Order of Ouissam Alaouite
Order of Ouissam Alaouite الوسام العلوي الشريف | |
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![]() Grand Cordon Extraordinary grade (golden star) set of the Order | |
Awarded by ![]() | |
Established | 11 January 1913 |
Royal house | Alaouite |
Religious affiliation | Islam |
Awarded for | Displaying heroism in combat or contributing meritorious service to the Moroccan state |
Status | Currently constituted |
Sovereign | King Mohammed VI |
Grades | Grand Cordon Grand Officer Commander Officer Knight |
Precedence | |
Next (higher) | Order of Muhammad |
Next (lower) | Order of Fidelity |
![]() Ribbon bar of the Order |
The Order of Ouissam Alaouite (Arabic: الوسام العلوي الشريف) or the Sharifian Order of Al-Alaoui[citation needed] is a military decoration of Morocco which is bestowed by the King of Morocco upon those civilians and military officers who have displayed heroism in combat or have contributed meritorious service to the Moroccan state. The decoration was established on 11 January 1913 in replacement of the Order of Ouissam Hafidien. It is awarded in five classes: Grand Cordon (Grand cordon), Grand Officer (Grand Officier), Commander (Commandeur), Officer (Officier) and Knight (Chevalier).[1]
The Order of Ouissam Alaouite is similar to the Legion of Merit, awarded by the United States military.
History[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Knight_of_the_Order_of_Ouissan_Alaouite_1913_to_1934.jpg/220px-Knight_of_the_Order_of_Ouissan_Alaouite_1913_to_1934.jpg)
The order of Ouissam Alaouite was created during the colonial period. The French authorities in Morocco considered it necessary to have the power to bestow an official honour or decoration in response to loyal service; and they wanted to avoid over-burdening the bureaucracy of the order of the Légion d'Honneur in Paris.[2] The ribbon of the order during this period was a shade of orange[3] or pumpkin-coloured.[4] In 1934, a white stripe was added on each side of the ribbon.
During the Second World War, the Order of Ouissam Alaouite was bestowed frequently on United States military personnel who had participated in the planning and execution of Operation Torch, the invasion of French Morocco. Morocco was a protectorate of France from 1912 to 1956, and the decoration was bestowed frequently on French military officers during that period.
After Moroccan independence in 1956, the Alawid Order became a prerogative of the Alawid King and his heirs. The Order continues through the present day, the original medal and the 1934's ribbon unchanged.
Ribbons (1913–1934) | ||||
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Ribbons (1934–present) | ||||
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Recipients[]
- Albert I of Belgium Wayback Machine
- Anthony Bailey (PR advisor)
- Paul Biya
- Luc Chatel
- Wesley Clark
- Ernest J. Dawley
- Thomas Scheen Falck
- Mohamed Habib Gherab
- Jean Gilles (French Army officer)
- Edvard Hambro
- René Imbot
- Jared Kushner[5]
- Hubert Lyautey
- André Malraux
- Miguel Ángel Moratinos
- Bertrand Piccard[6]
- Luis Planas
- René Pleven
- Elliott Roosevelt
- Dominique Strauss-Kahn
- Arthur Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder
- Officers
- Knights
- Grand Crosses
- Abbas II of Egypt
- Kenneth Anderson (British Army officer)
- Henry H. Arnold
- Bảo Đại
- Jean-Bédel Bokassa
- Mark W. Clark
- Henri Claudel
- Rachida Dati
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Ferdinand Foch
- Jaime Gama
- Alexander Godley
- Fortune FitzRoy, Duchess of Grafton
- Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark
- Charles Huntziger
- Joseph Joffre
- Alphonse Juin
- Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa
- Marie-Pierre Kœnig
- Jacques Lanxade
- Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
- Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque
