Orders, decorations, and medals of Belgium

Belgium has established numerous orders of knighthood, decorations and medals since its creation in 1830. Below is a list of those awards. The order of precedence is difficult to establish as Belgium does not keep an up-to-date listing with dormant and active awards. However, André Borné has established such a list^[1] that is used as a basis.

National orders[edit]

Orders on a grey background are dormant. Active orders are displayed on a white background.

Order of Leopold	Order of the African Star	Royal order of the lion	Order of the crown	Order of Leopold II

Current awards and decorations[edit]

Military awards[edit]

Military decoration for exceptional service or acts of bravery or extraordinary devotion	Military Cross	Military Decoration for faithful service	Cross of honour for service abroad	Commemorative medal for armed humanitarian operations	Commemorative medal for foreign missions or operations	Commemorative medal for missions or operations regarding the operational defense of the territory	Meritorious service medal

Civilian awards[edit]

Civil Decoration for acts of bravery, selfsacrifice and philanthropy	Carnegie hero fund medal	Civil Decoration for long service	Labour decoration	Laureate of labour

Military marching medals[edit]

Commemorative medal for the European remembrance and friendship march	Commemorative medal 'Yser march'

Historical awards and decorations[edit]

These medals and decorations are currently no longer awarded.

Belgian Revolution (1830–31)[edit]

Merit medal of the civil guard	1830 Star of honour	Iron cross and iron medal	1830 volunteers commemorative cross

World War I (1914–1918)[edit]

Medals are shown in order of precedence.

War cross '14-'18	Yser medal	Fire cross	Maritime decoration of the War	Civil decoration of the War	King Albert medal	Queen Elisabeth medal	Volunteer combatant medal

Victory medal '14-'18	Commemorative medal of the War '14-'18	Commemorative medal of the African campaigns '14-'17	Medal of the political prisoner '14-'18	Deportees cross '14-'18	Colonial commemorative medal	Medal of the national committee for aid and nourishment	Medal for the national restoration	Liège Medal

World War II (1940–1945) and the Korean War (1954)[edit]

Medals are shown in order of precedence.

War cross '40-'45	Armed resistance medal	Political prisoner's cross '40-'45	Civil decoration '40-'45	Escaper's cross	Medal of Belgian gratitude '40–'45	Medal of the war volunteer '40-'45	Commemorative medal of the war '40-'45	Foreign operational theatres commemorative medal

Prisoner of war medal '40-'45	Maritime medal	Commemorative medal of the Ethiopian campaign '40-'41	African war medal '40-'45	Civilian resistance medal	Civilian disobedience medal	Colonial war effort medal '40–'45	Military combatant medal '40-'45	Medal for resistance against nazism in the annexed territories	World War II Recruiting centres medal

Other medals and awards[edit]

Awards and medals listed below are either obsolete or have never been awarded.

War cross	The service star	The meritorious service medal for native chiefs	The royal household medal	The native service medal	The Arab campaign medal

The medal for sports merit	The medal for family merit	The medal for agricultural and artisanal merit	The medal for services rendered

Commemorative medals[edit]

Commemorative medal of the visit to Brazil	Commemorative medal 1870-1871	Commemorative medal of the 100 anniversary of the national independence	Commemorative Decoration of the 50th Anniversary of the creation of the railroads	Commemorative medal of the reign of King Leopold I	Commemorative medal of the reign of King Leopold II	Commemorative medal of the reign of King Albert I	Commemorative decoration for the 50th anniversary of the Ostend-Dover Line	Commemorative medal of the VIIth olympics

Commemorative medal for the 75th anniversary of the telegraph service	Commemorative medal for the 100th anniversary of the telegraph service	Commemorative medal for the 75th anniversary of the Belgian postal services	Commemorative medal for the 100th anniversary of the Belgian postal services	Commemorative medal for Congo	Commemorative cross of the House of King Albert	Commemorative decoration for the 50th anniversary of the Royal donation fund	Medal for the 50th anniversary of Belgian Congo

Belgian Red Cross[edit]

