The Order of the African Star was established by King Leopold II of Belgium

Leopold II of Belgium

Leopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free...

 on 30 December 1888, in his capacity as ruler of the Congo Free State

Congo Free State

The Congo Free State was a large area in Central Africa which was privately controlled by Leopold II, King of the Belgians. Its origins lay in Leopold's attracting scientific, and humanitarian backing for a non-governmental organization, the Association internationale africaine...

, and was awarded for services to Congo and for the "promotion of African civilisation in general". It was incorporated into the Belgian honours system on 10 October 1908 following the annexation of the Congo Free State by Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

. The motto of the Order is "Travail et progrès" . The King of the Belgians is its Grand Master. Even though Congo is no longer a Belgian colony, it is still considered to be a Belgian Order

Order (decoration)

An order or order of merit is a visible honour, awarded by a government, dynastic house or international organization to an individual, usually in recognition of distinguished service to a nation or to humanity. The distinction between orders and decorations is somewhat vague, except that most...

.

The Order of the African Star is awarded by Royal Decree. Following the independence of Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

 in 1960, the Order of the African Star is no longer awarded (although it still exists).

Classes

The Order of the African Star is administered by the FPS Foreign Affairs

FPS Foreign Affairs Belgium

The FPS Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation , more commonly known as the FPS Foreign Affairs, is a Federal Public Service of Belgium. It was created by Royal Order on March 8, 2002, as part of the plans of the first Verhofstadt Government to modernise the federal administration...

 and has five classes and three medals:

1. Grand Cross, which wears the badge on a sash on the right shoulder, plus the star on the left chest;
2. Grand Officer, which wears the badge on a necklet and a smaller star on the left chest;
3. Commander, which wears the badge on a necklet;
4. Officer, which wears the badge on a ribbon with rosette
   Rosette (decoration)
   A rosette is a small, circular device that is presented with a medal. The rosettes are primarily for situations where wearing the medal is deemed inappropriate. Rosettes are issued in nations such as France, Italy and Japan...
   
    on the left chest;
5. Knight, which wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest;
6. Medals in Gold, Silver and Bronze on a ribbon on the left chest.

Insigna

The Badge of the order is a white enamelled five-pointed star with blue borders, surrounded by a crown of green enamelled palm leafs. The central disk shows a gold star on blue enamelled background surrounded by a gold ring displaying the motto of the order: Travail et Progrès (work and progress). Reverse, similar to the obverse but with a central disc of red enamel with a stylised 'double L' crowned Leopold II monogram superimposed. The whole badge is topped by a royal crown linked to the ribbon.

The Plaque is a 10-pointed star, with (for Grand Cross) alternating faceted golden points and rayed silver points, or (for Grand Officer) made of plain silver with alternating faceted points and rayed points. The central disc shows the obverse of the badge, including the surrounding green enamelled palm leafs, and in the top the 'double L' Leopold II monogram. The whole plaque is topped by a royal crown.

The Medal is round in gold, silver and bronze versions, with a suspension in the form of a royal crown with two pendelia and a ribbon ring. The obverse shows a finely ribbed central area with bead surround, with a star superimposed. The surrounding circlet carries the motto of the order: Travail et Progrès (work and progress) - the later issues are bilingual including the Dutch Arbeid en Vooruitgang in the lower half of the circlet. The reverse is a stylised 'double L' crowned Leopold II monogram within a palm wreath.

The Ribbon of the order is azure blue with a large central pale yellow stripe. When awarded in war time, the ribbon of the Order may be arorned with a silver of gold palm.

The Ribbon bar

Ribbon bar

Ribbon bars are small decorations that are worn by military, police, and fire service personnel or by civilians. Ribbon bars are mainly used when wearing either full decoration, or when wearing medals is considered inappropriate or impractical. Each military force has its own rules on what ribbons...

of the order is worn on the semi-formal dress uniform.

Collar of the Order
Front view - Reverse view
Ribbon bars & Decorations
Grand Cross	| Grand Officer	| Commander	Officer	| Knight
Sash - Plaque	Star	Necklet star	Decoration	Decoration
	Gold Medal	Silver Medal	Bronze Medal
.				.
.	Medal	Medal	Medal	.

Award Conditions

The Order of the African Star was awarded for especially meritorious service performed in the Belgian Congo. Its award was rare and required the approval of the Council of Minister.

See also

• Grand Masters : Leopold II
  Leopold II of Belgium
  Leopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free...
  
   - Albert I
  Albert I of Belgium
  Albert I reigned as King of the Belgians from 1909 until 1934.-Early life:Born Albert Léopold Clément Marie Meinrad in Brussels, he was the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and his wife, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen...
  
   - Leopold III
  Leopold III of Belgium
  Leopold III reigned as King of the Belgians from 1934 until 1951, when he abdicated in favour of the Heir Apparent,...
  
   - Baudouin - Albert II
  Albert II of Belgium
  Albert II is the current reigning King of the Belgians, a constitutional monarch. He is a member of the royal house "of Belgium"; formerly this house was named Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
  
  
• Order of Leopold (Belgium)
• Royal Order of the Lion
• Order of the Crown
  Order of the Crown (Belgium)
  The Order of the Crown is an Order of Belgium which was created on 15 October 1897 by King Leopold II in his capacity as ruler of the Congo Free State. The order was first intended to recognize heroic deeds and distinguished service achieved from service in the Congo Free State - many of which acts...
  
  
• Order of Leopold II
  Order of Leopold II
  The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Léopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as king of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgium, incorporated into the Belgian awards system...
  
  
• List of Belgian decorations
• List of Belgian military decorations

External links

• Order of the African Star