- Lucien Loizeau
- Margrethe II of Denmark
- George Marshall
- Muhammad VIII al-Amin
- George S. Patton[7]
- Friis Arne Petersen
- Jean-Bernard Raimond
- Thomas T. Riley
- Jagatjit Singh
- Walter Bedell Smith
- Witold Spirydowicz
- Jan Syrový
- Maxime Weygand
- Wu Bangguo
- Commanders
- Marcel Alessandri
- Georges Bergé
- Gaston Billotte
- Pierre Billotte
- Irina Bokova
- Thierry Breton
- Jérôme Champagne
- Pierre Clostermann
- Jean-Paul David
- Alain Delon
- Harold D. Harris
- Antoine Huré
- Georges Journois
- Curtis LeMay
- Richard Lugar
- John A. Lynn
- John McCain
- Manoel de Oliveira
- Yves Pouliquen
- Ridley Scott
- Oliver Stone
- Peter Sutherland
- Joseph Vuillemin
- Grand Officers
- Cristian Barros
- Avi Berkowitz[5]
- Inès de Bourgoing
- Ernesto Burzagli
- Eugène Claudius-Petit
- Willy Coppens
- Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope[8]
- Jean-Philippe Douin
- Robert de Foy
- Ernest N. Harmon
- Thor Heyerdahl
- Raoul Magrin-Vernerey
- Maurice Pellé
- Benoît Puga
- Josef Šnejdárek
- Mariano Hugo, Prince of Windisch-Graetz
1943 ceremony[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Award_of_Order_of_Ouissam_Alaouite.jpg/220px-Award_of_Order_of_Ouissam_Alaouite.jpg)
In the opening scene of the film Patton, George C. Scott, portraying then-Major General Patton, is shown receiving the Grand Cross of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite. This was no mere Hollywood contrivance. Under Patton's command, Allied forces took Casablanca after only four days of fighting. So impressed was the Sultan of Morocco that he presented Patton with the special Order of Ouissam Alaouite, with the citation: "Les Lions dans leurs tanières tremblent en le voyant approcher" (The lions in their dens tremble at his approach).[7] Patton wryly described the ceremony as a "non-military activity,"[9] but in his memoirs, he does not fail to note the Operation Torch staff officers who were similarly honored on that occasion.[4]
Notes[]
- ^ Emering, Edward. "Morocco". The Medal Hound. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
- ^ Bidwell, Robin Leonard. Morocco Under Colonial Rule, p. 89.
- ^ Wyllie, Robert E. (1921). Orders, Decorations and Insignia, Military and Civil: With the History and Romance of Their Origin and a Full Description of Each, p. 135.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Patton, George. (1995), The War as I Knew It, p. 34.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Team Trump wins rare recognition: Kushner, Berkowitz, Scavino". Washington Examiner. 16 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ "Bertrand Piccard Biography" (PDF). Solar Impulse. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 January 2013.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Man Under a Star," Time. 29 March 1943.
- ^ Cunningham, Andrew Browne. (1951). A Sailor's Odyssey: The Autobiography of Admiral of the Fleet, Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, p. 541.
- ^ Blumenson, Martin. (1996). The Patton Papers, p. 156.
References[]
- Bidwell, Robin Leonard. (1973). Morocco Under Colonial Rule: French Administration of Tribal Areas, 1912–1956. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-7146-2877-6
- Wyllie, Robert E. (1921). Orders, Decorations and Insignia, Military and Civil: With the History and Romance of Their Origin and a Full Description of Each. New York: G. P. Putnam.
- Rousseau, Pierre. (2005) Ordres et décorations de l'Empire chérifien au temps du Protectorat français au Maroc (1912–1956). Versailles: Mémoire & Documents. ISBN 978-2-914611-30-5; OCLC 60513643
- Décret royal n° 199-66 du 1er ramadan 1386 (14 décembre 1966) portant création des ordres du Royaume – website of the government of Morocco (French)
- Orders, decorations, and medals of Morocco
- Awards established in 1913
- 1913 establishments in Morocco