Orders, decorations, and medals of Belgium
Belgium has established numerous orders of knighthood, decorations and medals since its creation in 1830. Below is a list of those awards. The order of precedence is difficult to establish as Belgium does not keep an up-to-date listing with dormant and active awards. However, André Borné has established such a list[1] that is used as a basis.
National orders
Orders displayed on a white background are active; those on a grey background are dormant or no longer awarded.
Order of Leopold | Order of the African Star | Royal Order of the Lion | Order of the Crown | Order of Leopold II |
---|---|---|---|---|
Current awards and decorations
Military awards
Military decoration for exceptional service or acts of bravery or extraordinary devotion | Military Cross | Military Decoration for faithful service | Cross of honour for service abroad | Commemorative medal for armed humanitarian operations | Commemorative medal for foreign missions or operations | Commemorative medal for missions or operations regarding the operational defense of the territory | Meritorious service medal |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Civilian awards
Civil Decoration for acts of bravery, selfsacrifice and philanthropy | Carnegie hero fund medal | Civil Decoration for long service | Labour decoration | Laureate of labour |
---|---|---|---|---|
Military marching medals
Commemorative medal for the European remembrance and friendship march | Commemorative medal 'Yser march' |
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Historical awards and decorations
These medals and decorations are currently no longer awarded.
Belgian Revolution (1830–31)
Merit medal of the civil guard | 1830 Star of honour | Iron cross and iron medal | 1830 volunteers commemorative cross |
---|---|---|---|
World War I (1914–1918)
Medals are shown in order of precedence.
War cross '14-'18 | Yser medal | Fire cross | Maritime decoration of the War | Civil decoration of the War | King Albert medal | Queen Elisabeth medal | Volunteer combatant medal |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victory medal '14-'18 | Commemorative medal of the War '14-'18 | Commemorative medal of the African campaigns '14-'17 | Medal of the political prisoner '14-'18 | Deportees cross '14-'18 | Colonial commemorative medal | Medal of the national committee for aid and nourishment | Medal for the national restoration | Liège Medal |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
World War II (1940–1945) and the Korean War (1954)
Medals are shown in order of precedence.
War cross '40-'45 | Armed resistance medal | Political prisoner's cross '40-'45 | Civil decoration '40-'45 | Escaper's cross | Medal of Belgian gratitude '40–'45 | Medal of the war volunteer '40-'45 | Commemorative medal of the war '40-'45 | Foreign operational theatres commemorative medal |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Prisoner of war medal '40-'45 | Maritime medal | Commemorative medal of the Ethiopian campaign '40-'41 | African war medal '40-'45 | Civilian resistance medal | Civilian disobedience medal | Colonial war effort medal '40–'45 | Military combatant medal '40-'45 | Medal for resistance against nazism in the annexed territories | World War II Recruiting centres medal |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Other medals and awards
Awards and medals listed below are either obsolete or have never been awarded.
War cross | The service star | The meritorious service medal for native chiefs | The royal household medal | The native service medal | The Arab campaign medal |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
The medal for sports merit | The medal for family merit | The medal for agricultural and artisanal merit | The medal for services rendered |
---|---|---|---|
Commemorative medals
Commemorative medal of the visit to Brazil | Commemorative medal 1870-1871 | Commemorative medal of the 100 anniversary of the national independence | Commemorative Decoration of the 50th Anniversary of the creation of the railroads | Commemorative medal of the reign of King Leopold I | Commemorative medal of the reign of King Leopold II | Commemorative medal of the reign of King Albert I | Commemorative decoration for the 50th anniversary of the Ostend-Dover Line | Commemorative medal of the VIIth olympics |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commemorative medal for the 75th anniversary of the telegraph service | Commemorative medal for the 100th anniversary of the telegraph service | Commemorative medal for the 75th anniversary of the Belgian postal services | Commemorative medal for the 100th anniversary of the Belgian postal services | Commemorative medal for Congo | Commemorative cross of the House of King Albert | Commemorative decoration for the 50th anniversary of the Royal donation fund | Medal for the 50th anniversary of Belgian Congo |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Belgian Red Cross
Order of the Belgian red cross | Blood donor's medal | Cross of honour of the Belgian red cross '40-'45 | Red cross decoration '40-'45 | Commemorative medal 22 March Red Cross Flemish Brabant |
---|---|---|---|---|
See also
References
- ^ Borné A.C., 1985, Distinctions honorifiques de la Belgique, 1830-1985 (Brussels)
- Quinot H., 1950, Recueil illustré des décorations belges et congolaises, 4e Edition. (Hasselt)
- Cornet R., 1982, Recueil des dispositions légales et réglementaires régissant les ordres nationaux belges. 2e Ed. N.pl., (Brussels)
- Borné A.C., 1985, Distinctions honorifiques de la Belgique, 1830–1985 (Brussels)
- Van Hoorebeke, 2007, P., 175 Ans de l'Ordre de Léopold et les Ordres Nationaux Belges (MRA Brussels)
- André Borné, 1982, Honneur au travail: Distinctions honorifiques pour les travailleurs 1830–1980, (Brussels)
Further reading
- Clark, Samuel (2016). Distributing Status: The Evolution of State Honours in Western Europe. Montreal: McGill-Queen's university press. ISBN 9780773546844.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Awards of Belgium.
