The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of 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.[1]
Titles, prefixes, or post-nominals are not used in the Netherlands – the only exception being 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 Nassau Family Pact, 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.
In 1994, the Dutch honours system was extensively revised after almost thirty years of discussion. This revision by law intended to create a more democratic honours system, disconnecting the level of the honours from rank and social status. In principle, since then everyone in Dutch society can be honoured. An honour is only awarded on the basis of special, personal merits for society. Before this revision the order consisted of five grades with additional honorary medals (gold, silver and bronze). The honorary medals were only affiliated with the order and bearers were not formally included in the order. In 1996, the honorary medals were abolished and replaced by the Member Class of the Order of Orange-Nassau, which is reserved only for Dutch citizens. The vast majority of awards are at the level of Member and are for voluntary service; the grade of Knight is awarded for outstanding personal achievement, the grade of Officer for contributions of national or international significance (e.g. distinguished professors; former ministers, but also very well-known disc jockeys or even a tattooist of very high reputation). The Officer grade is the first of what are referred to as the 'special decorations'. The grade of Commander is very sparingly awarded, and the two highest grades are awarded only very rarely indeed (for example to those with a record of distinguished service in public life who have occupied many high positions over a good number of years).
The Order of Orange-Nassau has two divisions, civil and military, the former denoted by a wreath of laurel on the badges, and the latter by crossed swords on both the badges and the stars.
The king or queen regnant of the Netherlands is the Grand Master of the Order of Orange-Nassau.
Since 1996
In addition to the two divisions, since 1996 the Order of Orange-Nassau has been issued in six classes:
Knight Grand Cross – badge may be worn on a sash on the right shoulder, plus an 8-pointed star on the left chest
Grand Officer – badge may be worn by men on a necklet, and by women worn on a ribbon tied as a bow at the left chest; also a 4-pointed star is worn on the left chest
Commander – badge may be worn by men on a necklet, and by women worn on a ribbon tied as a bow at the left chest
Officer – wears the badge on a ribbon with a rosette on the left chest
Knight – wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest
Member – wears a smaller badge on a ribbon on the left chest
Ribbon bars of the Order of Orange-Nassau - since 1996
Knight Grand Cross
Grand Officer
Commander
Officer
Knight
Member
For the grades of Knight and Member, the badges are made of silver. For the other grades, the silver is gilded.
Prior to 1996
Until 1996, the Order of Orange-Nassau consisted of five grades. In addition, honorary medals were issued in Gold, Silver and Bronze, but these were only affiliated with the order; the bearers of the medal were not members of the order. Now no longer issued, these were replaced by the sixth grade: "Member". Recipients wore the medal on a ribbon on the left chest.
Ribbon bars of the Order of Orange-Nassau - until 1996
Knight Grand Cross
Grand Officer
Commander
Officer
Knight
Gold medal
Silver medal
Bronze medal
Insignia
The badge of the order is a blue-enamelled, white enamel-bordered Maltese Cross, in gilt for the officers and above, in silver for knights and members. The obverse central disc displays the King's coat of arms in gold and blue enamel, surrounded by a white enamel ring bearing the national motto Je Maintiendrai (I shall maintain). The reverse central disc has the crowned monogram "W" (for Queen Wilhelmina) surrounded by the motto God Zij Met Ons (God be with us). The badge hangs from a royal crown. The civil division has a wreath of laurel between the arms of the cross; the military division has crossed swords instead. The badge is attached to a ribbon which is orange with white and blue border stripes. The way the badge and ribbon should be worn differs between men and women.
The star of the order is a silver star with straight rays, in 8 points for Grand Cross and in 4 points for Grand Officer; the central disc has the King's arms in gold and blue enamel, surrounded by a white enamel ring bearing the Dutch national motto Je Maintiendrai. The military division has crossed swords.
Poul Ohm Hieronymussen, Poul Ohm. (1967). Orders and Decorations of Europe in Color. New York: Macmillan Publishers. OCLC: 796549
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Order of Orange-Nassau.
