Order of the British Empire

==History==
[[File:MBE-Cobh-Heritage-Centre-2012.JPG|thumb|upright=0.6|MBE (civil division) as awarded in 1918]]
[[File:Ster Orde van het Britse Rijk.jpg|thumb|[[Knight Grand Cross|Grand Cross]] Star of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[File:Mbe Cpt Masterman 05-02-2010.jpg|thumb|Close-up of an MBE from 1945 showing the "For God and the Empire"]]

[[George V|King George V]] founded the order to fill gaps in the [[Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom|British honours system]]:

* The orders of the [[Order of the Garter|Garter]], [[Order of the Thistle|Thistle]], and of [[Order of St Patrick|St Patrick]] honoured royals, peers, statesmen and eminent military commanders;
* The [[Order of the Bath]] honoured senior military officers and civil servants;
* The [[Order of St Michael and St George]] honoured diplomats and colonial officials;
* The [[Order of the Star of India]] and the [[Order of the Indian Empire]] honoured Indian rulers and British and Indian officials of the [[British Indian Empire]]; and
* The [[Royal Victorian Order]], in the personal gift of the monarch, honoured those who had personally served the royal family.
In particular, George V wished to create an order to honour the many thousands of those who had served in a variety of non-combat roles during the [[First World War]]. When first established, the Order had only one division. However, in 1918, soon after its foundation, it was formally divided into Military and [[Civil service|Civil]] Divisions.{{explain|date=June 2020}}<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31084|page=15135|date=27 December 1918}}</ref> The Order's motto is ''For God and the Empire''.<ref name="obe_royal"/>

At the foundation of the order, the Medal of the Order of the British Empire was instituted, to serve as a lower award granting recipients affiliation but not membership. In 1922, this was renamed the [[British Empire Medal]] (BEM). It stopped being awarded by the United Kingdom as part of the [[Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom#Reform|1993 reforms]] to the honours system, but was again awarded beginning in 2012, starting with 293 BEMs awarded for [[Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-18456068|title=Birthday Honours: 'Working class' British Empire Medal revived|work=[[BBC News]]|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=16 June 2012 |accessdate=20 June 2012}}</ref> In addition, the BEM is awarded by the [[Cook Islands]] and by some other [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] nations. In 2004, a report entitled ''A Matter of Honour: Reforming Our Honours System'' by a [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|Commons]] committee recommended phasing out the Order of the British Empire, as its title was "now considered to be unacceptable, being thought to embody values that are no longer shared by many of the country's population".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmpubadm/212/212.pdf|title=A Matter of Honour: Reforming Our Honours System|work=House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee|publisher=Parliament.uk|date=13 July 2004|accessdate =15 January 2016}}</ref>
In 2004, a House of Commons Select Committee recommended changing the name of the award to the Order of British Excellence, and changing the rank of Commander to Companion; as the former was said to have a "militaristic ring".<ref>{{citeweb|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmpubadm/212/21209.htm|title=
Select Committee on Public Administration Fifth Report}}</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3888581.stm "Honours system outdated, say MPs"], BBC News, 13 July 2004, Retrieved 28 February 2007</ref>