The National Order of the Leopard (french: Ordre national du Léopard) was the highest honorific decoration of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

from 1966 until 2002 when it was discontinued and replaced by the

Order of the National Heroes Kabila-Lumumba ("Justice, Peace, Work") , eligibility = Congolese nationals and foreigners , criteria = Merits and loyal services to the nation , status = Active , founder = , head_title = Grand Chancellor , head ...

. It was instituted on 24 May 1966 in the Ordinance-law Number 66-330 by President

Joseph-Désiré Mobutu Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga (; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997) was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the president of Zaire from 1965 to 1997 (known as the Democratic Republic ...

. It rewarded the high military or civil merits rendered in the Congo. The President of the Congo was the Grand Chancellor of the Order. Its administration was in the care of the Chancellor.

Ranks

The National Order of the Leopard was composed of five grades : * Grand Cordon * Grand Officer * Commander * Officer * Knight

Notable recipients

Grand Cordons *

Emperor Akihito is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide. Bo ...

Maria Barroso Maria de Jesus Simões Barroso Soares, GCL (2 May 1925 – 7 July 2015) was a Portuguese politician and actress, wife of President of Portugal Mario Soares and First Lady of Portugal between 1986 and 1996. Biography Barroso was the daugh ...

Jean-Bédel Bokassa Jean-Bédel Bokassa (; 22 February 1921 – 3 November 1996), also known as Bokassa I, was a Central African political and military leader who served as the second president of the Central African Republic (CAR) and as the emperor of its s ...

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , title = Shahanshah Aryamehr Bozorg Arteshtaran , image = File:Shah_fullsize.jpg , caption = Shah in 1973 , succession = Shah of Iran , reign = 16 September 1941 – 11 February 1979 , coronation = 26 Octob ...

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

(1973) *

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

(1973) *

Juan Carlos I of Spain Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...

Isaac Kalonji Isaac Kalonji Mutambayi (9 September 1914 – 3 August 2009) was a Congolese Protestant minister and statesman who served as the President of the Senate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1962 until 1965. He was one of the few politicians ...

Jules Fontaine Sambwa Jules-Fontaine Sambwa (12 November 1940 – 4 March 1998) was a Zairean political officeholder and economist. Biography Jules-Fontaine Sambwa Pida Nbagui was born in Mbandaka, on 12 November 1940. He died on 4 March 1998. After graduating in Econ ...

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

Queen Sofía of Spain Sofía of Greece and Denmark ( el, Σοφία; born 2 November 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who was Queen of Spain from 1975 to 2014 as the wife of King Juan Carlos I. She is the first child of King Paul of Greece and Fred ...

Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

(1992) *

Kim Jong-il Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Ki ...

(1992) Grand Officers * Georges Forrest Commanders * Fernand Kazadi Lupelekese *

Hugh Wontner Sir Hugh Walter Kingwell Wontner (22 October 1908 – 25 November 1992) was an English hotelier and politician. He was managing director of the Savoy hotel group from 1941 to 1979 and its chairman from 1948 to 1984, continuing as president unti ...

* Yosia Bulo Butso Officers *

Peter Piot Sir Peter Karel, Baron Piot, (born 17 February 1949) is a Belgian-British microbiologist known for his research into Ebola and AIDS. After helping discover the Ebola virus in 1976 and leading efforts to contain the first-ever recorded Ebola epi ...

* Robin Gillett Knights Unknown Classes * Médard Autsai Asenga *

Jean Bolikango Jean Bolikango, later Bolikango Akpolokaka Gbukulu Nzete Nzube (4 February 1909 – 17 February 1982), was a Congolese educator, writer, and conservative politician. He served twice as Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo (now the ...

* Robin Gillett * Jean-Pierre Hallet *

Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in ...

Ndaye Mulamba Pierre Ndaye Mulamba (4 November 1948 – 26 January 2019) was a football midfielder from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire. He was nicknamed "Mutumbula" ("assassin") and "Volvo". Football career Mulamba was born in Luluabou ...

References

{{Reflist Leopard, National Order of the Leopard, National Order of the Awards established in 1966 Awards disestablished in 2002