Order of the Legion of Merit
Legion Of Merit (civil division) Legion Of Merit (military division)
Type	order
Awarded for	outstanding service to Rhodesia
Presented by	Rhodesia  Zimbabwe-Rhodesia
Eligibility	civilians and military personnel
Post-nominals	Dependent on grade
Status	defunct
Established	4 November 1970
First awarded	1970
Last awarded	April 1981
Ribbon bar of the civil order Ribbon bar of the military order
Precedence
Next (higher)	Conspicuous Gallantry Decoration
Next (lower)	Independence Decoration

The Legion of Merit was a Rhodesian order of merit awarded to both civilian and military recipients for service to Rhodesia.

Institution

The award was instituted in 1970 by Presidential Warrant, the first awards being made the same year. The last awards were made in June 1980. The civil class was suspended from a green and gold ribbon. The military class differed by featuring a red stripe on the green and gold ribbon.

Classes

There were five classes of the order:

• Grand Commander (GCLM)
• Grand Officer (GLM)
• Commander (CLM)
• Officer (OLM)
• Member (MLM)

The incumbent President of Rhodesia served as Grand Master of the Legion of Merit. Recipients of the order were entitled to the post-nominal letters indicated above. It was retained by the government of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia as well, the President of that state also serving as Grand Master.

Zimbabwe

The Legion of Merit was superseded in April 1981^[1] by the Zimbabwe Order of Merit, which is awarded to civilians as well as military personnel for eminent achievement and services to Zimbabwe.

Notable recipients

While the higher grades of the order were used almost exclusively by Ian Smith's Rhodesian Front government to reward political service, recipients of the lower and middle grades included a number of notable military leaders, community leaders and civil servants.

References

External links

• Orders, Medals and Decorations of Zimbabwe and Rhodesia
• Image on medals.org.uk