The Order of Leopold II is an

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the

Congo Free State ''(Work and Progress) , national_anthem = Vers l'avenir , capital = Vivi Boma , currency = Congo Free State franc , religion = Catholicism (''de facto'') , leader1 = Leop ...

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, and is seen as diplomatic gift of merit. 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.

Classes

The Order of Leopold II is issued in five classes and three medals: * ', who wears the badge on a sash on the right shoulder, plus a plaque on the left chest; * ', who wears only a plaque on the left chest; * ', who wears the badge on a necklet; * ', who wears the badge on a ribbon with rosette on the left chest; * ', who wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest; * ', who wears the medal on the left chest; * ', who wears the medal on the left chest; * ', who wears the medal on the left chest.

Insignia

*The ''badge'' of the Order is a metal

Maltese Cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which develope ...

, in silver for the Knight class and in gold for the higher classes, with a wreath of laurel leaves of the same metal between the arms of the cross. The obverse central disc features a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...

on a black enamel background surrounded by a blue enamel ring with the motto "Unity Is Strength" in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

('' L'union fait la force'') and in Dutch ('' 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 coat of arms 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

), 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

or during the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

, 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 recipient has been

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

at the national level; **Silver or gold palms are added to the ribbon when awarded in wartime to military personnel. 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.

Award conditions

Current award conditions of Belgian national orders

National Orders are awarded by Royal Decree at fixed dates: 8 April (

Birthday A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person, or figuratively of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage. Many re ...

of King Albert I), 15 November (

King's Feast The King's Feast ( nl, Koningsdag, french: Fête du Roi, german: Festtag des Königs) has been celebrated in Belgium on November 15 since 1866. Since 2001, the Belgian Federal Parliament has held a ceremony in honor of the King, in the presence of ...

), 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 Affairs, currently the Federal 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 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. People 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 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). When officers are considered for the award based on their length of service, their years of service in a non-officer's rank count for half. The first twelve years of service as a member of the flying personnel counts double. * Grand Officer: Awarded at the time of retirement to a

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

having a minimum of 40 years of meritorious service; * Commander: Awarded after 30 years of meritorious service to a

field officer A senior officer is an officer of a more senior grade in military or other uniformed services. In military organisations, the term may refer to any officer above junior officer rank, but usually specifically refers to the middle-ranking group of ...

member of the flying personnel with minimum rank of

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

, or at the time of retirement to other

s with minimum rank of

having a minimum of 30 years of meritorious service; * Officer: Awarded after 22 years of meritorious service to a

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contex ...

member of the flying personnel with minimum rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, or at the time of retirement to other

s with minimum rank of

having between 20 and 25 years of meritorious service; * Knight: Awarded after 13 years of meritorious service to a

member of the flying personnel, after 30 years of meritorious service for a

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

(13 years for non-commissioned officers member of the flying personnel), and after 40 years of service for a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

; * Gold Medal: Awarded after 20 years of meritorious service to a

(9 years for non-commissioned officers member of the flying personnel), and after 25 years of service for a

; * Silver Medal: Awarded after 20 years of meritorious service for a

. For awards to military personnel, there is no minimum age requirement. For

commissioned officers An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

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 Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes airplane, fixed-wing and helicopter, rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as aerostat, lighter- ...

, wanted to provide a special reward to aircraft pilots, and therefore ordered 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 Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

to the King or Crown Prince (usually a part-time position for a few especially selected

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

), 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 A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

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 th
provincial committees for the promotion of labour
who have reached the age of 42.

References

* Royal Decree of 24 August 1900 Creating the Order of Leopold II * Law of 1 May 2006 on the Award of Honours in the National Orders (''Moniteur Belge'' of 24 October 2006) * Royal Decree of 13 October 2006 Defining the Rules and Procedure for the Award of Honours in the National Orders (''Moniteur Belge'' of 24 October 2006) * Royal Decree of 24 January 1994 Creating the Insignia of Two Crossed Swords topped by a Bar Showing the Mention ''Korea'' * Royal Decree of 18 April 1983 Creating the Insignia of Two Crossed Swords topped by a Bar Showing the Millesimes ''40-45'' * Royal Decree of 24 June 1919 Creating gold borders, gold stripes and gold stars for the National Orders Awarded in War Time (''Moniteur Belge'' of 11–12 August 1919) * Royal Decree of 15 November 1915 Creating Palms for the National Orders Awarded in War Time (''Moniteur Belge'' of 28–30 November and 1–4 December 1915) * Belgian military regulation A83 on Military Decorations * Belgian military regulation DGHR-REG-DISPSYS-001 of 20 February 2006 * Belgian Ministry of Labour (SPF Emploi, Travail et Concertation Sociale), ''Clés pour les décorations du travail'' (Brussels: 2008) * Borné A.C., ''Distinctions honorifiques de la Belgique, 1830-1985'' (Bruxelles: 1985) * Van Hoorebeke P., ''175 Ans de l'Ordre de Léopold et les Ordres Nationaux Belges'' (MRA: 2007)