The Badge of Honor of the League of Civil Defense ( da, Beredskabsforbundets Hæderstegn) was instituted in 1956 by King Frederik IX and may be awarded to persons who have done noteworthy deeds for the Civil Defense cause, over a prolonged period of time (minimum 15 years). The medal is awarded by the President of the Danish Civil Defense Association, Beredskabsforbundet.

History

The first notion of a medal was on October 8th 1953, when the Association of Police Chiefs in Denmark wrote the Civil Defense Agency (later the

Danish Emergency Management Agency The Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) ( da, Beredskabsstyrelsen) is a Danish governmental agency under the Ministry of Defence. Its principal task is to manage an operational part who work out of six Emergency Management Centres, and adm ...

), asking for in institution of an award to civilians who had made significant contribution to the police, for example in the creation of evacuation plans. The Civil Defense Agency passed to task onto the Civil Defense Association, and in 1956 the statutes of the medal was approved by the Ministry of Interior and later the King. The Badge of Honour was established on the November 30th 1956 and was first awarded on June 17th, on the birthday of

hofjægermester Hofjægermester (hunting master of the court) is an honorary court title awarded to a limited number of (major and usually noble) land owners (''godsejere'') by the Danish monarch. The title was introduced in Denmark-Norway during the period of ab ...

Torben Foss. Foss was the founder and first president of Dansk Luftværnsforening (Danish Air Guard Association) (later the Civil Defense Association). The Civil Defense Association changed its name from CivilforsvarsForbundet to Beredskabsforbundet in the mid 2000s and on October 1st 2007, after petition from the Ministry of Defense, Her Majesty

Queen Margrethe II Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark. Having reigned as Denmark's monarch for over 50 years, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and the world's only incumbent femal ...

approved that the medal changed names from Civilforsvars-Forbundets Hæderstegn to Beredskabsforbundets Hæderstegn.

Criteria

There are 3 groups of people who may be awarded the medal: * Persons, who over a prolonged period of time, have done noteworthy work within the field of Civil Defense ** This group may be volunteers and employees under the Civil Defense League ** "A prolonged period of time" normally means at least 15 years ** "Noteworthy work" means work above and beyond that of the average *** 5-6 medals may be given to this group annually * Persons who in a special degree have made themselves noteworthy in their work for the Civil Defense cause ** This may, for example, be fire chiefs who over a period of years have helped strengthen the use of volunteers *** 4-5 medals may be given to this group annually. The

(DEMA) controls the use of 2 of these. * Other persons who have done noteworthy work for the Civil Defense cause ** This group is most often politicians and other public key-figures *** 1-3 medals may be given to this group annually Normally the total maximum of medals awarded each year is 12.

Notable recipients

King Frederik IX Frederick IX ( da, Christian Frederik Franz Michael Carl Valdemar Georg; 11 March 1899 – 14 January 1972) was King of Denmark from 1947 to 1972. Born into the House of Glücksburg, Frederick was the elder son of King Christian X and Que ...

, 1957 *

Queen Ingrid Ingrid of Sweden (born: Princess Ingrid Victoria Sofia Louise Margareta of Sweden; 28 March 1910 – 7 November 2000) was Queen of Denmark from 1947 until 1972 as the wife of King Frederick IX. Born into the House of Bernadotte, she was the daug ...

, 1957 *

Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark (Caroline-Mathilde Louise Dagmar Christine Maud Augusta Ingeborg Thyra Adelheid; 27 April 1912 – 12 December 1995) was a daughter of Prince Harald of Denmark and granddaughter of King Frederick VIII of Denm ...

, 1965 *

, 1974 *

Prince Henrik Prince Henrik of Denmark (; born Henri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat; 11 June 1934 – 13 February 2018) was the husband of Margrethe II of Denmark. He served as her royal consort from Margrethe's accession on 14 January 1972 unt ...

, 1984 *

Sir John Hodsoll ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

, Senior NATO Advisor to the Committee on Civil Defense, 1959 * Fire Inspector

Henrik Sunekær Henrik is a male given name of Germanic origin, primarily used in Scandinavia, Estonia, Hungary and Slovenia. In Poland, the name is spelt Henryk but pronounced similarly. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English), Heiki (Estonian), ...

, 1992 * Fire Chief

Carsten Iversen Karsten or Carsten is a both a given name and a surname. It is believed to be either derived from a Low German form of Christian, or "man from karst". Notable persons with the name include: Given name ;Carsten: * Carsten Charles Sabathia (born ...

, Roskilde Brandvæsen, 2010 * MP Bjarne Laustsen, President, 2010 * Master Sergeant (CD) Jacob D. Madsen, Danish Emergency Management Agency , 2014 * Major (CD) Sune Schønnemann, Deputy Regional Commander, youngest recipient of the award, 2019

References

{{reflist Orders, decorations, and medals of Denmark