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Decoration · Netherlands
Ereteken voor Verdienste
(opens the image page on Wikimedia Commons)Insignia image: Robert PrummelCC BY-SA 3.0Wikimedia Commons
Ribbon image: MuumiCC BY-SA 4.0Wikimedia Commons
The Decoration of Merit is an important military decoration for bravery in the Netherlands. The medal was established by the Dutch minister of defence, Wim van Eekelen, on 16 April 1987. The award was created by ministerial decree and is therefore a medal of the Netherlands Ministry of Defence and not a royal decoration.
Defence ministries in Germany and the Czech Republic award similar decorations. This way chivalric orders keep their exclusivity.
The 1987 ministerial decree stated four criteria for granting in silver or gold:
exceptional merits towards the armed forces which are incidentally of nature,
individual courage in life-threatening situations,
brave action in conflict situations in peace time, and
particular merits of Dutch and foreign civil and military authorities.
In 2002, minister Benk Korthals added a fifth criteria for granting the medal "exceptional activities for the Netherlands Armed forces". An amendment by defence minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in 2017 introduced a bronze grade.
From Wikipedia (article), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
