Jean-François Rotsart de Hertaing, M.S.M., Maldegem, Belgium
Meritorious Service Medal (civil division)
In 1995, Mr. Rotsart de Hertaing, Burgomaster of the town of Maldegem-Adegem in West Flanders, Belgium, founded the non-profit-making Association Belgique-Canada in an effort to maintain and develop the relations that were forged between our two countries during Word War II. Moreover, this Belgian citizen played a key role in the creation of the only museum in Europe that commemorates the contribution and sacrifice of Canadian soldiers during the liberation of Belgium in the fall of 1944.