Orde van Oranje-Nassau

Order of Orange-Nassau Orde van Oranje-Nassau
The Knight's Cross (5th grade) with swords (Military division) of the Order of Orange-Nassau
Awarded by Kingdom of the Netherlands
Type	Chivalric order with six grades
Motto	Je maintiendrai
Awarded for	Those with special merits for society
Status	Currently constituted
Grand Master	King Willem-Alexander
Grades	Knight Grand Cross, Grand Officer, Commander, Officer, Knight, Member
Former grades	gold, silver, and bronze medal
Statistics
Established	4 April 1892
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of the Netherlands Lion
Next (lower)	Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau
Ribbon bar of the Order of Orange-Nassau

The Order of Orange-Nassau (Dutch: Orde van Oranje-Nassau, Dutch pronunciation: [oːˈrɑnjə ˈnɑsʌu̯]) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the Queen regent Emma, acting on behalf of her under-age daughter Queen Wilhelmina.

The Order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has earned special merits for society". These are people who deserve appreciation and recognition from society for the special way in which they have carried out their activities. The lower grades of the order are comparable with the ranks of the Order of the British Empire in the UK, but titles, prefixes or post-nominals (other than academic ones) are not used in the Netherlands (the only exception being for members of the Military William Order).

In 1841 William II of the Netherlands, as Grand Duke of Luxembourg, created the Order of the Oak Crown. Although this was officially not a Dutch order, honours were regularly conferred on Dutch people. After the death of William III, Luxembourg, according to the House-treaty, became the domain of the other branch of the House of Nassau. In the Netherlands the need for a third order, beside the Military William Order and Order of the Netherlands Lion was felt, so that royal honours could be conferred upon foreign diplomats and people from lower ranks and classes.

During World War II, the Order of Orange-Nassau was bestowed upon both members of the Netherlands military and members of foreign services who had helped liberate the Netherlands from Nazi German occupation, and those who helped liberate the former Dutch colonies in the Pacific. In the modern age, the Orange-Nassau is still the most active civil and military decoration of the Netherlands, and ranks after the Order of the Netherlands Lion. The Order is typically awarded each year on the Monarch's official birthday (currently April 27) with around 3500 appointments to the Order made public. The Order is also used to honour foreign princes, ministers, dignitaries and diplomats.