Order of Orange-Nassau – official website of Chancery of the Netherlands Orders
Law instituting the Order of Oranje-Nassau – wetten.overheid.nl
Regulations of the Order of Oranje-Nassau – wetten.overheid.nl
January 26, 2023
order, orange, nassau, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, sept. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Order of Orange Nassau news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Order of Orange Nassau Dutch Orde van Oranje Nassau is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent Emma of the Netherlands Order of Orange NassauKnight s Cross of the Order of Orange NassauAwarded by the Kingdom of the NetherlandsTypeOrder of chivalryEstablished4 April 1892 1892 04 04 MottoJe maintiendraiEligibilitySpecial merits for societyStatusCurrently constitutedGrand MasterWillem Alexander of the NetherlandsGradesKnight Grand Cross Grand Officer Commander Officer Knight MemberFormer gradesGold silver bronze medalPrecedenceNext higher Order of the Netherlands LionNext lower Order of the Gold Lion of the House of NassauRibbon barThe order is a chivalric order open to everyone who has performed acts of 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 1 Titles prefixes or post nominals are not used in the Netherlands the only exception being the Military William Order Contents 1 History 2 Grades 2 1 Since 1996 2 2 Prior to 1996 3 Insignia 4 Recipients 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External linksHistory EditIn 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 Nassau Family Pact 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 In 1994 the Dutch honours system was extensively revised after almost thirty years of discussion This revision by law intended to create a more democratic honours system disconnecting the level of the honours from rank and social status In principle since then everyone in Dutch society can be honoured An honour is only awarded on the basis of special personal merits for society Before this revision the order consisted of five grades with additional honorary medals gold silver and bronze The honorary medals were only affiliated with the order and bearers were not formally included in the order In 1996 the honorary medals were abolished and replaced by the Member Class of the Order of Orange Nassau which is reserved only for Dutch citizens The vast majority of awards are at the level of Member and are for voluntary service the grade of Knight is awarded for outstanding personal achievement the grade of Officer for contributions of national or international significance e g distinguished professors former ministers but also very well known disc jockeys or even a tattooist of very high reputation The Officer grade is the first of what are referred to as the special decorations The grade of Commander is very sparingly awarded and the two highest grades are awarded only very rarely indeed for example to those with a record of distinguished service in public life who have occupied many high positions over a good number of years Grades EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Order of Orange Nassau news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia s quality standards The specific problem is haphazard HTML in tables Please help improve this section if you can September 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Officer s Cross Star and riband of a Knight s Grand Cross The Order of Orange Nassau has two divisions civil and military the former denoted by a wreath of laurel on the badges and the latter by crossed swords on both the badges and the stars The king or queen regnant of the Netherlands is the Grand Master of the Order of Orange Nassau Since 1996 Edit In addition to the two divisions since 1996 the Order of Orange Nassau has been issued in six classes Knight Grand Cross badge may be worn on a sash on the right shoulder plus an 8 pointed star on the left chest Grand Officer badge may be worn by men on a necklet and by women worn on a ribbon tied as a bow at the left chest also a 4 pointed star is worn on the left chest Commander badge may be worn by men on a necklet and by women worn on a ribbon tied as a bow at the left chest Officer wears the badge on a ribbon with a rosette on the left chest Knight wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest Member wears a smaller badge on a ribbon on the left chestRibbon bars of the Order of Orange Nassau since 1996 Knight Grand Cross Grand Officer Commander Officer Knight MemberFor the grades of Knight and Member the badges are made of silver For the other grades the silver is gilded Prior to 1996 Edit Until 1996 the Order of Orange Nassau consisted of five grades In addition honorary medals were issued in Gold Silver and Bronze but these were only affiliated with the order the bearers of the medal were not members of the order Now no longer issued these were replaced by the sixth grade Member Recipients wore the medal on a ribbon on the left chest Ribbon bars of the Order of Orange Nassau until 1996 Knight Grand Cross Grand Officer Commander Officer Knight Gold medal Silver medal Bronze medalInsignia EditThe badge of the order is a blue enamelled white enamel bordered Maltese Cross in gilt for the officers and above in silver for knights and members The obverse central disc displays the King s coat of arms in gold and blue enamel surrounded by a white enamel ring bearing the national motto Je Maintiendrai I shall maintain The reverse central disc has the crowned monogram W for Queen Wilhelmina surrounded by the motto God Zij Met Ons God be with us The badge hangs from a royal crown The civil division has a wreath of laurel between the arms of the cross the military division has crossed swords instead The badge is attached to a ribbon which is orange with white and blue border stripes The way the badge and ribbon should be worn differs between men and women The star of the order is a silver star with straight rays in 8 points for Grand Cross and in 4 points for Grand Officer the central disc has the King s arms in gold and blue enamel surrounded by a white enamel ring bearing the Dutch national motto Je Maintiendrai The military division has crossed swords Cased Grand Officer set Grand Officer star and rosette Cased Grand Officer set Cased Grand Officer set showing the revere of the insignia Grand Officer badge Recipients EditEvery year about 4 500 people are accepted as a member of the Order of Orange Nassau while some 3 000 existing members die 2 3 See also EditDutch Cross of ResistanceNotes Edit De Orde van Oranje Nassau Onderscheidingen Lintjes nl Archived from the original on 9 February 2014 Retrieved 30 April 2014 Door Oscar Vermeer 25 April 2008 14 vragen over de lintjesregen archief Nrc nl Retrieved 30 April 2014 See the categories Order of Orange Nassau Knights Grand Cross Grand Officers Commanders Officers Knights and Members References EditPoul Ohm Hieronymussen Poul Ohm 1967 Orders and Decorations of Europe in Color New York Macmillan Publishers OCLC 796549External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Order of Orange Nassau Order of Orange Nassau official website of Chancery of the Netherlands Orders Law instituting the Order of Oranje Nassau wetten overheid nl Regulations of the Order of Oranje Nassau wetten overheid nl Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Order of Orange Nassau amp oldid 1135149545, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
