The Gulf and Kuwait Medal (, or ''Médaille du Golfe et du Kuwait'') was a

campaign medal A campaign medal is a military decoration which is awarded to a member of an armed force who serves in a designated military operation or performs duty in a geographical theater. Campaign medals are very similar to service medals but carry a hi ...

created in 1990 to recognize members of the

Canadian Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

who had directly participated in the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

, either in the hostilities themselves or during the troop build-up prior to the invasion of

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. It is, within the Canadian system of honours, the third highest of the war and operational service medals.

Design

rhodium Rhodium is a chemical element; it has symbol Rh and atomic number 45. It is a very rare, silvery-white, hard, corrosion-resistant transition metal. It is a noble metal and a member of the platinum group. It has only one naturally occurring isot ...

plated tombac disc with, on the obverse, the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

words ''ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA'' (Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, Queen) and ''CANADA'' surrounding an

effigy An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain ...

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, symbolizing her roles as both

fount of honour The fount of honour () is a person, who, by virtue of their official position, has the exclusive right of conferring legitimate titles of nobility and orders of chivalry on other persons. Origin During the High Middle Ages, European knights ...

and

Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces The commander-in-chief of the Canadian Armed Forces () exercises supreme command and control over Canada's military, the Canadian Armed Forces. Constitutionally, command-in-chief is vested in the Monarchy of Canada, Canadian monarch, currently . ...

. On the reverse is a

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a symbol of triumph, a wreath (attire), wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. It was also later made from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cher ...

with a maple leaf at its base encircling the words: ''GULF AND KUWAIT • 1990-1991 • LE GOLFE ET KUWAIT''. This medallion is worn at the left chest, suspended on a 31.8mm wide ribbon coloured with vertical stripes in light blue (representing the Air Command), scarlet (representing the

Land Force Command The Canadian Army () is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also responsible for the Army Reserve ...

), and dark blue (recalling the Maritime Command), symmetrically flanking a sand coloured central stripe. Originally, the Gulf and Kuwait medal was to have coincidentally had the same ribbon as the British

Gulf Medal The Gulf War Medal was a campaign medal approved in 1992, for issue to officers and men of British forces who served in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia during Operation Granby (the Gulf War, Liberation of Kuwait) in 1990–91. Medal The Gulf Medal is cup ...

; only after the manufacturer of the ribbon informed the Chancellery of Honours at

Rideau Hall Rideau Hall (officially Government House) is the official residence of the governor general of Canada, the representative of the monarch of Canada. Located in Ottawa, the Capital city, capital of the country, on a estate at 1 Sussex Drive, th ...

were the two shades of blue on the Canadian version reversed. Should an individual already possessing a Gulf and Kuwait Medal be awarded the

medal bar A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It most commonly indicates the Military campaign, campaign or Military operation, operation the recipient received t ...

for combat service, he or she is granted a clasp in cupro-nickel and bearing a maple leaf for wear on the ribbon from which the original medal is suspended.

Eligibility and allocation

On 2 August 1990, Queen Elizabeth II, on the advice of her Cabinet under

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney (March 20, 1939 – February 29, 2024) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studi ...

, approved the Gulf and Kuwait Medal to recognize members of the

who had served in the

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

of the

. To qualify for the medal, individuals had to have served for 30 consecutive days between 2 August 1990 and 27 June 1991 in the region of the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

as a part of the operation to liberate

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

from the invading

i forces, and those who for a minimum of one day engaged in direct combat with the enemy during the offensive that lasted from 16 January to 3 March 1991 were entitled to receive the additional

; in total, 4,436 medals were issued, along with 3,184 bars.

References

{{reflist, 2 Canadian campaign medals Military awards and decorations of the Gulf War Canada–Kuwait military relations 1990 establishments in Canada Awards established in 1990

Design

Eligibility and allocation

See also

References