Order of the Belgian red cross	Blood donor's medal	Cross of honour of the Belgian red cross '40-'45	Red cross decoration '40-'45	Commemorative medal 22 March Red Cross Flemish Brabant

References[edit]

^ Borné A.C., 1985, Distinctions honorifiques de la Belgique, 1830-1985 (Brussels)

Quinot H., 1950, Recueil illustré des décorations belges et congolaises, 4e Edition. (Hasselt)
Cornet R., 1982, Recueil des dispositions légales et réglementaires régissant les ordres nationaux belges. 2e Ed. N.pl., (Brussels)
Borné A.C., 1985, Distinctions honorifiques de la Belgique, 1830–1985 (Brussels)
Van Hoorebeke, 2007, P., 175 Ans de l'Ordre de Léopold et les Ordres Nationaux Belges (MRA Brussels)
André Borné, 1982, Honneur au travail: Distinctions honorifiques pour les travailleurs 1830–1980, (Brussels)

External links[edit]

[1] Borné A.C., 1985, Distinctions honorifiques de la Belgique, 1830-1985 (Brussels)

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v t e Orders, decorations, and medals of Belgium
National orders	Order of Leopold Order of the African Star Royal Order of the Lion Order of the Crown Order of Leopold II
Pre–1914	Civic Guard Merit Medal 1830 Star of Honour Iron Cross 1830 Volunteers' Commemorative Cross 1870–71 Commemorative Medal Service Star
World War I	War Cross 1914–18 Fire Cross 1914–1918 Yser Cross and Medal Volunteer Combatant's Medal 1914–1918 Commemorative Medal of the 1914–1918 War Commemorative Medal of the 1914–1917 African Campaigns Liège Medal Maritime Decoration 1914–1918 Political Prisoner's Medal 1914–1918 Deportees' Cross 1914–1918 1914–1918 Medal for National Restoration King Albert Medal Queen Elisabeth Medal Inter-Allied Victory Medal 1914–1918 Civic Decoration 1914–1918 Commemorative Medal of the National Committee for Aid and Food
World War II & Korean War	War Cross 1940–45 Maritime Medal 1940–1945 1940–1945 Military Combatant's Medal Volunteer's Medal 1940–1945 1940–1945 African War Medal 1940–1945 Colonial War Effort Medal Abyssinian Campaigns Commemorative Medal Resistance Medal 1940–1945 Civilian Resistance Medal Civilian Disobedience Medal Political Prisoner's Cross 1940–1945 Prisoner of War Medal 1940–1945 Escapees' Cross 1940–1945 Medal for Resistance against Nazism in the Annexed Territories Medal of the Recruiting Centers 1940 Medal of Belgian Gratitude 1940–1945 Commemorative Medal of the 1940–1945 War Foreign Operational Theatres Commemorative Medal
Current military awards	Military Decoration for exceptional service, bravery or exceptional devotion Military Cross Military Decoration for faithful service Cross of Honour for Military Service Abroad Commemorative Medal for Armed Humanitarian Operations Commemorative Medal for Foreign Operations or Missions Commemorative medal for missions or operations regarding the operational defense of the territory Meritorious Service Medal
Current civilian awards	Civil decoration for acts of bravery, selfsacrifice and philanthropy Civil decoration for faithful service Labour Decoration Laureate of labour
Commemorative medals	Commemorative Decoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Creation of the Railroads Commemorative Medal of the Reign of King Leopold II Commemorative Medal for the 75th Anniversary of the Belgian Postal Service Centenary of National Independence Commemorative Medal Commemorative Medal for the Centenary of the Telegraphic Service Commemorative Medal for the 100th Anniversary of the Belgian Postal Service Commemorative Medal of the Reign of King Albert I Commemorative Medal for the "European March of Memory and Friendship" "Four Days of the Yser" Commemorative Medal
Belgian Red Cross	Order of the Belgian Red Cross Blood Donour's Medal 1940–1945 Cross of Honour of the Belgian Red Cross 1940–1945 Belgian Red Cross Decoration
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