- page on diplomatie.belgium.be
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Orders, decorations, and medals of Belgium
- Order of Leopold
- Order of the African Star
- Royal Order of the Lion
- Order of the Crown
- Order of Leopold II
- Civic Guard Merit Medal
- 1830 Star of Honour
- Iron Cross
- 1830 Volunteers' Commemorative Cross
- 1870–71 Commemorative Medal
- Service Star
- War Cross 1914–18
- Fire Cross 1914–1918
- Yser Cross and Medal
- Volunteer Combatant's Medal 1914–1918
- Commemorative Medal of the 1914–1918 War
- Commemorative Medal of the 1914–1917 African Campaigns
- Liège Medal
- Maritime Decoration 1914–1918
- Political Prisoner's Medal 1914–1918
- Deportees' Cross 1914–1918
- 1914–1918 Medal for National Restoration
- King Albert Medal
- Queen Elisabeth Medal
- Inter-Allied Victory Medal 1914–1918
- Civic Decoration 1914–1918
- Commemorative Medal of the National Committee for Aid and Food
& Korean War
- War Cross 1940–45
- Maritime Medal 1940–1945
- 1940–1945 Military Combatant's Medal
- Volunteer's Medal 1940–1945
- 1940–1945 African War Medal
- 1940–1945 Colonial War Effort Medal
- Abyssinian Campaigns Commemorative Medal
- Resistance Medal 1940–1945
- Civilian Resistance Medal
- Civilian Disobedience Medal
- Political Prisoner's Cross 1940–1945
- Prisoner of War Medal 1940–1945
- Escapees' Cross 1940–1945
- Medal for Resistance against Nazism in the Annexed Territories
- Medal of the Recruiting Centers 1940
- Medal of Belgian Gratitude 1940–1945
- Commemorative Medal of the 1940–1945 War
- Foreign Operational Theatres Commemorative Medal
military awards
- Military Decoration for exceptional service, bravery or exceptional devotion
- Military Cross
- Military Decoration for faithful service
- Cross of Honour for Military Service Abroad
- Commemorative Medal for Armed Humanitarian Operations
- Commemorative Medal for Foreign Operations or Missions
- Commemorative medal for missions or operations regarding the operational defense of the territory
- Meritorious Service Medal
civilian awards
medals
- Commemorative Decoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Creation of the Railroads
- Commemorative Medal of the Reign of King Leopold II
- Commemorative Medal for the 75th Anniversary of the Belgian Postal Service
- Centenary of National Independence Commemorative Medal
- Commemorative Medal for the Centenary of the Telegraphic Service
- Commemorative Medal for the 100th Anniversary of the Belgian Postal Service
- Commemorative Medal of the Reign of King Albert I
- Commemorative Medal for the "European March of Memory and Friendship"
- "Four Days of the Yser" Commemorative Medal
- Order of the Belgian Red Cross
- Blood Donour's Medal
- 1940–1945 Cross of Honour of the Belgian Red Cross
- 1940–1945 Belgian Red Cross Decoration
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