order of Leopold II is awarded to military personnel on the basis of their length of service, with the years of training counting for half:- Grand Officer: Awarded after 35 years of meritorious service to a general officer with minimum rank of Major-GeneralBelgian military ranksThe following are the ranks and insignia of the Belgian Armed Forces.The ranks are given in English, Dutch and French .-Officers:Note*The highest rank in the Military Police is Colonel....
; - Commander: Awarded after 30 years of meritorious service to a field officerField officerA field officer is an army, marine, or air force commissioned officer senior in rank to a company officer but junior to a general officer; in some navies, it is an officer who is a Lieutenant Commander, Commander, or Captain....
with minimum rank of Lieutenant-ColonelBelgian military ranksThe following are the ranks and insignia of the Belgian Armed Forces.The ranks are given in English, Dutch and French .-Officers:Note*The highest rank in the Military Police is Colonel....
; - Officer: Awarded after 23 years of meritorious service to a commissioned officer with minimum rank of LieutenantBelgian military ranksThe following are the ranks and insignia of the Belgian Armed Forces.The ranks are given in English, Dutch and French .-Officers:Note*The highest rank in the Military Police is Colonel....
; - Knight: Awarded after 13 years of meritorious service to a commissioned officer, after 30 years of meritorious service for a non-commissioned officerNon-commissioned officerA non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
(13 years for non-commissioned officers member of the flying personnel), and after 40 years of service for a privateBelgian military ranksThe following are the ranks and insignia of the Belgian Armed Forces.The ranks are given in English, Dutch and French .-Officers:Note*The highest rank in the Military Police is Colonel....
or corporalBelgian military ranksThe following are the ranks and insignia of the Belgian Armed Forces.The ranks are given in English, Dutch and French .-Officers:Note*The highest rank in the Military Police is Colonel....
; - Gold Medal: Awarded after 20 years of meritorious service to a non-commissioned officerNon-commissioned officerA non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
(9 years for non-commissioned officers member of the flying personnel), and after 25 years of service for a privateBelgian military ranksThe following are the ranks and insignia of the Belgian Armed Forces.The ranks are given in English, Dutch and French .-Officers:Note*The highest rank in the Military Police is Colonel....
or corporalBelgian military ranksThe following are the ranks and insignia of the Belgian Armed Forces.The ranks are given in English, Dutch and French .-Officers:Note*The highest rank in the Military Police is Colonel....
; - Silver Medal: Awarded after 20 years of meritorious service for a privateBelgian military ranksThe following are the ranks and insignia of the Belgian Armed Forces.The ranks are given in English, Dutch and French .-Officers:Note*The highest rank in the Military Police is Colonel....
or corporalBelgian military ranksThe following are the ranks and insignia of the Belgian Armed Forces.The ranks are given in English, Dutch and French .-Officers:Note*The highest rank in the Military Police is Colonel....
.
For awards to military personnel, there is no minimum age requirement.
For commissioned officers not members of the flying personnel, the Order of Leopold II is only awarded at the time of retirement, even if it is in fact earned before that in line with the rules presented above. Even then, because of the generic rule that one cannot be awarded a National Order at a level below the highest that the recipient has already received, the Order of Leopold II will not be awarded if the recipient has been awarded in the meantime a higher National Order than the Order of Leopold II at the Class he could receive. This apparent anomaly is due to the fact that King Albert I
Albert I of Belgium
Albert I reigned as King of the Belgians from 1909 until 1934.-Early life:Born Albert Léopold Clément Marie Meinrad in Brussels, he was the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and his wife, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen...
, who was fond of aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
, wanted to provide a special reward to aircraft pilots, and therefore ordererd that the Order of Leopold II only be awarded to them. In its early days, the Order of Leopold II awarded to pilots was adorned with a bar for every one hundred hours flown (a practice currently discontinued).
The Order of Leopold II is also sometimes awarded to military personnel not meeting the conditions above when they have performed especially meritorious services to the King that do not deserve a special award of the Order of Leopold
Order of Leopold
Order of Leopold may refer to:* Order of Leopold , founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918* Order of Leopold , founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium...
. This is in particular the case for commissioned officers who have been adjutant
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
to the King or Crown Prince (usually a part-time position for a few especially selected Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
), who are usually awarded the Order at the rank of commander.
Award Conditions for Long Civilian Service
The Knight's Cross of the Order of Leopold II is awarded to the presidents, secretaries and members of the board of directors of the largest representative trade organisations such as trade unions on the basis of the number of members of the organisation, of the length of their membership of the board, and on the length of their tenure within the board.The Knight's Cross of the Order of Leopold II is also awarded, after a tenure of 10 years, to the members of the provincial committees for the promotion of labour who have reached the age of 42.
The Officer's Cross of the Order of Leopold II is awarded, after a tenure of 30 years, to the members of the national committee for the promotion of labour who have reached the age of 42.
See also
- Grand Masters : Leopold IILeopold II of BelgiumLeopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free...
- Albert IAlbert I of BelgiumAlbert I reigned as King of the Belgians from 1909 until 1934.-Early life:Born Albert Léopold Clément Marie Meinrad in Brussels, he was the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and his wife, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen...
- Leopold IIILeopold III of BelgiumLeopold III reigned as King of the Belgians from 1934 until 1951, when he abdicated in favour of the Heir Apparent,...
- Baudouin - Albert IIAlbert II of BelgiumAlbert II is the current reigning King of the Belgians, a constitutional monarch. He is a member of the royal house "of Belgium"; formerly this house was named Saxe-Coburg-Gotha... - Order of Leopold (Belgium)
- Order of the African StarOrder of the African StarThe Order of the African Star was established by King Leopold II of Belgium on 30 December 1888, in his capacity as ruler of the Congo Free State, and was awarded for services to Congo and for the "promotion of African civilisation in general". It was incorporated into the Belgian honours system...
- Royal Order of the Lion
- Order of the Crown (Belgium)Order of the Crown (Belgium)The Order of the Crown is an Order of Belgium which was created on 15 October 1897 by King Leopold II in his capacity as ruler of the Congo Free State. The order was first intended to recognize heroic deeds and distinguished service achieved from service in the Congo Free State - many of which acts...
- List of Belgian decorations
- List of Belgian military decorations
:Category:Order of Leopold II recipients
External links
- Order of Léopold II
- Belgian Orders Before World War I (in French)
- Information about Belgium orders Website BONNE & VERBEKE (in Dutch)