Commander of the Order of Leopold
| Order of Leopold Ordre de Léopold Leopoldsorde |
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Order of Leopold (civil Grand Cross breast star)
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Awarded by  King of Belgium
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| Type | Order of Merit with five degrees |
| Established | 11 July 1832 |
| Motto |
L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE - EENDRACHT MAAKT MACHT |
| 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 |
| Grand Master | His Majesty King Philippe |
| Grades |
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| Statistics | |
| First induction | French Sapper Valentin Ausseil |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | None (highest) |
| Next (lower) | Order of the African Star |
The Order of Leopold (Dutch: Leopoldsorde, French: Ordre de Léopold) 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 order.
When Belgium became independent of the Netherlands, there was an urgent need to create a national honour system that could serve as a diplomatic gift. The national congress provided this exclusive right to the sovereign, this military honour system was written in Article 76. The first King of the Belgians, Leopold I of Belgium, used his constitutional right in a larger way than foreseen: not only military merit, but every service in honour of the Kingdom. Two years after the independence, the young King officially 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 1832 Felix de Merode had a design approved by the Chambers for military and civil merit. This system was adapted from other European countries. More specific, the Order of Leopold is based on the French honour tradition with 5 classes. On the 11th of June 1832 the law was promulgated, and the exact colours were defined; Article 2: "Le ruban sera ponceau moiré". The devise was presented in the 3rd article: L'union fait la Force.
The Belgian court often used the Grand Cordon as a valuable diplomatic gift. However in the 2nd half of the 19th century, the court also used it as a dynastic order to bestow on family members during major family celebrations. The founder gave his French family Grand Cordons as wedding gifts. During weddings the Belgian court sent large numbers of crosses to the new family and its court. For the wedding of Rudolf and Stephanie the father of the bride sent 20 Grand Cordons to the Austrian Court. In return the Belgian court received decorations; these gifts were part of negotiations of the wedding. The order was bestowed by King Leopold II on Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern and Ernst Gunther, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein as a personal marriage gift. In 1878 the King named several diplomatic dignitaries Grand Cordon in honour of his silver wedding celebration, among them Vannutelli.
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