Order of Leopold (Belgium)

Order of Leopold Ordre de Léopold Leopoldsorde
Order of Leopold (military commander's neck badge)
Awarded by Kingdom of Belgium
Type	Order of Merit with five degrees
Motto	L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE - EENDRACHT MAAKT MACHT
Day	Awarded on 8 April (Birthday of King Albert I) and 15 November (King's Feast), and for obliging cases on 21 July (Belgian national holiday).
Eligibility	Eligible for persons above the age of 42
Awarded for	Belgian nationals or some distinguished foreign persons who made very important contributions to the Belgian state or society
Status	Currently constituted
Grades	Knight/Dame Grand Cross Knight/Dame Grand Officer Knight/Dame Commander Knight/Dame Officer Knight/Dame
Statistics
Established	11 July 1832
First induction	French Sapper Valentin Ausseil
Precedence
Next (higher)	None (highest)
Next (lower)	Order of the African Star

The Order of Leopold (Leopoldsorde in Dutch, Ordre de Léopold in French) is one of the three current Belgian national honorary orders of knighthood. It is the highest order of Belgium and is named in honour of King Leopold I. It consists of a military, a maritime and a civilian division. The maritime division is only awarded to personnel of the merchant navy, and the military division to military personnel. The decoration was established on 11 July 1832 and is awarded for extreme bravery in combat or for meritorious service of immense benefit to the Belgian nation. The Order of Leopold is awarded by royal decree.

When Belgium became independent of the Netherlands, there was a urgent need to create a national honour system that could serve as diplomatic gift. The first King of the Belgians created very soon with his first governement a new Belgian Order. Two years after the idependance the young King officialy founded the dynastic Order of Leopold. The king approved the colour and grades both civil and military, and the official motto L’Union fait la Force/Eendracht maakt Macht.

In the early 19th century, the court sent the Grand Cordon as a diplomatic gift. The founder gave his French family grand Cordons as wedding gifts. People who fought in the Belgian revolution became members in great numbers. In 1838 the King lost his right to create members, this was from then on the responsibility of the foreign office. At the end of his reign the major political elite were members of the order.

King Leopold II gifted major Belgian artists, generals and clergy into the order. His succesors continued to bestow the Order, between the thousands of recipients are some famous people like Pope Leo XIII,Mohamed Ennaceur, Eugène Scribe, Alfred Belpaire, Victor Horta, Joseph Geefs, Gustave Van de Woestijne, Emile Claus, Fernand Khnopff, Joseph Jongen, Eugène Ysaÿe, Alfred Bastien, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Thomas Vinçotte, Mgr. Rafael Merry del Val, Brand Whitlock, Charles Lindbergh, George S. Patton, Bernard Montgomery, Dwight Eisenhower, Wesley Clark, Charles de Gaulle, Mstislav Rostropovich, Count Jacques Rogge, Prince Fulco Ruffo di Calabria and Prince Emmanuel de Merode. At the end of World War I, the Order became internationaly recognised for its famous members.