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 ministerial decree requires four criteria for granting: In 2002, minister Benk Korthals added a fifth criteria for granting the medal: