decoration

The Civic Decoration (French: Décoration Civique, Dutch: Burgerlijke Ereteken) is a civilian decoration of the Kingdom of Belgium. It was first established by royal decree on 21 July 1867 to reward exceptional acts of bravery, devotion or humanity. A further royal decree of 15 January 1885 extended the award to state civil servants for long service by a mere change of ribbon. The award statute was once again amended by royal decree in 1902 to include long service in the Civic Guard and firefighters, each with its distinctive ribbon.Two wartime variants were created to reward civilians who distinguished themselves during the World Wars. The Civic Decoration 1914–1915 (later dated 1918) was created on 18 May 1915 to reward civilians and non-combatants who served their country with distinction during World War I. A similar Decoration was also established for World War II on 21 July 1944 by the Belgian government in exile.The Civic Decoration, previously solely awarded by Royal Decree, has been awarded directly by regions and communities since the 1993 federalisation of Belgium.

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