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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.
During the Second World War, the Order of Leopold was bestowed on the several officers of foreign militaries who had helped to liberate Belgium from the occupation of German forces. Famous recipients include Brand Whitlock, George S. Patton, Bernard Montgomery, Dwight Eisenhower, and Wesley Clark. The medal was also granted to Karel Bossart in 1962, and Josip Broz Tito in 1970.
Membership can only be granted by his majesty, King Albert II and is reserved to the very most important Belgian nationals and to some distinguished foreign persons who contributed in one way to the Belgian military, the Belgian civil society or the Belgian State. Annually, there are two days when the King normally grants membership, on April 8 (King Albert's birthday) and on November 15 (Day of the Belgian Dynasty).
No membership can be granted to a person before the age of 42, except in the military division.
National Orders are awarded by Royal Decree at fixed dates: 8 April (Birthday of King Albert I), 15 November (King's Feast), 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).
Top part: Grand Cordon Star - civil and military divisions (left), Grand Cordon sash (middle), Grand Officer plaques - civil and maritime divisions (right). Bottom part: Commander's Cross (civil division), officer's cross (military division), officer's cross (civil division), officer's cross (maritime division), knight's cross (military division) (courtesy Société de l'Ordre de Léopold)
The Minister responsible for Foreign Affaires, 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 (e.g. a commissioned officer who become a Commander of the Order of Leopold II because of meritorious personal service to the King before he became a Knight of the Order of Leopold may not be awarded the latter decoration or that of Officer of the Order of Leopold).
Persons who are the subject of criminal proceedings will usually not be awarded a National Order until they are declared not guilty
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